Deep Energy Retrofits in Federal Buildings: The Value, Funding Models, and Best Practices

摘要

Deep energy retrofits (DERs) can accelerate our transition to a clean-energy future. DERs directly address the gargantuan energy consumption of existing buildings and can be implemented today without relying on radical technologies or untested methods. In the United States, buildings consume almost 50% of all energy and account for about 45% of carbon dioxide (CO_2) emissions, making buildings the largest end-use energy sector, followed by industry and transportation (Architecture 2030 2013). Buildings' enormous appetitefor electricity-most of which is produced by fossil fuels-threatens our climate, our security, our economy, and our health. More than 80% of existing buildings today are at least 15 years old (EIA 2012), indicating that existing building retrofits represent a significant opportunity in the transition to a low-carbon future. Because saving energy is typically far cheaper than generating it, eliminating buildings' energy waste by aggressively deploying energy efficiency is one of the most cost-effective paths to a resilient and clean-energy future. Deploying DERs, which typically achieve at least 50% savings beyond baseline energy consumption using integrative, whole-building design principles, is a key part of the solution. In the United States, the federal government is the single largest landlord, controlling over 400,000owned or leased buildings, which comprise over 3 billion square feet of space (GSA 2016a). Federal agencies are currently driven to comply with several energy policies, primarily Executive Order 13693, a directive that outlines energy and water efficiency goals, including net zero energy targets (White House 2015). Despite the call for building energy reductions, federal funding for building upgrade projects (including energy projects) is insufficient to meet these needs, and this trend is expected to continue. Federal agencies must carefully consider alternative financing options and effectively use appropriated funding that may be available. Alternative financing mechanisms, such as energy savings performance contracts (ESPCs, the alternative financing mechanism focused on in this paper) and utility energy savings contracts (UESCs), are critical to agencies' abilities to achieve comprehensive energy savings with limitedfunding. A t their core, ESPCs allow agencies, in partnership with energy service companies (ESCOs), to finance the up-front costs of energy- savings and facility-improvement projects through their energy savings. This approach requires no up-front capital costs or special appropriations from congress (DOE 2016a). The energy (and sometimes maintenance) cost savings from these measures are captured by the ESCO and used to pay back the initial cost of implementing the measures. When appropriated funding is available, it can pay for energy projects directly but can often drive greater value by being incorporated into existing ESPC projects. Several pioneering agencies, including the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), the US Army (within the U.S. Department of Defense), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have led the federal government toward deep retrofits using ESPCs. To maximize energy and carbon reductions from federal energy efficiency projects, lessons from leading agencies need to be adopted broadly, a long-term approach needs to be taken toward building energy management, and agencies need to explore blending different funding methods in a way that can increase and enhance the value of planned retrofit projects. This paper aims to guide federal energy managers and decision makers, contractors (including ESCOs), engineers, and other stakeholders in federal energy projects toward a set of solutions, including DER best practices and guidance to maximize combined funding that will allow federal agencies to achieve federal energy mandates and support their missions in a cost- and resource-efficient manner using DERs. This paper may also be of