The US Department of Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) released their first technical report showing that a 50% reduction in energy is possible in certain types of commercial buildings. The reports show techniques used to achieve this level of improvement in all climate zones in the country, when compared to the ASHRAE 90.1-2004 standards, in medium sized retail buildings and in grocery stores. This report supports the DOE’s goal of producing market-ready net-zero energy commercial buildings by 2025. This also follows the August 2008 introduction of the Net-Zero Energy Commercial Building Initiative which was part of the new energy bill that year. For more information visit http://appsq.eere.gov/news/progress_alerts.cfm/pa_id=126.