March 13, 2006—The Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) has posted a chart summarizing the new federal Energy Policy Act of 2005. Although a large portion of the Act addresses activities to increase national energy supply, and energy technology research and development, there are significant energy efficiency improvement requirements for federal facilities to lead by example.
For example, Section 102 establishes new energy efficiency goals for all federal agencies, including industrial and laboratory buildings. The new goals are an annual two percent reduction in energy use per gross square foot of buildings, starting in 2006, culminating in a twenty percent reduction in fiscal year 2015—from a new baseline of 2003.
Also, Section 103 directs that all federal buildings be metered for energy efficiency by October 1, 2012, providing data at least daily and measuring the consumption of electricity at least hourly. The data will be incorporated into existing energy tracking systems and made available to federal FMs.
Section 104 requires all federal contracts (including construction, renovation, services, etc.) that include energy-consuming products to meet the Energy Star and FEMP standards.
