Community Press Release
New Initiatives Will Reduce Emissions from Buildings, Support Building Owners and Professionals, and Build the Clean Energy Workforce
The Healey-Driscoll Administration announced three initiatives to advance building decarbonization in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER), the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC), City of Boston, and City of Cambridge were selected to receive $19.9 million under the first round of the U.S. Department of Energy’s competitive funding opportunity for IRA Funded Technical Assistance for Building Energy Codes, which will support energy and emission savings in large, existing buildings.
DOER also announced today draft regulations for the implementation of the Large Building Energy Reporting (LBER) requirements. The draft regulations guide the requirements and processes for the LBER Program and DOER invites public feedback on the draft regulations. To continue to advance the state’s building decarbonization goals, the Healey-Driscoll Administration also joined the Biden-Harris Administration’s National Building Performance Standards Coalition.
“Massachusetts is building momentum toward our clean energy goals,” said Governor Maura Healey. “Securing these federal funds enables us to lower costs for families and businesses, strengthen our clean energy workforce, and reduce building emissions. We’re deeply grateful for the invaluable support of the Biden-Harris Administration and transformative funding from the Inflation Reduction Act.”
“Establishing draft building reporting regulations is one of many steps we are taking to tackle emissions across the state and empower cities and towns to lead the climate revolution,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “This funding is critical to transitioning our buildings away from fossil fuels, and into a clean energy future that benefits all communities.”
“Tackling the impacts of climate change requires all hands on deck within Boston and across our region. We’re proud to be part of collaboration across the Commonwealth, with this significant DOE funding as a testament to our leadership in setting resilient building performance standards,” said Boston Mayor Michelle Wu. “The implementation of BERDO is crucial for reducing emissions from our largest buildings, and with this support, we can accelerate our efforts to make Boston a healthier, more resilient city. We’re excited to partner with the state on this work, setting a national precedent for progress in the fight against climate change.”
“The City of Cambridge is thrilled to receive and strategically utilize this valuable federal funding in collaboration with our state and local partners,” said Owen O’Riordan, Deputy City Manager, City of Cambridge. “As a City, we have been deeply committed to reaching net zero emissions by 2050 or earlier. These critically important initiatives align with and support Cambridge’s ambitious climate goals. They will be instrumental in helping our staff provide enhanced support and technical assistance to building owners in reducing their emissions.”
“Heating, cooling, and powering our buildings produces a significant portion of Massachusetts’ polluting emissions,” said Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Rebecca Tepper. “Together, this $19 million award and draft regulations will provide transparency into the performance of large buildings across Massachusetts and inform targeted approaches to reducing fossil fuels. The programs enabled by this federal funding will help the building community make cost-effective, meaningful upgrades to our existing building stock.”
“Reducing emissions and energy use from buildings is a key pillar to meet our ambitious climate goals, and these exciting new programs and collaborations will be instrumental in transitioning the Commonwealth’s buildings away from fossil fuels,” said DOER Commissioner Elizabeth Mahony. “Ultra-efficient technology like heat pumps, paired with improving a building’s energy efficiency, is proven to reduce costs for building owners, improve health and comfort for residents and businesses, and minimizes impacts on the electric grid. We look forward to working closely with the building community, our cities and towns, and residents and businesses to roll out these initiatives.”
“We know that people are healthier, safer, and more financially secure when homes and buildings are more energy efficient and resilient,” said Massachusetts Clean Energy Center CEO Dr. Emily Reichert. “This investment from the Biden-Harris Administration will accelerate our mission to reduce carbon pollution from buildings, empowering us to work closely with the sector to share best practices and partner with trades programs to expand training opportunities for workers.”
“This award from the Department of Energy will accelerate efforts to modernize our building codes, advance decarbonization goals, and fund critical workforce development initiatives. It is another great development in our whole-of-government strategy to bring home federal funding to Massachusetts,” said Director of Federal Funds and Infrastructure Quentin Palfrey. “Thank you to President Biden, Secretary Granholm, and the Massachusetts congressional delegation for making possible this exciting award.”
Building Performance Award
DOER and MassCEC will use the funding for initiatives that will enable energy and emissions savings in large, existing buildings; boost health, comfort, resilience, and affordability benefits for Low-income and Disadvantaged and Justice 40 Communities; support the building professional community; and provide workforce development opportunities. Initiatives include:
- Establish a Building Performance Exchange, similar to the NYC Building Energy Exchange and DC Building Innovation Hub, to centralize best-practices and resources for the building professional community, including retrofit approaches, tools, and incentives.
- Provide direct technical assistance to large building owners across the state who want to develop and implement building decarbonization roadmaps.
- Support existing career technical education building trades programs that serve Justice 40 communities, so the future workforce will have an up-to-date understanding of building performance standards and best practices. Instructors from the programs will have the opportunity to learn new skills to bring back to the classroom directly from building professionals.
- Support the effective implementation of adopted building performance standards in Boston and Cambridge through training, education and technical support to covered properties.
This award will help to lower energy costs and improve air quality for renters, families and businesses, help decarbonize more than 950 existing buildings, provide workforce training for 1,100 students from disadvantaged communities, and help Boston and Cambridge reduce polluting carbon emissions from 6,600 covered properties by 3.4 million tons.
Large Building Energy Reporting Program
DOER created the Building Energy Reporting Program, in line with An Act Driving Clean Energy and Offshore Wind. The LBER Program will develop a list of buildings that DOER identifies as large buildings under the Program. These buildings will be required to submit annual reports on the energy use of large buildings to DOER, with electric, gas, and steam utilities (including municipal utilities) submitting reports on behalf of the building owners. Building owners utilizing delivered fuels such as oil, propane, and wood will report such use to DOER. DOER will also develop a public database of energy use information for the previous calendar year for each large building.
DOER will publish a draft covered building list prior to publishing the final list in March of 2025, and there will be a period when building owners can ascertain whether their buildings are covered by the Program before the reporting period begins. DOER’s draft regulations define a large building as one or more buildings located on a parcel with a combined gross floor area of 20,000 or more square feet. As required by the law, under the LBER Program, reporting to DOER for 2024 energy usage will be required by June 30, 2025.
DOER will host a virtual public hearing on September 25, 2024 at 1:00 PM to hear feedback on the draft regulations. Registration for the hearing is available online. DOER will accept written public comments on the draft regulations until September 25, 2024. DOER asks written public comments to be sent as PDF files to DOER.BER@mass.gov with “BER Public Comment” as the subject line. Written comments are encouraged in addition to any verbal comments provided during the public hearing.
National Building Performance Standards Coalition
The Healey-Driscoll Administration also announced today that Massachusetts joined the Biden-Harris Administration’s National Building Performance Standards Coalition, a nationwide group of state and local governments at the forefront of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from buildings. The coalition empowers leading cities and states to leverage peer learning and expert resources, with support from federal agencies, labor and non-governmental organizations. Being a member of the Coalition will inform Building Energy Reporting by illustrating best practices to equitably engage building owners and occupants in the program design process, allowing for flexibility in approaches, and leverage building energy data in order to encourage energy and greenhouse gas savings in large buildings. While Massachusetts does not have building performance standards (BPS) and is not required to formally adopt a BPS to participate in the Coalition, being a member will help Massachusetts continue its leadership in reducing emissions from buildings. Massachusetts will benefit from peer learning and engaging with other members.
Large building owners are encouraged to sign up for DOER’s LBER mailing list to stay up-to-date on the Program. More information may be found here.
Statements of Support
Kyle Murray, Director of State Program Implementation and Massachusetts Program Director, Acadia Center
“These regulations represent a crucial step to realizing meaningful greenhouse gas emissions reductions from some of our largest buildings emitters. Simply put, without the data it is remarkably difficult to effectively design informed policies to slash emissions from the buildings sector. These proposed regulations keep us on the path to achieving our Commonwealth’s net zero requirements.”
David Melly, Legislative Director, the Environmental League of Massachusetts
“Tracking emissions from the built environment will provide valuable data for policymakers, municipalities, and other stakeholders looking to improve the impact of existing decarbonization initiatives and spark new, innovative planning for a net-zero future. Particularly in dense urban areas where emissions from the built environment are our largest source of carbon pollution, improved accounting and reporting provides an important accountability measure for driving climate action in overburdened communities.”