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Integrated Building Design Plus

Build smart and save big

Qualifying building owners, architectural and engineering firms, and developers can participate in our free Integrated Building Design Plus program that puts energy efficiency at the forefront of plans for new construction. Business owners can:

  • Qualify for significant rebates that will offset the cost of more efficient materials and equipment.
  • Reduce equipment maintenance and replacement costs since more efficient equipment may have a longer production life.
  • Achieve significant savings in long-term energy and maintenance costs. 

Phases and incentives

  • Computer modeling of design alternatives
    This program includes individual strategy modeling and schematic description of selected strategy concepts. It packages these strategies and analyzes them for their net impact on your building's energy use.
  • Design-team reimbursements
    While design teams often are interested in exploring energy-saving alternatives, typical fee structures provide little room for analyzing alternatives. This program offers financial reimbursement to help compensate design-team members for their time to participate in this process.
  • Construction incentives
    Once a package of strategies has been identified, we use the State of Minnesota Energy Code as the baseline for energy-savings analysis and offer financial incentives for qualifying energy-efficiency measures. 
  • Construction document review
    A design assistance consultant reviews the construction documents to ensure that the plans reflect the modeled intent.
  • Energy-efficiency measurement and verification
    After construction is completed, we'll review operations in the areas affected by the energy-efficiency strategies to provide feedback to the owners, design team, and modelers on the as-built results. 

When to start

The design phase offers the greatest opportunity to affect the energy use of your new building. To participate in our Integrated Building Design Plus program, contact us at the start of your design process.

Qualifications

  • Minimum project size: 5,000 square feet (pending additional qualifications)
  • Project location: Otter Tail Power Company Minnesota service area
  • Customer type: Otter Tail Power Company commercial or industrial customer
  • Initial utility contact: Schematic or early design development
  • Required energy savings: 5% beyond a baseline building 

Application process

  1. Fill out our online application and submit it online or return your hard copy to an Energy Expert on our staff.
  2. We'll conduct an initial review of your application. If you qualify for our Integrated Building Design Plus program, we'll be in touch with detailed information about the next steps in the process. 

Enhanced Energy Design Assistance

If you're committed to maximizing energy savings and have an interest in recognition for your efforts, consider the Enhanced Energy Design track of this program. To qualify, you must be enrolled in one of the following programs prior to formation of conceptual design plans and application to our Integrated Building Design Plus program:

Enhanced Energy Design projects must meet or exceed 20% projected energy savings over baseline conditions to qualify for energy-efficiency incentives. 

More information

Take advantage of significant incentives and long-term savings by building energy efficiency into your new-construction project. Call our Idea Center at 800-493-3299 or contact an Energy Expert for more information about our Integrated Building Design Plus program and/or about ENERGY STAR, LEED, or Green Globes.