New Energy Bill Promotes Green Buildings and Energy Efficiency in Federal Buildings

The 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act, signed yesterday by President Bush, requires the federal government to adopt a green building rating system for all public buildings. Odds are that the LEED system will emerge as the clear winner, although the bill doesn’t specify LEED by name.

In addition to the federal building standards, the bill sets new national efficiency standards for light bulbs that will effectively phase out most incandescent light bulbs by 2014. Beginning in 2010, NEW federal buildings and those undergoing major renovations will have to cut their fossil fuel use, compared with a 2003 baseline, by 55 percent in 2010, 65 percent in 2015, 80 percent in 2020, 90 percent in 2025 and 100 percent in 2030. The 55 percent cut by 2010 will be the most daunting measure to achieve, since that will affect projects going into design in 2008 and 2009. By 2010, federal agencies generally will be prohibited from signing leases for new space exceeding 10,000 square feet in any building without an ENERGY STAR label. Existing federal buildings will have to decrease energy consumption by 30 percent overall by 2015, compared with their 2003 baseline energy use.

Posted by on 12/20/2007 at 09:10 AM