Blackwell 2

How does Blackwell 2 compare with other office buildings in Montgomery County?

The latest disclosures cover 414 office buildings in Montgomery County, out of 1,766 buildings citywide. Blackwell 2's ENERGY STAR score of 92 compares with an average of 63 across the 325 that report a score; it scores higher than 92% of them and lower than 6%. Its site EUI of 32.8 kBtu/ft² is about half of the average of 66.5 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group.

At 183,210 sq ft, it is about 38% above the average floor area of 132,356 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1995, 8 years later than the group's average year built (1987). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 15,264 office buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 73 and a site EUI of 59.3 kBtu/ft².

How has Blackwell 2's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 2 Montgomery County disclosures for Blackwell 2, covering report years 2023–2024. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 73 in 2023 to 92 in 2024 (+19 points). Site EUI moved from 48.9 kBtu/ft² (2023) to 32.8 kBtu/ft² (2024), a 33% decrease. Reported emissions went from 802 tCO₂e to 519 tCO₂e over the same span (down 35%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 92 mean?

ENERGY STAR scores run from 1 to 100 and are computed by the EPA's Portfolio Manager as a percentile against similar buildings nationwide, adjusted for climate, size and use: a score of 92 means the building performs better than about 92% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 92 falls in band A — high performer (85–100). Scores of 75 or higher meet the threshold for ENERGY STAR certification; certification itself is a separate, verified application that the disclosure does not record. In Montgomery County, 53% of scored buildings are at 75 or above.

Site energy-use intensity (EUI) is the energy a building uses on site in a year divided by its floor area, in thousand Btu per square foot — lower is more efficient. Blackwell 2's 32.8 kBtu/ft² across 183,210 sq ft works out to about 6 billion Btu (1,761 MWh-equivalent) in 2024. Its source EUI of 89.5 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 1,689,816 kWh of electricity and 2,477 therms of natural gas for the year.

Which law requires Blackwell 2 to report its energy use?

Blackwell 2 reports under the Benchmarking Law (Bill 2-14) / BEPS (Bill 16-21), the legal basis of Montgomery County's Commercial Building Energy Benchmarking program, which publishes each covered building's annual benchmarking results. The record shown here is the report-year 2024 disclosure (source record montgomery_county:3928072:2024). Montgomery County's BEPS (Bill 16-21; regulations approved in 2025) sets declining site-EUI standards for buildings of 25,000+ sq ft, with interim and then final standards later this decade and into the 2030s depending on building type.