Energy and Water Efficiency Ordinance

Announcements

The reporting deadline for the 2023/24 data cycle has now passed.

The City of Reno has partnered with other cities, counties, and private organizations under Building Decarbonization In-A-Box. Using the energy data you report, we will prioritize buildings eligible for technical and financial assistance and identify buildings that can benefit from cost-saving clean energy upgrades. Please register for our free webinar on the technical assistance program taking place on August 22nd, 2024 at 2:00pm.

An exemption for reporting water has been given to all covered properties for the 2024 reporting year (2023 tracking year).

Please see the new contact email listed on the Account Aggregation Request Form for NV Energy, also located in the Resources section at the bottom of this page.

Benchmarking is a free service that assesses the energy performance of your facilities compared to similar buildings. Our program representatives will track and score your actual energy usage based on your industry type and provide a detailed report along with valuable information on implementing energy-efficient technologies, including available financial incentives to lower project costs.

Program Details

In 2019, the City of Reno passed the Energy and Water Efficiency Program ordinance (RMC Chapter 14.30) which requires that the largest commercial buildings in Reno report their energy and water data to the city. The purpose of a benchmarking and transparency ordinance is to establish a program that encourages large commercial, institutional, and multifamily buildings to invest in energy efficiency to improve building performance, which will result in lower carbon emissions from the commercial building sector. Energy benchmarking is the process of measuring a building’s energy use over time. Benchmarking will give owners the information they need to identify opportunities to cut energy waste and understand how their building performs relative to similar buildings.

A benchmarking and transparency ordinance is a proven, local government intervention that results in decreased energy use and reduced carbon emissions. It will also assist the city with targeting sectors most in need of technical assistance, incentives, and training. This policy is a market-based tool designed to overcome barriers and create demand for energy efficiency improvements in commercial, institutional, and multifamily buildings.

Voluntary participation for buildings under the current minimum threshold and buildings owned by the State of Nevada or federal government are highly recommended to benchmark and join ReEnergize Reno.

How to Report Energy and Water Data to the City of Reno

First Determine if Your Property is Covered

Check to see if your property is on the Covered Property List (updated March 2024)

You must report to the program if your building falls under one of the following categories:

Covered city properties that:

Are owned, leased, and occupied by the City of Reno such that the City regularly pays all or part of the annual Energy and/or water bills; and

Have a total Gross Floor Area that equals or exceeds 10,000 square feet; and

All fire stations.

Covered local agency properties that:

Are owned by a local agency of the state, or political subdivision of the state, or other public entity and are not Covered City Properties; and

Have a total Gross Floor Area that equals or exceeds 30,000 square feet; and

Where the local agency of the state occupies and regularly pays all or part of the annual Energy and/or water bills of the property.

Covered public or private properties, other than covered city and covered local agency properties that have a total Gross Floor Area that equals or exceeds 30,000 square feet.

Covered Properties does not include:

Single family, duplex, triplex and fourplex residential homes and related accessory structures;

Properties owned or operated by a local agency of the state and subject to NRS 701.218;

Buildings used by any occupant, Tenant or Owner in any manner classified as industrial per designated Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes 20 through 39;

Buildings used by any occupant, Tenant or Owner in any manner classified as agricultural , per designated Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes 01 through 09;

Other building types not meeting the purpose of this Chapter, as determined by the Manager.

To qualify, the acute care hospital, children’s hospital, and medical buildings must occupy at least 50% of the total healthcare property. Acute care and children’s hospitals are facilities that typically provide a variety of services within the same building or among multiple buildings on a campus, including emergency medical care, physician’s office services, diagnostic care, ambulatory care, and surgical care.

Create an ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager Account

To benchmark energy and water use, building owners and facilities managers will use the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager (ESPM), an online tool designed to measure and track energy and water consumption. The Portfolio Manager gathers basic property information, building details such as gross floor area, and energy and water usage data. There are ongoing training opportunities available as well. Be sure to enter your building’s Parcel ID number under the Reno Standard ID’s section.

Share Your Profile with the City of Reno

Once you have created your building’s profile in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, and you have uploaded your data, you can then share your profile with the City of Reno.

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