Norton's Subcommittee Sets Ambitious Requirements in Energy Bill (12/19/07)

Norton's Subcommittee Sets Ambitious Requirements for Federal and Commercial Sectors in Energy Legislation Signed into Law Today
December 19, 2007

Washington, DC--Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), who is leading federal sector energy conservation and renewable efforts, called the energy bill signed by the President today "only the first payment on our efforts to ‘green' the federal government that could reverberate throughout the country in local communities." Norton's Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management contributed sections in the bill on federal and commercial buildings that have "tandem effects," Norton said, "because the federal government has the largest footprint in the private leasing market in the United States. In as much as the federal sector dominates the leasing market in the District in particular, Norton will announce a greening D.C. initiative next year to invigorate the federal leadership role in energy conservation and renewable technologies and in the use of other greening strategies, such as green roofs, tree planting and requiring nationally recognized "LEED" standards (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) in all new construction and when major replacements and repairs are done.

The energy bill requires a 30 per cent energy reduction in federal buildings by 2015. The bill also requires federal buildings to designate managers in every federal building to analyze energy and water consumption and to retrofit buildings to expand energy technologies that the manager recommends within two years of analysis. Norton said that she also believes that the commercial sector can meet these standards as well because private owners and leasers are driven by higher energy costs that are cutting severely into profits and increasing the cost of doing business. Moreover, many developers desire federal leases, and legislation Norton will introduce next year will require energy standards in competition for federal leases. Norton also will press for more specific guidance for the private sector through two offices authorized for the Energy Department in the legislation - an Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, and an Office of High Performance Green Buildings.

Beginning at home, the bill signed into law today includes a number of mandates to the Architect of the Capitol to green the Capitol complex. Norton has had many allies in her efforts to replace the coal burning Capitol power plant, but "this major contributor to carbon emissions in this city remains in use because of a few Senators from coal producing states," she said. However, to reduce the harmful emissions, the bill requires the installation of technologies to capture and then either store or use the carbon dioxide.

The Architect of the Capitol must use energy efficient policies and other environmental measures throughout the Capitol complex. The bill authorizes a study to install a photovoltaic roof on the Rayburn House Office Building like the one that was authorized and funded for the Department of Energy buildings here, the subcommittee's first energy conservation provision passed under Norton earlier this year.