Green Carrot Incentivizes More Efficient Buildings; Will Owners and Utilities Bite?

Felicity Barringer looks at an innovative program being tested in Seattle to incentivize commercial property owners to undertake major energy efficiency retrofits. A partnership between skeptical building owners, investors, and utilities is key.

1 minute read

June 20, 2013, 5:00 AM PDT

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj


As Barringer explains, 'deep retrofits' are a hard sell to the owners of older, smaller commercial buildings, "which, according to a new report [PDF], account for 47 percent of all commercial real estate outside the world of malls."

"In a new twist, some investors, a technology company, a municipal utility and an environmentally oriented foundation have joined forces to show that major energy-efficiency improvements in commercial buildings may provide alluring new revenue to all involved."

"The basic plan intends to ensure that utilities lose none of the revenue that supports their fixed costs — wires and other infrastructure — while allowing them access to a new power source," she explains. "The energy not used by Bullitt or any other building is purchased by the utility in a 30-year contract, just as if they were purchasing hydropower or coal-fired electricity."

"The utility was not easy to convince," she adds. "As 'Disruptive Challenges,' a recent report [PDF] from the Edison Electric Institute shows, the industry is getting increasingly nervous about its long-term ability to finance its infrastructure costs in a new world of efficiency and renewable energy."

"As Jorge Carrasco, the superintendent of Seattle City Light, explained it, any utility executive must think 'about what does this new approach do from a financial standpoint to an entity that makes its living by selling energy?'"

Tuesday, June 18, 2013 in The New York Times

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Green vintage Chicago streetcar from the 1940s parked at the Illinois Railroad Museum in 1988.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails

Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

July 13, 2025 - WTTV

Blue and silver Amtrak train with vibrant green and yellow foliage in background.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail

The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

July 14, 2025 - Smart Cities Dive

Worker in yellow safety vest and hard hat looks up at servers in data center.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power

Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

July 18 - Inside Climate News

Former MARTA CEO Collie Greenwood standing in front of MARTA HQ with blurred MARTA sign visible in background.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns

MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

July 18 - WABE

Rendering of proposed protected bikeway in Santa Clara, California.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant

A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.

July 17 - San José Spotlight