ProLogis has announced that it will participate in a new, national study sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to speed market adoption of current technologies and design solutions that yield significant, measurable energy savings for commercial buildings.

In July 2008, the DOE solicited proposals from national laboratories to achieve cost-effective energy savings of 50 percent above ASHRAE Standard 90.1- 2004 for new commercial building designs and 30 percent for retrofits to existing buildings.

The labs targeted some of the biggest names in retailing, commercial real estate and financial institutions as partners in the study. ProLogis was included in the proposal from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), one of the nation's leading laboratories for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development.

The DOE estimates that approximately $15 million will be available for these projects over the next three to five years. In addition to ProLogis, Best Buy, Target, John Deere, Whole Foods, CB Richard Ellis, Westfield LLC and Bank of America were among those selected for the study, which will be led by NREL and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL).

"We are pleased to be working with ProLogis in concert with the Department's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory on this ambitious project to improve the energy efficiency of our nation's commercial buildings," said Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman.

"Working in partnership with these companies, DOE can achieve its goals of reducing energy use and carbon emissions while setting an example other commercial building owners can follow."

"ProLogis is honored to take an active role in this initiative to assess our warehouse design with the goal of improving energy efficiency," said Jack Rizzo, ProLogis managing director of global construction.

"We plan to work closely with the team to identify technologies, design elements and energy reduction goals that are beyond 'business as usual' but still economically feasible. We believe this project will give not only the DOE insight as to where building technology is heading, but also will provide ProLogis with a better understanding of the impacts of these changes and an ability to be on the cutting-edge in terms of energy efficiency. This will help our customers reduce operating costs and help them achieve their environmental goals."

As part of the study, ProLogis will actively work with NREL to review typical warehouse design specifications and enhancements using computer-run simulations that identify the impacts of design and technology changes on energy use.

Through this exercise, ProLogis and NREL will be able to better understand which specific modifications can lead to significant improvements in energy efficiency in new warehouse and retrofit buildings.