The U.S. Department of Energy recently announced that it delivered on the Congressional mandate for cutting emissions from new/newly renovated federal buildings, according to a news release.
This rule, entitled the Clean Energy for New Federal Buildings and Major Renovations of Federal Buildings Rule, implements the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007, requiring federal agencies to phase out fossil fuel use in new federal building construction or major renovation. That will be accomplished by achieving a 90 percent decrease in fossil fuel use for any new projects started between the fiscal years 2025 and 2029, aiming for complete removal of fossil fuel usage in new projects by 2030.
The rule, while working in tandem with Executive Order 14057 and the other Federal Sustainability plan actions, will strengthen the advancement towards achieving net-zero emissions by 2045. Over the next 30 years, the DOE estimates that this rule will decrease carbon emissions from federal buildings by two million metric tons and methane emissions by 16,000 tons.
Supplemental guidelines will be issued by the DOE’s Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) to provide agencies paths for compliance. The DOE FEMP will also be providing support for agencies through resources, grant funding opportunities, training and technical assistance.
Jeff Wardon, Jr. is the assistant editor for the facilities market.
