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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

U.S. Government Expands Support for Corporate Energy-Efficiency Programs

Government measures are ensuring that companies' reduce their carbon footprint, while still encouraging their growth and international competitiveness.

Apr/May 10
When the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) passed the U.S. House of Representatives in June of 2009, it appeared to many that the United States was on the brink of establishing sweeping energy and climate legislation that would dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions using a cap-and-trade program. After ACES and a similar Senate bill got locked up for months, and President Obama came back from the Copenhagen Climate Conference in January with no major progress having been made, many concluded that Americans were not ready for energy legislation.

From today's vantage point, both of these views appear to be false. Congress could pass energy legislation this year, but it is unlikely to include a cap-and-trade system and may not address climate issues, focusing instead on energy efficiency and job creation. For owners and occupiers, Congressional measures are likely to be about enabling energy improvement rather than requiring it.

New State and Local Policies
If the legislative branch is taking its time deliberating, other areas of the federal government are establishing rules that will drive owners and occupiers to focus more strongly on energy and sustainability.

"New policies are emerging quite rapidly on energy efficiency at the state and local level," said Andrew Burr, program manager at the Institute for Market Transformation, a nonprofit that promotes energy efficiency, green building, and environmental protection. "Many of these are not waiting for the federal government to move forward."

"The framing of the argument has really become: How do we restore and maintain American competitiveness in ushering in a low-carbon economy?" said Anne Kelley, director of Corporate Governance Programs at the Ceres network, a leading voice on sustainability in the business community. "There is no doubt in anyone's mind where we need to go on this issue. There's a consensus around energy efficiency and renewable energy being an incredible job-generator and a way to maintain competitiveness."

Burr and Kelly served as guest speakers at a March webinar hosted by Jones Lang LaSalle detailing the impact of current and potential government energy measures on owners and occupiers of commercial real estate. Measures discussed include:

PACE Financing - More than 15 jurisdictions have passed legislation enabling Properly Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing, which enables a state or local government to float a bond and use the bond to fund retrofits. PACE removes the barriers of upfront cost and ties the retrofit loans to properties rather than owners, such that loans would change hands along with properties.

Building STAR - A bill was introduced to Congress in March that would increase the rebate and incentives package in the energy-efficient building tax deduction from $1.80 per square foot to $3 per square foot. Proponents of the measure say it would defray about 30 percent of the cost of a wide range of energy-related products and services as well as staff training. It is expected by many to gain broad Congressional support as it would reduce owners' energy bills by $3 billion and would create 200,000 to 300,000 construction and trade jobs across the country, while driving demand for energy-efficient products.

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