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RELEASE: SEEC calls on Department of Energy to make federal buildings more energy efficient

September 15, 2009

WASHINGTON, D.C.-- The House of Representatives Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC) today joined with other lawmakers in urging the federal government to reduce its energy consumption- and save taxpayer dollars- through increases in the energy efficiency of federal buildings.

In a letter sent to Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu, 58 signers- led by Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.)- called on the department to implement the use of Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPCs) to accelerate energy savings in U.S. government buildings without upfront capital costs.

The letter invokes the Obama Administration’s intentions to increase federal energy efficiency in order to save taxpayer dollars and cut back on wasted energy. Currently American taxpayers spend $4 billion annually to heat, cool and power roughly 500,000 federal buildings and facilities. Recently President Obama pledged to save taxpayers as much as $2 billion a year by making 75 percent of federal buildings more energy efficient.

“This is a common sense strategy to save energy and save taxpayer dollars. Without spending a dime, the federal government can save $2 billion a year and take the lead in promoting energy efficiency,” said Welch, a SEEC Vice Chair and a member of House Energy and Commerce Committee.

“Energy efficiency is the first fuel,” said SEEC co-chair Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.). “With readily available and deployable technology we have the power to cut greenhouse gas emissions and save billions of dollars. SEEC stands with President Obama in calling for the federal government to become a leader in energy efficiency, and I commend Congressman Welch for his leadership on this issue.”

ESPCs allow federal agencies to contract with energy service companies to conduct energy audits and design and construct energy-saving improvements. The contractor guarantees that efficiency improvements will generate cost savings sufficient to pay for the projects. ESPCs were first authorized by section 432 of the ‘American Energy Independence and Security Act’ that was passed into law in 2007.

Below is the text of the letter, which was signed by 25 members of SEEC:

September 15, 2009

The Honorable Steven Chu
Secretary
U.S. Department of Energy
1000 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20585

Dear Secretary Chu:

In his very first Saturday morning radio address, President Obama stated, “We’ll save taxpayers $2 billion a year by making 75 percent of federal buildings more energy efficient.” We strongly support the President’s commitment to making our federal buildings more efficient— saving both energy and taxpayer money. We also applaud your leadership of this effort and look forward to working with you to achieve this important goal.

We commend the Department of Energy for the recent announcement that it is undertaking “enhancements to the Department’s use of Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPCs) to accelerate energy savings and carbon reduction at DOE facilities.” We are particularly pleased that the Department has highlighted the important role of the ESPC program. ESPCs have proven to be a highly successful tool to encourage energy efficiency in federal buildings, and the ESPC program will be essential to achieving the President’s goal.

In support of the Administration’s energy efficiency objective, we strongly urge you to take full advantage of the energy efficiency improvement provisions that Congress included in Section 432 of the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) P.L. 110-1409. This section calls for each agency to conduct comprehensive energy audits on facilities that comprise 75 percent of the agency’s energy consumption. The provision also authorized the creation of a web-based tracking system to enable the federal government to better understand energy saving opportunities.

Section 432 of EISA 2007 is consistent with and supportive of the Administration’s overall energy efficiency plans and will enhance our opportunity for successfully improving federal building efficiency. It provides a highly flexible approach to funding efficiency projects by permitting the use of appropriated funds or private sector financing through ESPCs or Utility Energy Savings Contracts, and explicitly permits any combination of these funding tools on a single project. Overall, Section 432 provides an important framework for ensuring clear, measurable objectives, project transparency and standardized, enforceable provisions for ensuring savings on all federal energy efficiency projects, regardless of how a project is funded.

We want to reiterate our strong support of the President’s commitment to improve the energy efficiency of federal buildings. It is because of our shared commitment and support of this goal that we respectfully urge implementation of EISA Section 432, which will be critically essential to our ultimate success in this important effort, and request a report on your plans to implement this important initiative by October 15. Thank you for your consideration and leadership on this issue.

Sincerely,

Peter Welch, Steve Israel, Jay Inslee, Jared Polis, Tammy Baldwin, Paul Tonko, Russ Carnahan, Paul Hodes, Jim Langevin, Maurice Hinchey, Lloyd Doggett, Ron Kind, Carol Shea-Porter, Donna Christensen, Joe Sestak, Keith Ellison, John Hall, Barbara Lee, Chris Van Hollen, Gerry Connolly, Hank Johnson, Mike Quigley, Bruce Braley, Jim Moran, Bill Delahunt, Lois Capps, Heath Shuler, Michael Honda, Rosa DeLauro, John Conyers, Robert Wexler, Dina Titus, Mazie Hirono, Joe Courtney, Jim McGovern, Earl Blumenauer, Allyson Schwartz, Steve Cohen, Tim Ryan, Steve Rothman, Sheila Jackson Lee, John Olver, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Ed Markey, Martin Heinrich, Rush Holt, Niki Tsongas, Donna Edwards, Michael Acuri, Madeleine Bordallo, Diana DeGette, Deborah Halvorson, James Himes, Betsy Markey, Eric Massa, Louise Slaughter, Jackie Speier, John Tierney, Members of Congress