The Smart Buildings Center is a proud partner of the BEACON project and is celebrating the successes of the first cohort, we’re happy to join with Commerce in celebrating this historic moment.

On Friday, March 13, BEACON fellows, Climate Corps fellows, and BEACON and Climate Corps partners gathered in Bellevue to celebrate the end of the first cohort of BEACON fellows. Thank you to PSE for hosting this incredible group.

BEACON fellows presented on the highlights, successes, and lessons learned from their 10-month fellowships. They reflected on the technical support they provided to building owners, the sustainability projects they supported at their host sites, the relationships they built with utility providers, and the presentations they gave to local community groups.

Over the past 10 months, BEACON fellows conducted outreach to almost 200 unique entities and served 130 building owners and more than 400 buildings across 17 counties. Services included providing CBPS education, Clean Buildings Portal support, energy benchmarking services, energy management planning, operations and maintenance program support, and exemption and incentive application assistance.

BEACON fellows officially end their fellowships on March 31. With this date just on the horizon, project partners also shared words of encouragement for what’s next as fellows start their own job search.

As a reminder, BEACON Project partners are currently working to secure funding to stand up a second cohort of BEACON fellows, and there will be a gap in services between the first and second cohort. An announcement will be made when no-cost BEACON support resumes with a second cohort of fellows.

Meantime, you can receive ongoing no-cost CBPS support through the Commerce Clean Buildings Team and Smart Buildings Center Clean Buildings Help Desk.

This article originally shared via the Building Performance Association

The Energy Efficiency Jobs in America report offers more than national trends. It also includes easy-to-use, state-by-state data that shows how the energy efficiency workforce is growing across the country. This information can be helpful for nonprofits looking to understand local job trends and the impact of clean energy work in their communities.

Energy efficiency continues to be the largest part of the U.S. clean energy workforce. In 2024, the industry added nearly 100,000 jobs nationwide and grew by 4%, making it the fastest-growing energy sector. This growth reflects ongoing investments at the state and local level.

We encourage you to check out your state’s data to see how these trends show up locally. The data can support program planning, grant applications, reporting, and partnerships as nonprofits work to create jobs, strengthen communities, and expand access to energy efficiency solutions.

Explore the Report

Where Does Your State Rank?

If you haven’t checked it out yet, our report includes state-specific data, including total jobs per state, business sizes, total number of EE businesses, percentage of veterans, and more.

Top 5 States by Total EE Employment:

1. California: 312,090
2. Texas: 182,506
3. New York: 135,393
4. Florida: 132,060
5. Illinois: 89,878

Find Your State

Washington and Oregon

2025 Building Potential-Year in Review final

2025 was a year of meaningful impact and expanded reach for Building Potential and the Smart Buildings Center. Across programs, partnerships, and services, we deepened our role as a trusted resource for the building industry while supporting owners, operators, and practitioners in meeting energy and performance goals.

The Smart Buildings Exchange (SBX) continued to be a cornerstone of our programming, drawing more than 300 attendees across the annual virtual series and over 200 registrants for the fall conference. In addition, 70 industry groups leveraged the Smart Buildings Center’s free event space as a regional hub for collaboration, education, and knowledge sharing.

Our direct technical support services delivered measurable results. The City of Seattle Benchmarking Help Desk held 318 video calls and responded to 2,112 inquiries, contributing to an exceptional 98% compliance rate citywide. Building on this success, the Clean Buildings Help Desk expanded statewide, providing free benchmarking and compliance support to buildings navigating Washington’s Clean Buildings Performance Standard. Meanwhile, the Tool Lending Library supported hands-on building improvements, with 585 tools checked out over the course of the year.

Education and workforce development remained central to our mission. More than 500 participants engaged in the Qualified Energy Manager (QEM) Program, building capacity and capability for CBPS compliance. The Building Operator Certification (BOC) program also saw significant success, with over 650 students earning a BOC credential in 2025—an achievement that reflects both the dedication of participants and the strength of the program’s instruction and support.

Through education, technical assistance, and partnerships, we continued to advance energy efficiency, workforce development, and building performance outcomes—positioning the organization for continued success in the year ahead.