§ 17082. Zero Net Energy Commercial Buildings Initiative

• (a) In this section:
  • (1) The term “consortium” means a High-Performance Green Building Consortium selected by the Commercial Director.
  • (2) The term “initiative” means the Zero-Net-Energy Commercial Buildings Initiative established under subsection (b)(1).
  • (3) The term “zero-net-energy commercial building” means a high-performance commercial building that is designed, constructed, and operated—
    • (A) to require a greatly reduced quantity of energy to operate;
    • (B) to meet the balance of energy needs from sources of energy that do not produce greenhouse gases;
    • (C) in a manner that will result in no net emissions of greenhouse gases; and
    • (D) to be economically viable.
• (b)
  • (1) The Commercial Director shall establish an initiative, to be known as the “Zero-Net-Energy Commercial Buildings Initiative”—
    • (A) to reduce the quantity of energy consumed by commercial buildings located in the United States; and
    • (B) to achieve the development of zero net energy commercial buildings in the United States.
  • (2)
    • (A) Not later than 180 days after December 19, 2007 , the Commercial Director shall competitively select, and enter into an agreement with, a consortium to develop and carry out the initiative.
    • (B) In entering into an agreement with a consortium under subparagraph (A), the Commercial Director shall use the authority described in section 7256(g) of this title , to the maximum extent practicable.
• (c) The goal of the initiative shall be to develop and disseminate technologies, practices, and policies for the development and establishment of zero net energy commercial buildings for—
  • (1) any commercial building newly constructed in the United States by 2030;
  • (2) 50 percent of the commercial building stock of the United States by 2040; and
  • (3) all commercial buildings in the United States by 2050.
• (d) In carrying out the initiative, the Commercial Director, in consultation with the consortium, may—
  • (1) conduct research and development on building science, design, materials, components, equipment and controls, operation and other practices, integration, energy use measurement, and benchmarking;
  • (2) conduct pilot programs and demonstration projects to evaluate replicable approaches to achieving energy efficient commercial buildings for a variety of building types in a variety of climate zones;
  • (3) conduct deployment, dissemination, and technical assistance activities to encourage widespread adoption of technologies, practices, and policies (including demand-response technologies, practices, and policies) to achieve energy efficient commercial buildings;
  • (4) conduct other research, development, demonstration, and deployment activities necessary to achieve each goal of the initiative, as determined by the Commercial Director, in consultation with the consortium;
  • (5) develop training materials and courses for building professionals and trades on achieving cost-effective high-performance energy efficient buildings;
  • (6) develop and disseminate public education materials to share information on the benefits and cost-effectiveness of high-performance energy efficient buildings;
  • (7) support code-setting organizations and State and local governments in developing minimum performance standards in building codes that recognize the ready availability of many technologies utilized in high-performance energy efficient buildings;
  • (8) develop strategies for overcoming the split incentives between builders and purchasers, and landlords and tenants, to ensure that energy efficiency and high-performance investments are made that are cost-effective on a lifecycle basis; and
  • (9) develop improved means of measurement and verification of energy savings and performance for public dissemination.
• (e) In carrying out this section, the Commercial Director shall require cost sharing in accordance with section 16352 of this title .
• (f) There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section—
  • (1) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2008;
  • (2) $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 and 2010;
  • (3) $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2011 and 2012; and
  • (4) $200,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2013 through 2018.