Energy Project Financing : Resources and Strategies for Success

Codes, Standards & Legislation 147

Title IV Energy Savings in Buildings and Industry

• Increases funding for the Department of Energy’s Weatherization
  Program, providing 3.75 billion dollars over five years.


• Encourages the development of more energy efficient “green”
  commercial buildings, creating an Office of Commercial High
  Performance Green Buildings at the Department of Energy.


• Sets a national goal to achieve zero-net energy use for new com-
  mercial buildings built after 2025. A further goal is to retrofit all
  pre-construction 2025 buildings to zero-net energy by 2050.


• Requires that total energy use in federal buildings (relative to the
  2005 level) be reduced 30% by 2015.


• Requires federal facilities to conduct a comprehensive energy and
  water evaluation for each facility at least once every four years.


• Requires new federal buildings and major renovations to reduce
  fossil fuel energy use 55% (relative to 2003 level) by 2010 and be
  100% eliminated by 2030.


• Requires that each federal agency ensure that major replacements
  of installed equipment (such as heating and cooling systems) or
  renovation/expansion of existing space employ the most energy
  efficient designs, systems, equipment, and controls that are life
  cycle cost effective. For the purpose of calculating life-cycle cost
  calculations, the time period will increase from 25 years in the
  prior law to 40 years.


• Directs the Department of Energy to conduct research to develop
  and demonstrate new process technologies and operating practices
  to significantly improve the energy efficiency of equipment and
  processes used by energy-intensive industries.


• Directs the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a re-
  coverable waste energy inventory program. The program must
  include an ongoing survey of all major industry and large com-
  mercial combustion services in the United States.


• Includes new incentives to promote new industrial energy effi-
  ciency through the conversion of waste heat into electricity.


• Creates a grant program for Healthy High Performance Schools
  that aims to encourage states, local governments and school sys-
  tems to build green schools.


• Creates a program of grants and loans to support energy efficiency
  and energy sustainability projects at public institutions.