The Department of Energy outlined rules Thursday for what it determines to be a “zero emissions” building, sparking pushback from the top U.S. homebuilding trade association.
The rules, called a “National Definition of a Zero Emissions Building,” are not regulations, nor do they influence whether companies receive tax credits or grants linked to the Inflation Reduction Act and 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law, according to the department.
They will, however, determine which buildings the federal government leases after 2030 — as long as a 2021 executive order from President Joe Biden stays intact. That executive order vowed to “transform [the federal government’s] portfolio of 300,000 buildings, fleet of 600,000 cars and trucks, and annual purchasing power of $650 billion in goods and services.”
DOE also says the rules are intended to provide a blueprint for voluntary industry efforts to decarbonize.
