DOE announces $90M to accelerate building code adoption

On Monday, the U.S. Department of Energy announced it had awarded $90 million in grants to help states, cities, Tribal nations and their partners implement updated energy codes for residential and commercial buildings.

The funding, part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will support 25 projects across the country to ensure that buildings meet energy efficiency standards, which will in turn lower energy bills for American families and businesses, officials said.

“The Biden-Harris Administration continues to use all the tools at our disposal to lower energy costs to keep more money in the pockets of working families,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said. “Thanks to the President’s Investing in America agenda, DOE is providing unprecedented assistance to states, cities, and Tribal Nations to implement modern building codes—delivering healthier, safer, and more resilient communities while slashing energy bills for families and businesses across the country.”

Analysis from several DOE national labs has shown that building energy codes make the electric grid more resilient and help save lives during extreme weather events and power outages. When combined with the $240 million in new funding to support the implementation of modern building codes, Monday’s announcement helps to bring the whole-of-government approach to lowering energy costs and ensuring communities are more resilient to extreme weather events.

Projects funded include $2.8 million for Slipstream, Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan and the Bay Mills Indian Community to provide training and resources to assist with code adoption and implementation; $2.2 million for the National Association of State Energy Officials to establish a new and replicable approach to evaluating the impact of building energy codes on resilience, as well as piloting the strategy in Arizona and Florida; and, $1.6 million for the Rhode island Office of Energy Resources and the Rhode Island Builders Association to provide energy code training and education resources to building inspectors.

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