Since 2012, BPA’s Portland headquarters has participated in the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star certification program. This year, the headquarters building earned a rating of 95 out of 100, which indicates that the Portland facility is more energy efficient than 95% of comparable buildings across the United States.  

Built in 1987, the 527,000 square foot headquarters is used primarily as office space, with small portions dedicated to a cafeteria and data center.   

From fiscal year 2018 to 2019, BPA reduced the building's combined electricity and natural gas consumption by 597,276 kBtu. Recent interior and exterior lighting upgrades contributed to the significant energy savings. BPA also continues to virtualize operating systems and upgrade server platforms, drastically reducing energy use associated with data storage and network maintenance. 

In addition, BPA Utility Management Program staff conducts quarterly nighttime walkthroughs to identify and correct any systems that fail to shut down properly while the building is largely unoccupied.

“Headquarters has a lot of expert eyes on it," explained Jen Hollenbeck, BPA energy management engineer. “Between the facilities staff, data center experts and energy efficiency engineers stationed here, there are plenty of people invested in getting this building running at its best." 

To qualify for Energy Star certification, groups across the agency completed a rigorous reporting and auditing process of headquarters' energy consumption. The Utility Management Team submitted monthly totals of electricity and natural gas consumption, and BPA Data Center Operations reported energy used by their equipment. BPA then verified the data with a building audit conducted by a licensed engineer from the facilities management group. To ensure Energy Star received accurate figures, the audit team double-checked building plans, mechanical systems and utility meters.

The Sustainability Office, Workplace Services and the Data Center Operations teams collaborated to complete the lengthy certification application and respond to follow-up inquiries from Energy Star. BPA received notice of a successful application on April 6 – just in time for Earth Day on April 22.

“Tracking and managing energy consumption at Portland headquarters is a sound asset management practice," said Steve Capps, director of Workplace Services. “It enables us to identify potential problems early, reduces our operating expenses and optimizes building life cycle. I'm incredibly proud of this Energy Star certification and all the hard work and collaboration across teams that made it happen."