The United States Department of Energy (DOE) has decided to mandate federal agencies to construct only fossil fuel-free buildings starting 2030.
“DOE estimates that over the next 30 years, the new rule will reduce carbon emissions from federal buildings by 2 million metric tons and methane emissions by 16 thousand tons—an amount roughly equivalent to the emissions generated by nearly 310,000 homes in one year, while also reducing infrastructure costs”, the DOE said in a statement.
The rule, which enforces the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act, applies to construction projects with start dates that fall in 2025 or later. The rule requires projects breaking ground in 2025–29 to be designed in such a way that fossil fuel energy in each building is 90 percent lower relative to 2003 levels. Projects that begin construction 2030 or later must cut consumption by 100 percent relative to 2003 levels.
The rule exempts buildings leased only in part by federal agencies, but covers “major renovation” projects, which are defined using a project cost threshold.
“In establishing these standards, DOE is sensitive to the notion that Federal agencies might break up their major renovations into smaller pieces to prevent associated costs from exceeding the applicable threshold”, the official text of the rule states. “DOE discourages the practice of ‘breaking up renovation projects to get around the cost threshold’ and intends to further address this topic as part of the Department’s implementation guidance”.
The rule does not include off-shite energy use in the consumption computation. The text explains, “On-site consumption of fossil fuel-generated energy can be reduced, and entirely eliminated, through the use of building design measures”.
“Such measures may include the installation of electric equipment for space and water heating, along with any insulation, ductwork, and electrical work necessary to ensure the building’s needs are met”, it says.
“By contrast, off-site consumption of fossil fuels, such as the combustion of natural gas and coal by distant power plants, cannot practically be eliminated through building design measures”.
On the kinds of energy that will replace fossil fuels in federal buildings, the DOE says in the rule that it “acknowledges that purely renewable fuels would not fall within the scope of this rulemaking as long as they are not fossil fuel-based or made from blends that contain fossil fuels”.
“A Federal building may use renewable fuels if the Federal agency is able to verify the use of such fuels on-site do not also include fossil fuels in their mixture”, the text says. “Additional specification about fuel content of biofuels will be provided in a companion implementation guidance”.
The rule takes effect 30 days after publication on the Federal Register portal.
The DOE statement said, “The final rule represents the result of a robust engagement process in which DOE interacted with a wide spectrum of federal stakeholders, whose feedback was instrumental to informing the final standard”.
“The new rule aims to accelerate clean energy deployment within the federal building stock by phasing out on-site fossil-fuel usage for end-uses such as heating and water heating”, the statement added.
Energy Secretary Jennifer M. Granholm commented, “The Biden-Harris Administration is practicing what we preach”.
“Just as we are helping households and businesses across the nation save money by saving energy, we are doing the same in our own federal buildings”, Granholm added.
The American Gas Association (AGA) decried the rule. “DOE’s rule eliminates natural gas heating, hot water and cooking systems from a broad range of new and modified federal buildings in 2030”, the industry group said in a statement.
“The decision to prioritize electrification over emissions reductions runs afoul of the government’s own investments in natural gas system decarbonization, including the announcement of 8 hydrogen hubs and a more than $7 billion investment in funding for clean hydrogen under the Inflation Reduction Act, and could foreclose or eliminate more cost-effective low and zero carbon energy options”, the AGA added.
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