Dive Brief:

• A report from a firm that specializes in helping companies find opportunities to create value says that rehabilitating and improving energy systems in existing buildings will generate spending of $959 billion from this year through 2023.
• Navigant's research arm bases the prediction partly on government regulations driving investment for more energy efficiency, but more on companies looking for ways to cut their expenses.
• The push, which involves much more existing space than is built every year, could be a large opportunity for contractors involved in HVAC upgrades, lighting, controls, water efficiency, water heating, building envelope refurbishing and power generation.

Dive Insight:

The largest market for retrofits will be the Asia Pacific region, Navigant Research said in its report, but demand is global. Building owners are less interested in projects with long paybacks than in ones on which they can recoup their investment relatively quickly.