City Of St. Louis Park: City Offers Cost Share For Building Operator Certification Training

Press release from the City of St. Louis Park:

October 21, 2021

The City of St. Louis Park is offering cost share funds for St. Louis Park property owners who pay for their building operators to attend Building Operator Certification (BOC) training. This workforce development training for commercial, industrial and multifamily building employees focuses on efficient building operations, saving owners money and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The nationally accredited and widely recognized BOC training is offered by the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance. Typical participants include building engineers, maintenance personnel, HVAC technicians and electricians. The comprehensive training helps building operators increase energy efficiency, reduce operating costs and improve safety. Training also includes information on the newest energy technology available and best practices from experts in the field.

Two training programs are offered: BOC level 1 training and BOC multifamily training. Cost share funding is available for each.

Geared mainly towards large building operators, BOC level 1 training is a great resource for those operating buildings over 50,000 square feet that are required to annually report energy and water use under the city’s Efficient Building Benchmarking ordinance. Designed to make buildings more energy efficient by developing awareness of building energy and water use, the submitted data helps identify areas for improvement. The BOC training will further help facilities staff ensure HVAC, electric and lighting systems, among others, work efficiently.

The cost share is available for St. Louis Park property owners who pay for their building operators to attend BOC level 1 training and pass the certification exam. The standard cost share for the BOC level 1 training is $100. A $150 cost share will be awarded to building owners whose BOC-certified workers are from traditionally underrepresented groups. Additional $500 rebates are available from both CenterPoint Energy and Xcel Energy, reducing the training cost substantially from $1,200 down to $100 or $50 for property owners.

A $100 cost share is also available for St. Louis Park multifamily property owners who pay for their building operators to attend BOC multifamily training. This cost share will cover two-thirds of the cost of participation. The training is ideal for building personnel with experience working in multifamily buildings with 20 or more units.

St. Louis Park building personnel can sign up for the next BOC level 1 training or BOC multifamily training at Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance when courses are available. To take advantage of the cost share, building owners can submit the form online

Learn more about the Building Operations Champion Cost Share program.

This press release was produced by the City of St. Louis Park. The views expressed here are the author’s own.