Local Entities Receive Department of Commerce Building Efficiency Grants

A group of local entities received Washington State Department of Commerce grants for Clean Building Performance.

Coulle Harline School District received $425,870, while the city of Wenatchee received $46,219. Avamere Senior Care in Wenatchee received just over $1.1 million.

City of Wenatchee Administrator Laura Gloria says the funds allow the city to audit the buildings they own over 50,000 square feet to make sure they comply with Washington's Clean Energy Standards.

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"Wenatchee City Hall is quite a bit newer than some of the other buildings, the Wenatchee Convention Center is currently under construction," Gloria said. "This energy audit will allow us to benchmark where we are and then compare that to those standards and the next steps would be to look into implementation options."

Gloria says there is a possibility the Department of Commerce will award more funds if the buildings fail to meet those standards. She says the police department building is the most likely building to not meet standards considering it is 10 years old.

She adds the grant funds meet the city's financial need to cover the cost of the audit.

The grants are part of an initiative to incentivize building owners to make energy-efficient upgrades supporting compliance with the state's Clean Buildings Performance Standard.

Department of Commerce launced the Energy Audit Incentive Program, allocating an additional $14.5 million fro the state budget to help public building owners, such as schools, cities, and state agencies, pay for energy audits.

"Commerce is eager to help building owners across Washington cut energy costs while advancing our state's clean energy future," said Commerce Director Joe Nguyen. “By improving energy efficiency, we’re reducing emissions, creating jobs, and ensuring that communities — especially those in rural and underserved areas — benefit from a healthier, more sustainably built environment and a stronger local economy.”

Department of Commerce set aside $45 million total for these grants, which support energy-saving building retrofits which include upgrading lighting to LED, modernizing heating and cooling systems, implementing smart building controls to optimize energy use, and developing compliance documentation.

The Clean Building Performance Standard, enacted in 2019, became the first statewide building performance standard in the nation.