Federal

The federal Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005) established several goals and standards to reduce energy use in existing and new federal buildings. Executive Order 13423, signed in January 2007, expanded on those goals and standards and was later reaffirmed by congress with the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA 2007). EISA 2007 extended an existing federal energy reduction goal to 30% by fiscal year 2015; directed federal agencies to purchase Energy Star and Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP)-designated products; and required new federal buildings to be built 30% below ASHRAE* standards or the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). The General Services Administration announced an even stricter requirement in their FY 2010-2015 Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan, stating that all new federal buildings will be designed to achieve the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification, and meet Energy Star standards.

Most recently, Executive Order 13514, signed in October 2009, created a series of new requirements aimed at increasing the sustainability of all federal agencies. To help achieve these goals, the Executive Order requires all federal agencies to appoint a Senior Sustainability Officer who will prepare and implement a Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan for the agency. These plans can be found here.

Section 431 of EISA 2007 increased the federal energy reduction goal from 2% per year (as established by EPAct 2005) to 3% per year, resulting in 30% greater efficiency by 2015. The reporting baseline for energy savings is 2003, so that energy consumption per gross square foot of federal buildings is reduced, compared to energy consumption in 2003. The specified percentage reductions for each fiscal year are:

• FY 2006 .......2%
• FY 2007 .......4%
• FY 2008 .......9%
• FY 2009 .......12%
• FY 2010 .......15%
• FY 2011 .......18%
• FY 2012 .......21%
• FY 2013 .......24%
• FY 2014 .......27%
• FY 2015 .......30%

Under EPAct 2005, federal agencies are permitted to retain savings achieved through energy and water reductions. To help achieve these energy reductions, new construction and major renovation of agency buildings must comply with the "Guiding Principles for Federal Leadership in High Performance and Sustainable Buildings" set forth in the Federal Leadership in High Performance and Sustainable Buildings Memorandum of Understanding (2006). The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is charged with recommending new requirements for federal energy performance for FY 2016 - FY 2025 by December 31, 2014.

Section 104 of EPAct 2005 directed federal agencies to purchase Energy Star and FEMP-designated products when procuring energy-consuming items covered by the Energy Star program, except when purchasing such items is not cost-effective or does not meet functional requirements of the agency. Agencies must also incorporate energy-efficient specifications in procurement bids and evaluations, and must only purchase premium efficient electric motors, air conditioning and refrigeration equipment. EPAct 2005 also instructed the General Services Administration (GSA) and the U.S. Department of Defense to clearly identify and display Energy Star and FEMP-designated products in any inventory, catalog or product listing. The Executive Orders additionally made requirements specifically for electronic equipment purchased by federal agencies. According to the Executive Orders, electronic equipment must be registered by the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT), Energy Star, or FEMP unless there is no standard for such product.

Section 109 of EPAct 2005 required new federal buildings to be designed 30% below ASHRAE standards or IECC, to the extent that technologies employed are life-cycle cost-effective. In addition, sustainable design principles must be applied to new and replacement buildings. All agencies must identify new building projects in their budget requests and identify those that meet or exceed the standard.

Section 523 of the EISA 2007 requires that at least 30% of the hot water demand for each new federal building or existing federal buildings undergoing a major renovation be met through the use of solar hot water heating, if it is determined to be life-cycle cost-effective.

The executive orders also call for agencies to reduce water consumption intensity when cost-effective. Additionally, agencies that operate fleets of at least 20 vehicles are also required to reduce their fleet's total consumption of petroleum products by 2% annually through 2015, while increasing their consumption of non-petroleum-based fuel by 10% per year. Agencies are also required to purchase plug-in hybrid vehicles when life-cycle cost analysis demonstrates their cost to be reasonably similar to other vehicles.

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 established green power purchasing goals for the federal government, whereby the 7.5% of electricity used by federal agencies must be obtained from renewable sources by 2013. Executive Order 13423 now requires at least half of the required renewable energy consumed by an agency in a fiscal year to come from sources placed in service in 1999 or later.


* ASHRAE is the acronym for the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.