Rochester Pledges to Reduce Energy Use 20%

For the past several years, the city of Rochester has been working on going green.  From the green roof on city hall, to lighting upgrades in many of the parking garages, Rochester has found ways to save energy. 

Anne Spaulding, Rochester's Senior Environmental Specialist says, "we're doing some HVAC upgrades and building envelope upgrades." 

Now city leaders are getting some help, not in the form of money, but in the form of support. 

Rochester has joined the department of energy's better buildings challenge to reduce energy use by 20% in the next 8 years. 

"This is really a good way to showcase our efforts and also get some technical assistance from the department of energy," says Spaulding.  

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, commercial buildings and industrial plants account for 50% of our country's energy use and 40% of our CO2 emissions.  

Rochester will be sharing ideas with other cities and learning new ways to cut back on wasted energy. 

"Part of what the Department of Energy would like its partners to do is reach out to the community and encourage other entities to follow suit and reduce energy consumption as well," says Spaulding.