The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced support for energy-saving commercial building projects as part of an ongoing effort by DOE to improve the energy efficiency of buildings in the United States. With money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, DOE’s national laboratories will select and fund technical experts to provide technical guidance to commercial building owners and operators. The goal of this Commercial Building Partnerships (CBP) initiative is to increase the energy efficiency of selected new and existing buildings.

They are asking building owners, developers, tenants, and operators to submit project proposals for new and existing energy-efficient buildings. Online applications are due by 3:00 p.m. Eastern on May 10, 2010.

CBP targets actual, measured energy savings of over 50% for new construction and 30% for existing buildings when compared to currently established baselines. The strategies and technologies used to achieve these savings will be documented and shared to help improve the efficiency of all U.S. commercial buildings.

I expect more of these to come.