Hillsboro Building Performance Standard

More people work in Hillsboro than live in it. Intel alone employs roughly 22,300 people across three campuses — Ronler Acres, Jones Farm, and Hawthorn Farm — inside the Hillsboro Technology Park. Add Qorvo, Genentech, Thermo Fisher, Tokyo Electron America, and the dense cluster of chip fabs, biotech labs, and R&D office buildings that makes up the Silicon Forest, and Hillsboro has one of the most energy-intensive commercial building portfolios in the Pacific Northwest — by a wide margin.

That concentration changes the BPS compliance math in Hillsboro. Most cities have a diversified mix of covered buildings. Hillsboro has a commercial landscape dominated by semiconductor manufacturing, biotech R&D, and the mixed-use tech corridor at AmberGlen/Tanasbourne. The Oregon Building Performance Standard applies to all of it.

Hillsboro Commercial Data

Metric	Figure
City population (2026)	~108,900
Jobs based in Hillsboro	~87,000+
County	Washington
Electric utility	Portland General Electric (PGE)
Anchor employer	Intel (~22,300 employees)
Largest district	Hillsboro Industrial District / Technology Park
Mixed-use tech corridor	AmberGlen / Tanasbourne (~1,200 acres)
Renewable electricity coverage	~66% community; 100% city ops
Climate target	60% reduction in building energy intensity by 2030

Hillsboro’s climate plan is unusual in Oregon. The city achieved a 20 percent reduction in building energy intensity by 2016 — four years ahead of its original schedule — and then committed to 60 percent by 2030. That means local policy pressure is aligned with state BPS pressure, and it means Hillsboro building owners face a higher baseline expectation for energy performance than owners in less aggressive cities.

Which Hillsboro Buildings Are Covered

Oregon BPS under ORS 330-300 applies to commercial buildings 35,000 square feet and larger with narrow statutory exemptions. In Hillsboro that means:

• Intel’s office, R&D, and administrative buildings — The fabs themselves have some process-load exemptions, but office, lab support, and campus buildings are captured in a typical interpretation. Building-by-building analysis is required to scope exactly what’s in and out.
• Qorvo, Genentech, Thermo Fisher, and Tokyo Electron campus buildings — Same logic: office, lab, and support buildings are in scope
• AmberGlen / Tanasbourne office towers — The 1.25 million sq ft of office space in the Tanasbourne corridor contains multiple buildings individually captured
• Orenco Station mixed-use retail and office — Award-winning transit-oriented development; larger buildings captured
• Tuality / Kaiser / Providence medical office buildings — Healthcare facilities operating in Hillsboro
• Retail anchors and shopping centers — Including the larger pads along Cornell and TV Highway
• Hotels serving the Silicon Forest business traveler base
• Warehouse, logistics, and distribution facilities — Including the newer e-commerce logistics buildings
• Larger multifamily buildings — Orenco Station and AmberGlen multifamily stock

If you run facilities at a Hillsboro corporate campus, the highest-value early conversation is usually which buildings in your portfolio are individually captured and which can be treated as support infrastructure to a process-exempt fab.

The Technical Scope of the Audit

ASHRAE Level 2 energy audits under Oregon’s BPS framework follow ASHRAE Standard 100 with Oregon amendments. For Hillsboro tech buildings the scope typically covers envelope performance, HVAC and chilled water systems, server and process cooling loads (where applicable), lighting and controls, plug and process loads, and domestic hot water. The audit includes on-site measurement, energy modeling, and a life-cycle cost assessment on every recommended energy conservation measure — then a compliance-ready Form Q package for submission to the Oregon Department of Energy.

For a straightforward 45,000 square foot Hillsboro office, four to six weeks from kickoff to delivered report is realistic. For a 150,000 square foot mixed-use building or a complex campus with interconnected systems, budget longer.

The Incentive Stack

Energy Trust of Oregon offers up to $0.85 per square foot in incentives for BPS-related audit and early-action work. For a 100,000 square foot Hillsboro office, that’s $85,000 in available Energy Trust dollars — roughly six times our flat audit fee. PGE also runs its own commercial efficiency rebate programs on specific equipment categories that can stack on top of Energy Trust. For large tech clients we coordinate directly with PGE’s commercial services team on eligible measures, because the savings potential on chiller plant, HVAC, and controls upgrades in tech buildings routinely runs into seven figures over the measure lifetime.

Flat Fee Schedule

• 35,000–50,000 sq ft — $7,500
• 50,000–75,000 sq ft — $10,000
• 75,000–100,000 sq ft — $13,500
• 100,000–150,000 sq ft — $17,500
• 150,000+ sq ft — custom scoped quote

The fee is fixed the day we agree on scope. No hourly creep. No contingency off claimed savings. No percentage games.

Hillsboro-Specific Building Types We Serve

• Semiconductor fab support buildings (office, lab, clean room support infrastructure)
• Biotech and life sciences R&D buildings
• Corporate headquarters and R&D office towers
• AmberGlen / Tanasbourne mixed-use office buildings
• Medical office and clinic buildings
• Retail anchors in the Tanasbourne / Orenco corridor
• Warehouse and distribution centers
• Hotels and lodging
• Multifamily buildings above the threshold

2028 Is Closer Than It Looks

For a Silicon Forest corporate client with multiple buildings in scope, starting the audit engagement in 2026 is the right call. Portfolio-scale audits take longer to schedule, the scoping discussions with ODOE on process-load exemptions take time, and the sheer density of qualifying buildings in Hillsboro means the pool of available ASHRAE-credentialed auditors will tighten significantly as the deadline approaches. Early movers also capture the full Energy Trust incentive rather than whatever remains after the late-cycle rush.

Email Mike at vanvicklebros@gmail.com with your Hillsboro building or portfolio details for a flat quote and a read on PGE/Energy Trust stacking. You can also review our pricing schedule or start with our guide on how to determine if your Oregon building must comply.