Federal Courthouses Compete in National Energy Competition

A New Jersey federal courthouse placed in the top 10 of biggest losers in a national competition—and that’s good news. By reducing its energy needs by 37 percent over the last year, the Martin Luther King Jr. Courthouse in Newark was a winner in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s Energy Star National Building Competition. In 2012, more than 3,000 buildings competed to save energy and money.

For the Newark courthouse, improving the efficiency of heating and cooling equipment and sealing the building envelope, including fixing leaky windows, helped save $51,401 last year. Additionally, six federal courthouses that entered the 2012 Energy Star competition reduced their energy consumption by 20 percent or more: the Pierre Federal Courthouse, Pierre, South Dakota (28.9%); the Howard M. Metzenbaum U.S. Courthouse, Cleveland, Ohio (26.7%); the E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse, Washington, DC (21.9%); the Thomas Foley U.S. Courthouse, Spokane, Washington (23.4%); the Nathaniel R. Jones Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, Youngstown, Ohio (20.4%); and the U.S. Post Office and Courthouse, Batesville, Arkansas (20.1%). The total cost savings from energy reductions at these federal courthouses was $564,100 for the year.

This was the third year EPA has conducted the Energy Star National Building Competition. More than 30 different types of commercial buildings from all 50 states, two U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia entered the 2012 competition. All competitors tracked their monthly energy consumption using EPA’s online energy tracking tool. Winners demonstrated the largest percentage reduction in energy use, adjusted for weather and the size of the building when compared to a 2011 calendar year baseline. Competitors saved a combined total of $50 million on utility bills, reducing annual greenhouse gas emissions equal to the electricity used by more than 43,000 homes.

View competing courthouses. More information can be learned about each court by clicking over the yellow pins.