Perlmutter Introduces Legislation to Create Jobs, Encourage Energy Efficiency in Housing

Press Release

Today U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter (CO-07) introduced legislation, cosponsored by Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Sean Casten (D-IL) and Joe Morelle (D-NY), to encourage greater energy efficiency and sustainability in the nation's housing supply while creating new jobs in the green economy.

The Green Neighborhoods Act of 2021 would require the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to implement energy efficiency standards and incentives for new and existing housing structures. Specifically, new single family or multifamily residences, and existing single family or multifamily structures would be eligible for incentives based on their ability to meet basic HUD energy efficiency standards or enhanced HUD energy efficiency standards for additional credit. The legislation would also allow consumers to obtain a standardized energy report to ensure energy efficiency improvements are accounted for in the appraisal process for single-family homes.

"2020 just tied with 2016 as the hottest year on record. The time is now to act to reduce our carbon footprint and combat climate change. By encouraging the development of greener, more sustainable communities, we can prioritize energy conservation and sustainable development and make energy efficiency practices more affordable and accessible while creating new jobs in the green economy. At a time when it's needed most, this bill is a win-win-win for families, workers, and our environment," said Congressman Perlmutter.

The bill was endorsed this week by the New Democrat Coalition as part of a slate of legislation to combat climate change and encourage energy efficiency. According to the U.S. Green Building Council, a private non-profit organization which promotes sustainability in building, design, construction and operation, green building relates to a "structure's planning, design, construction, operations and end-of-life recycling or renewal" and "high-performing green buildings, particularly LEED-certified buildings, provide the means to reduce the climate impacts of buildings and their inhabitants." A 2014 UC Berkeley study found that due to less water consumption and reduced solid waste, green building and building to LEED standards has been shown to contribute to fewer greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventionally constructed structures. According to Architecture 2030, buildings currently account for nearly 40% of all greenhouse gas emissions.

"Encouraging more energy efficient housing through incentives is smart government policy that will lower carbon emissions while creating jobs in the process. Equally important are the energy cost benefits for tenants and homeowners, considering the direct correlation between high energy and utility bills contributing to financial instability and homelessness. The Green Neighborhoods Act of 2021 is an important step to further minimizing our nation's carbon footprint while also ensuring greater access to low-income housing affordability," said Sarah Dodge, Senior Vice-President of Advocacy & Relationships for the American Institute of Architects.

"Accounting for energy costs in a home's appraisal will finally place a value on energy efficiency and energy generation features in the residential marketplace -- a crucial step in accelerating the supply of and demand for energy-efficient and solar-powered new homes and energy retrofits of existing homes," said Robin LeBaron, Co-founder and President of Pearl Certification.

"The Green Neighborhoods Act aims to usher in a new era of energy efficient, sustainable housing by establishing a new framework for action within the Departments of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Agriculture (USDA)," said Elizabeth Beardsley, Senior Policy Counsel, U.S. Green Building Council. "Once in place, the new standards will not only save households money on energy bills and create more comfortable housing, but will play a key role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the housing sector, which accounts for about 20 percent of our energy consumption. The bill also creates an unburdensome approach for HUD to leverage existing energy benchmarking data to better target energy saving programs. The bill takes an important step toward encouraging Federally-backed mortgages to appropriately value the savings that energy-efficient homes can deliver, and it includes important worker training programs that will be critical for building the construction workforce needed to tackle this challenge. We thank Rep. Perlmutter for his continued leadership on this legislation and look forward to seeing it signed into law."

"ASHRAE supports a healthy and sustainable built environment for all and we applaud Congressman Perlmutter for his efforts to increase energy efficiency in housing through the Green Neighborhoods Act," said ASHRAE President Chuck Gulledge. "Implementation of standards such as ASHRAE 90.1-2019 along with energy benchmarking and training will further improve sustainability outcomes and equip individuals in the community with the skills necessary to participate in these infrastructure improvements."

The Green Neighborhoods Act requires a report to Congress detailing the current state of energy and water usage in the multifamily property sector as well as estimates of potential energy and cost savings of energy efficiency programs implemented at HUD-assisted properties. The legislation would also require HUD to collect and analyze utility benchmarking data from HUD-assisted properties and develop energy savings targets. In addition, the legislation creates a workforce development grant program to train employees through Registered Apprenticeship Programs in energy efficient retrofits, construction, deconstruction, building maintenance and management, and manufacturing of sustainable processes and materials. It also commissions a GAO report on the barriers small residential energy efficiency businesses face in training and growing their skilled workforce.

In 2008, Perlmutter first introduced similar legislation as chair of the Financial Services Committee Energy Efficiency Task Force, an effort focused on how to incorporate energy efficiency into the financial services sector. The G.R.E.E.N. (Green Resources for Energy Efficient Neighborhoods) Act passed the full House of Representatives as part of H.R. 6899, the Comprehensive Energy Security and Consumer Protection Act.

Perlmutter's district is home to the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL), the world's premier lab on the forefront of energy efficiency and developing clean and renewable energy technologies.

Source