Frank F. Fasi Municipal Building’s Energy Use Outperforms 97% of Office Buildings in the U.S.

Improvements across City facilities, police stations, and fire stations are making Honolulu one of the most energy efficient Cities in the U.S.

News Release from City and County of Honolulu, April 25, 2023

O‘AHU – Mayor Rick Blangiardi announced that, after substantial energy efficiency improvements, the Frank F. Fasi Municipal Building’s energy use outperforms 97% of office buildings in the United States, according to the EPA energy star portfolio that includes over 200,000 buildings. The Energy Star recognition comes after the City completed Phase 1 of its energy and water-saving Performance Contract at 10 municipal buildings, including the Fasi Building. During Construction of the improvements, the Fasi building saved 754,268 kWh of electricity and 990,922 gallons of water. Construction of the improvements at 10 City facilities was completed on time and on budget over a 24-month period.

Conservation measures installed throughout the City include more efficient lighting, air conditioning, transformers, and water fixture upgrades. According to the American Council for Energy Efficiency Economy (ACEEE) Honolulu was ranked #41 in 2020. The City’s conservation projects, along with its Climate Action policies, boosted Honolulu to #24 in 2022.

Ordinance 22-17 was signed into law by Mayor Blangiardi on July 20, 2022 to establish a Better Buildings Benchmarking Program. The program requires large commercial and multifamily buildings on Oʻahu to benchmark and report their energy and water usage annually. The City’s Department of Design and Construction led by example, and as defined in Ordinance 20-47, completing both the benchmarking and the implementation of recommended energy and water-saving improvements.

Phase 2 of the project is underway at 82 City facilities, including solar PV and various other conservation measures with details available at: www.sustainablehonolulu.com.

The $62 million in projects are fully paid for by the energy savings generated, creating more than $170 million of utility and operational savings to the City over the 20-year performance period.

“This is a fiscally responsible project that saves taxpayer dollars while creating good jobs and substantially, ensures more efficient and effective City operations, and reduces our carbon emissions,” said Mayor Rick Blangiardi.

As part of the contract, over 41,000 LED fixtures are being installed indoors and outdoors for City facilities, along with up to 9.3 megawatts of solar PV at over 60 facilities.  

The specific benefits for this project are measured over a 20-year period. After completion of all phases, the project is expected to:

Reduce utility bills for the affected facilities by approximately 50% through reduced energy consumption, water usage, and demand on utilities. Of the utility bill savings for the facilities in the project, 24% of the reduction is due to efficiency and 26% results from solar PV.

Reduce carbon emissions by 358,480 metric tons. According to the EPA Greenhouse gas equivalency calculator, this reduction is equivalent to planting 5.9 million tree seedlings that grow for 10 years to capture carbon or roughly 427,494 acres of forest.

Improve the quality and consistency of performance for all facility users in terms of lighting, irrigation, air conditioning, and other infrastructure that residents rely on.

The City procured an investment-grade audit to determine the best options and processes for reaching the above goals. In addition to yielding immediate and future benefits to the public, these projects won’t actually be paid for by City capital funds. Instead, they’ll be funded by future energy savings (calculated over several years), creating a win/win for current and future taxpayers.

The energy improvement projects include:

• Interior & exterior LED light conversions
• Rooftop photovoltaic (solar) panels with roofing repairs
• Carport-mounted photovoltaic panels that provide shade for parking
• Electric Vehicles
• Electric Vehicle charging stations
• Energy storage systems such as batteries
• Plumbing fixture replacements (high-efficiency toilets, faucets)
• Air conditioning & ventilation improvements with digital controls
• High-efficiency transformer installations
• Plug load controllers (conserves energy during idle times)

Working in tandem, the Department of Design and Construction and Department of Facility Maintenance collaborated with other City partners to pull together the Request for Proposals, identify the most beneficial energy conservation measures, and select the Contractor, Johnson Controls, who is implementing the projects. “Public-private partnerships have emerged as an important tool to drive up efficiency, drive down costs and replace aging equipment all while taking climate action,” said Haku Milles, of the City’s Department of Design and Construction.

—PAU—