Smart Buildings & Development

Driving the transition to smart and carbon neutral buildings that are healthy, efficient, and affordable.

Impact of Buildings

Buildings & Climate Change

Buildings consume energy and resources at an alarming rate. In fact, they are the largest source of GHG emissions in Clark County with 47.3% of County-wide GHG emissions coming from electricity and natural gas use in buildings and industry. As the frequency and intensity of extreme weather and temperatures increase due to climate change, demand will also increase for cool and safe spaces to protect people from the elements. This has led to a cycle of continual increases in energy usage and utility costs due to demand for cooling.  We need to break this cycle by scaling up renewables and improving efficiency.

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Credit: Springs Preserve / Las Vegas Valley Water District

Taking Action

Meeting Green Building Standards

Clark County is already making strides towards clean and efficient buildings. Did you know that 348 buildings in the County have earned LEED certification since 2009? LEED stands for Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design and is a common green building standard that provides a framework for healthy, efficient, carbon, and cost-saving green buildings.

Taking Action

Priortizing Efficiency

In order to continue Clark County's progress in the energy transition, we need to take immediate and aggressive action on efficiency. By 2050, all existing residential and commercial space will need to undergo deep efficiency upgrades. To monitor success, the County has set a goal of decreasing the average residential energy use intensity from 88 MMBtu/household in 2019 to 77 MMBtu/household by 2030.


Did you know? The average energy use for a single-family home in the Western U.S. is 74.1 MMBtu/Household. 

Leading by Example

Making Energy Upgrades Affordable

Sometimes, efficiency measures can have big up-front costs that prevent building owners from taking action. To solve this, the Cities of Las Vegas and Henderson created Energy Improvement Districts to allow commercial, industrial, and multifamily building owners to pay for energy efficiency and renewable energy through a Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program. PACE allows building owners to make energy upgrades without big up-front costs or loans and pay for the upgrades over a long period of time. Clark County is also developing a PACE program. These programs can serve as a model for other jurisdictions looking to promote creative financing mechanisms for energy projects.

Leading by Example

Energy Management

It's difficult to reduce energy use without knowledge of what's using the most energy. That's why Clark County started using a platform called EnergyCAP in 2021, a comprehensive energy management system that gives the County insight into its buildings’ energy use. Dashboards display energy use by location to help staff track and conserve energy and reduce emissions.

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Example of the data the County receives through the EnergyCAP Dashboard.

Our Pathway to Smart & Sustainable Development

Explore the goals, strategies, and actions in the All-In Community Plan. Use the dropdown table to see the progress we've made towards implementing each action!

Are you All In?

Save money at home by conserving energy.

Support our community's transition to clean and efficient energy use by taking steps to use less energy in your home or business. Learn more and get started with these resources!


Explore incentives to help your business go green
Install a free smart thermostat with the latest energy-efficient technology to reduce your enery bill and help the planet
See if you qualify for weatherization and energy saving assistance for low-income households
The Inflation Reduction Act provides rebates that can cover up to 100% of the costs of energy efficient appliances