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
| Nov 5, 2014
Survey: More than 75% of workload takes place without face-to-face interactions
With the rise of technology, much of the workday—even the most productive morning hours—is spent corresponding via email or conference call, according to a recent survey of corporate workers by Mancini•Duffy.
| Nov 3, 2014
An ancient former post office in Portland, Ore., provides an even older art college with a new home
About seven years ago, The Pacific Northwest College of Art, the oldest art college in Portland, was evaluating its master plan with an eye towards expanding and upgrading its campus facilities. A board member brought to the attention of the college a nearby 134,000-sf building that had once served as the city’s original post office.
Sponsored | | Oct 23, 2014
From slots to public safety: Abandoned Detroit casino transformed into LEED-certified public safety headquarters
First constructed as an office for the Internal Revenue Service, the city's new public safety headquarters had more recently served as a temporary home for the MGM Casino. SPONSORED CONTENT
| Oct 19, 2014
White House Visitor Center reopens in Washington, D.C.
Designed by SmithGroupJJR and Gallagher & Associates, renovated center shows public its unique role as office, stage, museum, park, and home.
| Oct 16, 2014
Perkins+Will white paper examines alternatives to flame retardant building materials
The white paper includes a list of 193 flame retardants, including 29 discovered in building and household products, 50 found in the indoor environment, and 33 in human blood, milk, and tissues.
| Oct 15, 2014
Harvard launches ‘design-centric’ center for green buildings and cities
The impetus behind Harvard's Center for Green Buildings and Cities is what the design school’s dean, Mohsen Mostafavi, describes as a “rapidly urbanizing global economy,” in which cities are building new structures “on a massive scale.”
| Oct 14, 2014
Proven 6-step approach to treating historic windows
This course provides step-by-step prescriptive advice to architects, engineers, and contractors on when it makes sense to repair or rehabilitate existing windows, and when they should advise their building owner clients to consider replacement.
| Oct 12, 2014
AIA 2030 commitment: Five years on, are we any closer to net-zero?
This year marks the fifth anniversary of the American Institute of Architects’ effort to have architecture firms voluntarily pledge net-zero energy design for all their buildings by 2030.
| Oct 9, 2014
Beyond the bench: Meet the modern laboratory facility
Like office workers escaping from the perceived confines of cubicles, today’s scientists have been freed from the trappings of the typical lab bench, writes Perkins+Will's Bill Harris.
| Oct 6, 2014
Frank Gehry's $100 million Eisenhower Memorial gets preliminary approval
After a rejection earlier in the year, Frank Gehry has gotten some good news: his revised design for the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial has received approval from the National Capital Planning Commission.
