Energy Efficiency  -  December 9, 2022

White House Unveils First Federal Building Energy Standard

The White House announced Dec. 7 that the first-ever Federal Performance Standard will be going into place in pursuit of a target to cut energy use and electrify equipment and appliances in 30% of federal government buildings by 2030.

The achieve the targets required under the standard, released by the Council on Environmental Quality, agencies will be increasing their purchasing of American-made heat pumps, electric water heaters and other efficiency technologies under the Inflation Reduction Act.

Federal building energy use accounts for 25% of federal emissions; focusing on reducing emissions and electrifying these buildings will have a great impact on lowering federal emissions.

In support of this target, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced a proposed rulemaking to electrify new federal buildings and those undergoing major renovations. The State of California also signaled support for this goal by joining President Biden’s National Building Performance Standard Coalition of over 30 state and local governments committed to reducing emissions from existing buildings.

The new target will support President Biden’s goals to achieve net zero emissions across federal buildings by 2045. The funding for equipment and appliance upgrades will be provided through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, agency operating budgets and the Climate Smart Buildings Initiative.

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