Standards set to eliminate emissions from new federal buildings by 2030

The Biden administration has finalized standards for federal buildings that will eliminate onsite fossil fuel usage for new projects by the end of the decade, the Energy Department confirmed Wednesday.

In the announcement, first shared with The Hill, the Energy Department said that the rule will require 90 percent cuts to emissions from new construction between fiscal years 2025 and 2029, with onsite emissions eliminated from all new projects and major renovations beginning in 2030.

The administration projects that the cuts will save $8 million in taxpayer funds from equipment and infrastructure expenses, and they will eliminate 2 million metric tons of carbon emissions and 16,000 tons of methane emissions over the next three decades.

An official with the Federal Energy Management Program told The Hill that the final rule is part of the mandate given to the Energy Department by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.

“DOE has issued three separate proposals over the years to implement this requirement, but as of tomorrow, we will have a final rule for it,” the official said, saying the final rule is “a regulation that applies to new construction and major renovations, and it fulfills Congress’s mandate to cut emissions, reduce fossil fuels.”

The rule defines “major” renovations as those costing $3.8 million or more, the official said, meaning “smaller projects” will be excluded. The rule will also include an option to apply for limited, case-by-case exemptions for scenarios, such as supply chain issues or issues with a building’s physical structure that make the technological adaptations impractical.

The Biden administration also introduced a federal standard in 2022 that required at least 30 percent of federal buildings to cut direct greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2030. As part of these efforts, the administration announced the installation of rooftop solar panels on the Pentagon in January as part of the first round of $250 million in awards to improve federal buildings’ energy efficiency.