Pryor Efficiency Bill Would Empower Federal Agencies To Stop Energy Waste, Help Curb Climate Change | Alliance to Save Energy

Pryor Efficiency Bill Would Empower Federal Agencies To Stop Energy Waste, Help Curb Climate Change

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Pryor Efficiency Bill Would Empower Federal Agencies To Stop Energy Waste, Help Curb Climate Change

Release Date: Monday, May 21, 2007

Pryor Efficiency Bill Would Empower Federal Agencies To Stop Energy Waste, Help Curb Climate Change

Washington, D.C., May 21, 2007 – A bill introduced today by Alliance to Save Energy congressional Co-Chair Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) to improve the energy efficiency of federal buildings would deliver multiple benefits for U.S. taxpayers and the nation’s economy and energy security, while also helping to curb climate change, the Alliance said.

“Since the U.S. federal government is the world’s single largest consumer of energy, there are many actions it can take to become more efficient,” Pryor stated. “The Federal Building Renewal and Energy Savings Act would make the federal government a true leader on energy efficiency by expanding the scope of federal energy management and giving federal agencies the tools and resources they need for energy-efficiency upgrades.”

“The federal government can and should be the most influential model for using advanced energy-efficiency technologies and practices,” stated Alliance President Kateri Callahan. “While federal energy management over the last two decades has already resulted in over $1 billion in net annual savings to taxpayers, we have not yet ‘wrung out’ all the energy waste in federal facilities. Sen. Pryor’s bill would help ensure even greater reductions in federal agencies’ energy use and costs, while also curbing the amount of pollution federal buildings create – pollution that contributes to climate change.”

The bill would require regularly updated, comprehensive evaluations of energy and water savings for all large federal facilities. It also would require agencies to implement all energy- and water-saving measures with a 15-year payback or less and allow them to use any combination of appropriated funds and third-party financing.

To ensure that the energy savings are being realized, the bill also would require the Department of Energy to deploy a web-based process for each agency and facility to self-certify its compliance with the energy- and water-efficiency goals. The results would be entered into a benchmarking system to ensure that the efficiency measures were continuing to function properly over time.

To ensure adequate financing of federal energy-efficiency upgrades, the bill would allow projects to be funded through federal appropriations and/or through private financing via Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPCs) and/or Utility Energy Savings Contracts (UESCs). It also would permanently reauthorize the ESPC program and lift any caps on the total funding allowed through an ESPC.

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