DC Should Guarantee New Buildings Meet Net Zero Standard

Testimony of
Lara Levison, Sierra Club DC Chapter Clean Energy Committee Chair
Before the Transportation and the Environment Committee
On the Clean Energy DC Building Code Act (Bill 24-420)
January 25, 2022

Thank you, Councilmember Cheh, for holding this hearing today. My name is Lara Levison, and I’m the chair of the Sierra Club DC Chapter Clean Energy Committee. The Sierra Club is the nation’s oldest, largest and most influential environmental advocacy group. We have chapters in all 50 states, and the DC Chapter has 3,000 dues-paying members. The Sierra Club’s top priority is reversing climate change in an equitable and just manner. We must stop burning fossil fuels while at the same time as reducing our energy use to ensure that our energy needs can be met with renewable sources including wind and solar.

Thank you also, Councilmember Cheh, for introducing the Clean Energy DC Building Code Act and holding this hearing on the legislation. If enacted, this legislation would dramatically reduce energy consumption in buildings, cutting emissions of the greenhouse gases that cause climate change while at the same time saving building owners and occupants money through lower utility bills.

Benefits of Net Zero Buildings

The Clean Energy DC Building Code Act requires that starting in 2026, newly constructed and substantially renovated buildings be net zero energy, meaning they combine energy efficiency measures and renewable energy generation to drastically reduce energy use compared to other buildings while at the same time consuming energy produced on-site from renewable sources. In situations where sufficient solar, ground-source geothermal, or other renewable energy cannot be obtained on-site, renewable energy can be purchased through power purchase agreements or community solar projects. The District’s Clean Energy DC plan has already committed to a net zero building code by 2026, and your legislation would codifies DC’s net zero goal.

DC’s Department of General Services (DGS), which oversees DC government properties, recently built two net zero energy schools, John Lewis Elementary School and Banneker High School. DGS has reported that building these schools to the net zero standard resulted in no increase in construction costs. Operating the buildings will save money because the highly-efficient buildings use little energy and produce most of it on-site. Across the Potomac River in Arlington, Discovery Elementary School saves $100,000 a year on utility bills because it is a net zero building.^[1]

In addition to the climate and monetary savings from net-zero buildings, these buildings have many other benefits, such as improved comfort, improved occupant health and productivity, and more living and working space – because less space is needed for heating and cooling systems.

Strengthening DC’s Net Zero Standard

The Sierra Club strongly supports the Clean Energy DC Building Code Act, and we urge this committee and the full Council to approve the legislation so that DC can see the climate benefits and monetary savings from net zero buildings. We also have several suggestions to strengthen the bill further:

1. The net zero requirement should apply to the building code in the next code cycle. DC is woefully behind in its building code updates, with the 2017 building code adopted in 2020, three years late. The last code update before that was in 2014 – six years before the latest code. The climate crisis requires immediate action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The next building code update should prioritize the climate and financial benefits associated with net zero buildings.

2. The legislation should ensure that the DC government leads by example, with all newly constructed and substantially renovated DC government buildings built to a net zero standard beginning immediately. If the DC government expects to achieve carbon neutrality in its own operations by 2040, as required under the proposed Climate Commitment Act, it must ensure all its new buildings are net zero starting now.

3. Today’s legislation excludes single family homes from net zero standards. There is no reason to leave residents of single family homes out of the climate benefits and utility bill savings from net zero. Additionally, because single family homes have relatively low energy consumption compared to larger buildings, meeting net zero standards in single family homes is easily achieved.^[2]

4. Finally, whatever the date by which net zero building standards are set in law, DC should encourage building owners to construct net zero buildings before it is required. We suggest this bill include financial incentives to building owners who meet net zero standards laid in out Appendix Z before the new net zero building requirements take effect.

Conclusion

This legislation is a commonsense way to reduce DC’s greenhouse gas emissions and save money on energy costs. If enacted, this policy will  the District’s record of climate leadership and enable our workforce to be trained in state-of-the-art building technology. Thank you for the opportunity today for the Sierra Club to provide our feedback on the Clean Energy DC Building Code Act.