Testimony
of
Matthias Paustian
Co-Chair, Beyond Gas Subcommittee, Sierra Club DC Chapter
before
the DC Council Committee on Facilities and Procurement
roundtable on
Department of General Services Sustainability and Energy Management Division
Councilmember White, thank you for the opportunity to provide comment at this roundtable. My name is Matthias Paustian, and I am speaking on behalf of the Sierra Club DC Chapter today. The Sierra Club strongly supports the work of the Sustainability and Energy Management Division. I have personally been very impressed with a number of initiatives that the Division is advancing, and I would like to commend the Division for its efforts in incorporating best practice green building design into its work.
In particular, the ongoing renovation of Banneker High School aims to deliver a net-zero energy ready building. A net-zero energy building has two important pieces to it, first, a highly energy efficient design that greatly reduces the building’s energy needs, and secondly, enough renewable energy generation on-site or off-site to cover all of the building's energy usage. A net-zero energy ready building, like Banneker, has the same highly energy efficient design but may not yet have enough on-site renewable energy generation – but is ready to add additional renewable energy generation later on – or it may have to procure renewable energy off-site in future.
Net-zero energy buildings are crucial for the District to support Mayor Bowser’s commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. In a hearing of this committee in late September, I testified on the need for the District government to make all newly constructed government buildings net-zero energy. I was extremely pleased to learn later that the District is already doing so in the case of Banneker High School and additionally plans to renovate the Stead Park Recreation Center on P Street NW to be net-zero. The Sierra Club applauds the Sustainability Division for these milestones.
It is possible some buildings won't be able to generate all the electricity needed on-site, in which case they should be required to procure any additional electricity needs through long-term contracts called power purchase agreements (PPAs) for electricity generated from renewable sources like wind and solar. This measure will ensure that the buildings are powered by clean energy while the long-term nature of the contracts can save the District money and guard against volatile prices in energy markets. DGS was a pioneer in the purchase of PPAs in DC.
Building on the progress made at Banneker High School and the Stead Rec Center, the District should go one step further and require all newly constructed DC government buildings to be net-zero energy buildings and thereby be completely free of fossil fuel consumption. This measure is necessary if DC is to meet its climate commitments. The DC government should continue to lead by example and demonstrate to private sector building owners the climate, health and cost-saving benefits of eliminating fossil fuels from buildings
Requiring all newly constructed DC government buildings to be net-zero energy buildings would put DC in line with other cities across the nation that have already required similar changes. For example:
● Boston Mayor Marty Walsh signed an executive order requiring all new city buildings to be net-zero energy or energy positive.
● San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to require clean and efficient electric appliances in new and significantly renovated city buildings instead of appliances using fossil fuels.
● Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto signed legislation for net-zero government buildings.
● Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan signed an executive order mandating that every new or substantially altered municipal building operate without using fossil fuel systems and appliances.
In these cities, requirements for newly constructed municipal buildings to be highly energy efficient and free of fossil fuel usage are already in place today. The District is lagging behind. Only when the government acts as a leader can it credibly ask its citizens to take bold action on climate change. The Sierra Club believes that government buildings should not pollute and should not contribute to the climate crisis.
We urge this committee to support the excellent work of the Sustainability Division, build on their experience with net-zero energy buildings and pass legislation requiring all newly constructed government buildings to be powered by clean energy and no fossil fuel use.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify and thank you, Councilmember White for your leadership on these important issues.