2007 Energy Bill Promotes High-Performance Buildings

Congress passed and President Bush signed the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 in December. With it, the green building community saw progress in several areas, including energy- and water- efficiency standards for appliances, carbon-reduction goals for federal buildings, and programs designed to promote high-performance commercial buildings. Under a veto threat from President Bush, however, other green building items were stripped from the bill.

Among the more aggressive provisions in the bill is one requiring new federal buildings to meet the goals of the 2030 Challenge, an initiative championed by the nonprofit group Architecture 2030 (see EBN Vol. 15, No. 12 for more on the challenge). By 2010, new buildings must use 55% less fossil fuel-generated energy than comparable buildings used in 2003; by 2030, buildings must achieve net-zero-energy use. The federal government followed the lead of local governments and trade associations that have already adopted these goals, according to Ed Mazria, AIA, of Architecture 2030. “They didn’t want to be left behind the public perception of what needs to happen in the building sector,” he said of the federal government.

The provision that requires federal buildings to meet these requirements allows the secretary of energy to exempt a building from the 2030 targets if he or she believes the targets are “technically impracticable” for that building. But it also requires the secretary of energy to choose a certification system and level of certification that would be the “most likely to encourage a comprehensive and environmentally sound approach to certification of green buildings.” The U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Rating System, already in use by the General Services Administration and other federal agencies, would be a strong candidate if and when the secretary of energy sought out a system.

The legislation also calls for a director of high-performance green buildings to promote research and development, and creates a Net-Zero-Energy Commercial Buildings Initiative. It authorizes funding for the initiative that grows from $20 million in 2008 to $200 million in 2013, and extends that funding through 2018. Funding for the initiative, however, was not included in the omnibus appropriations bill passed in 2007.

Among the many new appliance standards in the bill are the first-ever federal water-efficiency standards for dishwashers and clothes washers. Under the new law, standard dishwashers manufactured after January 1, 2010, will be limited to 6.5 gallons (25 l) per cycle, and clothes washers manufactured after January 1, 2011, will not be allowed to exceed a water factor of 9.5. The law also directs the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to set more stringent standards for dishwashers and clothes washers that would take effect in 2015 and 2018, respectively (see Appliances).

Also included in the bill are energy-efficiency standards for lightbulbs of many varieties. The most significant of these are the standards for “general service lamps,” or those that fit into standard screw-base fixtures. By 2014, lamps must be 30% more efficient than average lamps on the market in 2007; this provision effectively bans conventional incandescent lamps, but compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) would meet the standards. A high-performance incandescent lamp from General Electric, targeted for release by 2010, would also likely meet the standards. The bill also calls for DOE to further increase the efficiency standards for lamps, making them up to 70% more efficient than today’s lamps by 2020.

The lamp standards are subject to a DOE rulemaking process, which has led to long delays in the past for other energy-efficiency standards, according to Jim Presswood, an energy advocate at the Natural Resources Defense Council. However, since the legislation has already set the standard, “we’re optimistic that DOE will be able to move on this in a reasonable period of time,” said Presswood.

The final bill does not include several provisions that environmental groups and green building leaders lobbied for. Among these were tax incentives for renewable energy, energy-efficient buildings, and appliances that first appeared in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005; see EBN Vol. 14, No. 9). Congressional leaders are looking for ways to pass the tax incentives into law, however, because “they are so key to getting market penetration of green building technologies,” Presswood said. In addition, Tom Meyer, executive director of the Green Mechanical Council, noted during a presentation at the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) conference in January 2008 that commissioning requirements were struck from an early version of the bill partly because congressional staffers were not sure what commissioning is.

Another provision stripped from the bill was a renewable electricity standard that would have required electricity retailers to aquire 15% of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020. Although this provision was passed by the House, it was rejected by the Senate and did not make it into the final bill.

Despite the missing tax incentives and compromises in the bill, the environmental community appears to see it as a success. According to Mazria, the bill “was really groundbreaking, and I think it will have a huge ripple effect throughout the building industry.”

– Allyson Wendt

For more information:

To access the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (H.R. 6), visit:
http://thomas.loc.gov and search for bill “H.R. 6.”

American Council for an Energy- Efficient Economy
Washington, D.C.
202-429-8873
www.aceee.org (Click on “Energy Policy” for a summary of H.R. 6)

February 1, 2008

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