2013
The Kilowatt Crackdown, an energy conservation initiative, challenged the Greater Minneapolis & St. Paul Commercial Real Estate Communities to improve their building's energy efficiency. Buildings were pitted against each other to compete for The Kilowatt Cup ('Best in Show'), Highest Performing Building, Most Improved Building and Most Valuable Tenant Awards. The Building Owners and Managers Associations of Greater Minneapolis and St. Paul ('BOMA') and Xcel Energy launched the first Twin Cities Kilowatt Crackdown in 2011. A total of 86 buildings in the Twin Cities participated, saving more than 13 million kilowatt hours of electricity. Using the Environmental Protection Agency's equivalency tool, the savings equate to a reduction of more than 9,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide, or taking 1,800 vehicles off the road. It's also enough electricity to power more than 1,100 homes in a year.