The U.S. cities with the most energy efficient buildings
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Who doesn’t enjoy a good list? And everyone likes energy efficiency, right? Then we’ve got just the thing.
The Environmental Protection Agency recently released a list of the U.S. cities with the most ENERGY STAR certified buildings. By the end of 2011, all of the country’s nearly 16,500 ENERGY STAR certified buildings will have helped save nearly $2.3 billion in annual energy bills and prevented greenhouse gas emissions equal to the annual energy use emissions of more than 1.5 million homes, according to the EPA.
We asked you the week of April 30 what you thought were the cities with the most Energy Star certified buildings. We think we had a hometown bias, with Charlotte leading the way at 27 percent of the vote and Cincinnati coming in a close second at 23 percent. Four percent of you selected the correct city, Los Angeles.
We’ve provided a quick rundown below, and the full list is here. Also, if you don’t live in one of these areas, ENERGY STAR also has a search function that allows readers to locate ENERGY STAR certified buildings near you.
No. 10 – Boston; Beantown has the oldest major league baseball facility in Fenway Park, probably not the most energy efficient, but the Massachusetts capital makes its first appearance because of its 161 ENERGY STAR certified buildings.
No. 9 – Riverside, Calif.; The 12th largest city in California with just about 304,000 residents, Riverside, located in southern California, sneaks past Boston as a first timer in the ENERGY STAR top 10 with 164.
No. 8 – Dallas-Ft. Worth; Really, really hot? Sure. And the Dallas Cowboys have a colossal home in nearby Arlington – the largest domed stadium in the world – but the Dallas area is also a leader in ENERGY STAR certified buildings, with 178.
No. 7 – Houston; Don’t mess with Texas, as the Lone Star State adds the energy capital of the United States to its list of accomplishments with two cities in the Top 10, back-to-back, with Houston at 231.
No. 6 – New York; It’s the city so nice they named it twice. While all eyes lately have been on the progress of 1 World Trade Center, New York has 261 other buildings that are ENERGY STAR certified.
No. 5 – San Francisco; Sure, San Francisco has a nice bridge, and cable cars seem pretty energy efficient. But, one of the country’s more progressive cities is a regular near the top of the ENERGY STAR buildings list with 270.
No. 4 – Chicago; The city with arguably the best skyline has made sure it is dotted with energy efficient buildings, as Chicago is a regular in the ENERGY STAR Top 5 and stays there in 2011 with 294.
No. 3 – Atlanta; Atlanta is sneaky big, isn’t it? One of the busiest airports in the world, host of the Olympic Games, and a lot of ENERGY STAR buildings, with 359. Traffic? That’s another list.
No. 2 – Washington, D.C.; The nation’s capital practices its energy efficiency preaching and has the second-most ENERGY STAR buildings (three years running) in the country at 404.
No. 1 – Los Angeles; The perennial No. 1 on this list, LA had 659 ENERGY STAR certified buildings in 2011. Sure, the EPA gives the City of Angels an F for air quality, but at least they’re trying.