The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) will convene a key public-private consortium to help make zero-net-energy commercial buildings economically viable by the year 2030. Zero-net-energy buildings are intended to generate at least as much energy as they consume.
The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 required DOE to establish its Net-Zero-Energy Commercial Building Initiative, usually called the Commercial Building Initiative (CBI). CBI’s statutory goals are to develop and disseminate technologies, practices, and policies for the development of economically viable zero-net-energy commercial buildings, by 2030 for all new U.S. construction, and by 2050 for all existing U.S. commercial stock.
At the end of a public solicitation process in October 2009, DOE awarded a contract to the Zero Energy Commercial Buildings Consortium to coordinate private and public sector involvement with DOE as it works toward CBI’s goals. DOE has now recognized NASEO as the operating agent for the consortium.
In administering the consortium, NASEO is guided by a steering committee that includes many important stakeholders, such as the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA), the International Code Council (ICC), the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the Alliance to Save Energy (Alliance), the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. (ASHRAE).
The consortium has set up the following 13 working groups regarding technologies, practices, markets and policy -- each chaired by a steering committee member:
1. Building Envelope
2. Mechanical Systems and Controls
3. Lighting/Daylighting and Controls
4. Process, IT, and Miscellaneous Equipment
5. Combined Heat and Power (CHP), Distributed Generation, and Multi-Building Systems
6. Grid and Micro-Grid Integration
7. Codes and Standards
8. Integrated Design and Building Delivery
9. Benchmarking and Performance Assurance
10. Financing and Appraisal
11. Voluntary Programs and Incentives
12. Owner/Tenant Issues
13. Workforce Development
The consortium seeks to attract a broad membership, including designers, building owners and operators, financiers, manufacturers, policy makers, researchers, and funding agencies. Current members include CB Richard Ellis (CBRE), Edison Electrical Institute, Jones Lang LaSalle, the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, McGraw-Hill Construction, Inc., and the Urban Land Institute (ULI). No financiers appear to have joined to date.
The consortium will host a webinar launch on December 3, 2009, from 2:00pm to 3:30pm EST. Additional information, including about the webinar launch, is available at the consortium’s home page, at http://zeroenergycbc.org/. The consortium may be a cost-effective way for real estate owners and operators to improve their buildings’ performance.
The authors are members of the Real Estate and Green Business groups, and can be reached as follows:
Jared Eigerman
617-574-4141
jeigerman@goulstonstorrs.com
Matthew J. Kiefer
617-574-6597
mkiefer@goulstonstorrs.com
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