Energy Act of 2020
In December 2020, Congress passed the Energy Act of 2020 as part of an omnibus bill, which contains new requirements for federal agencies.
Energy and Water Conservation:
- Facility energy managers should consider the use of energy management systems and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Standard 50001 certification.
- Agencies shall install all lifecycle cost-effective energy and water conservation measures in all agency-owned buildings to the maximum extent possible. Non-compliance must be reported to Congress every two years beginning January 1, 2022.
- Agencies shall implement all lifecycle cost-effective energy efficiency measures (ECMs) identified from covered facility evaluations within two years of the evaluations’ completion.
- Agencies will complete energy and water evaluations for covered facilities no less frequently than once every four years.
- Agencies shall consider evaluating their data centers every four years by program-certified practitioners.
Performance Contracting:
- Agencies must report forecasted savings from energy savings performance contracts (ESPCs) and utility energy savings contracts and will compare projected savings to previous forecasts using measurement and verification processes.
Metering:
- Directed the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) to update Federal Building Metering Guidance to include water building-level metering requirements.
- Agencies are required to submit new Metering Plans within 180 days of FEMPs publication of the updated Federal Building Metering Guidance document.