Commercial Building Retrofits Could Save $41B a Year, Study Says
Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 09:21PM 
BOULDER, CO — Owners of commercial buildings in the U.S. could save more than $41 billion a year in energy costs, if all currently existing commercial space were placed in a decade-long energy efficiency retrofit program requiring an annual investment of about $22.5 billion, according to a new report by Pike Research.
The report by the cleantech market intelligence firm acknowledges that while the figures are impressive, they reflect the market potential for energy efficiency retrofits -- rather than the actual market, which under current conditions is a fraction of the potential.
"The building retrofit industry faces a number of key challenges," Pike Managing Director Clint Wheelock said in a statement accompanying the release of the report last week. "The current financial crisis has had a significant dampening effect on property owners' investments in their properties. Financing for such projects is scarce, and the limited investment in building efficiency is not keeping pace with the growing national demand for energy."
Private commercial buildings present the largest untapped opportunity for energy efficiency retrofits and account for nearly all existing commercial space, the research firm noted. In contrast, federal non-industrial buildings comprise less than 3 percent of existing commercial space, but major retrofits in federal facilities and other institutional buildings are far more likely to receive funding than projects outside the sector.
Read more: http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2010/07/29/commercial-building-retrofits-could-save-41b-year-study-says#ixzz0v7m2v212