The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) recently announced plans to use $975 million in Inflation Reduction Act funding for energy efficiency and clean energy upgrades to federal buildings across the country.
The investment will impact about 40 million sf, or about 20% of GSA’s federal buildings portfolio. It will expand the agency’s sustainable building portfolio to 134 million sf. The projects will enable 28 buildings to achieve net zero emissions, and 100 more buildings to become all-electric. GSA currently has about 200 buildings that are all-electric.
The plans include electrifying the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, one of the largest structures in GSA’s portfolio. The work will include installation of heat pumps as the primary heating source, while eliminating onsite combustion emissions and the use of steam onsite for space and water heating. The project calls for installation of 57,000 LED light bulbs, upgrading over 500 high efficiency transformers, and installing a reverse osmosis groundwater recovery system that is estimated to save 35 million gallons of water annually. After work is completed, the Reagan Building is estimated to reduce energy usage by 40% and realize an estimated $6.3 million savings in energy costs annually.
GSA plans to tap into private sector funds through performance contracts such as Energy Savings Performance Contracts and Utility Energy Savings Contracts; make direct investments in building retrofits to maximize greenhouse gas reductions as well as energy and water savings; and expand building technology innovation programs such as the Green Proving Ground and Applied Innovation Learning Lab programs as well as electric vehicle infrastructure.
“The Inflation Reduction Act investments put GSA three-quarters of the way toward meeting the Federal Building Performance Standard released last year, which sets an ambitious goal to cut energy use while electrifying equipment and appliances in 30% of the building space owned by the federal government by 2030,” according to a GSA news release.
Related Stories
| Jan 6, 2015
Snøhetta unveils design proposal of the Barack Obama Presidential Center Library for the University of Hawaii
The plan by Snøhetta and WCIT Architecture features a building that appears square from the outside, but opens at one corner into a rounded courtyard with a pool, Dezeen reports.
| Jan 2, 2015
Construction put in place enjoyed healthy gains in 2014
Construction consultant FMI foresees—with some caveats—continuing growth in the office, lodging, and manufacturing sectors. But funding uncertainties raise red flags in education and healthcare.
| Dec 29, 2014
HealthSpot station merges personalized healthcare with videoconferencing [BD+C's 2014 Great Solutions Report]
The HealthSpot station is an 8x5-foot, ADA-compliant mobile kiosk that lets patients access a network of board-certified physicians through interactive videoconferencing and medical devices. It was named a 2014 Great Solution by the editors of Building Design+Construction.
| Dec 28, 2014
Robots, drones, and printed buildings: The promise of automated construction
Building Teams across the globe are employing advanced robotics to simplify what is inherently a complex, messy process—construction.
| Dec 28, 2014
AIA course: Enhancing interior comfort while improving overall building efficacy
Providing more comfortable conditions to building occupants has become a top priority in today’s interior designs. This course is worth 1.0 AIA LU/HSW.
| Dec 28, 2014
10 key design interventions for a healthier, happier, and more productive workplace
Numerous studies and mountains of evidence confirm what common sense has long suggested: healthy, happier workers are more productive, more likely to collaborate with colleagues, and more likely to innovate in ways that benefit the bottom line, writes Gensler's Kirsten Ritchie.
| Dec 28, 2014
Workplace design trends: Make way for the Millennials
Driven by changing work styles, mobile technology, and the growing presence of Millennials, today’s workplaces are changing, mostly for the better. We examine the top office design trends.
| Dec 6, 2014
Future workplace designs shouldn’t need to favor one generation over another, says CBRE report
A new CBRE survey finds that what Millennials expect and need from offices doesn’t vary drastically from tenured employees.
| Nov 18, 2014
New tool helps developers, contractors identify geographic risk for construction
The new interactive tool from Aon Risk Solutions provides real-time updates pertaining to the risk climate of municipalities across the U.S.
| Nov 10, 2014
5 guiding principles for solving airflow issues in open-plenum office spaces
Although architecturally appealing, exposed ceilings can create unwanted drafts and airflow problems if not engineered correctly. McGuire Engineers' Bill Stangeland offers tips for avoiding airflow issues on these projects.
