DESE0001543

The Department of Permitting Services in Montgomery County, Maryland will develop, adopt and implement county codes over the next nine years (three code cycles), a long-term target of 100% net zero energy building codes by the 2027 code cycle adoption period.

Montgomery County will be working on the path to net zero, funding will support the use of empirical data to drive the evolution of codes and develop a skilled workforce.

They will focus on launching a Technical Assistance Program (TAP) that reduces barriers and burdens in the permitting process to assist people and organizations comply with these new codes.

Disadvantaged communities will be a focus since they may face greater barriers to compliance.

They will aim to close the existing equity gap between the ease and length of the permitting process for disadvantaged community projects as compared to the county average.

The three objectives for Montgomery County, Maryland are:

• 100% of new construction projects must comply with a fully net zero energy code by the 2027 code cycle (estimated July 2029).

Every new cycle of codes during the next nine years will increase stringency and decrease energy cost to consumers.

This will greatly reduce GHG emissions from new construction county-wide.

• Launch a Technical Assistance Program (TAP) that reduces barriers and burdens in the permitting process to assist people and organizations comply with these upcoming net zero codes.

80% or more of all Technical Assistance Program participants will be able to receive permit approval within an equitable time to permit issuance (updated annually based on dynamic benchmarking procedure).

• New replicable methods that allow any county to measure code compliance and drive code decisions using data.

Montgomery County Maryland

THE OFFICE OF STATE AND COMMUNITY ENERGY PROGRAMS (SCEP) IS ISSUING THIS FUNDING OPPORTUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT (FOA). AWARDS MADE UNDER THIS FOA WILL BE FUNDED, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, WITH FUNDS APPROPRIATED BY SECTION 50131 OF THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT (IRA) OF 2022, ASSISTANCE FOR LATEST AND ZERO BUILDING ENERGY CODE ADOPTION. THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT OF 2022 (IRA) PROVIDES UP TO $1 BILLION FOR STATES AND UNITS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT WITH THE AUTHORITY TO ADOPT BUILDING ENERGY CODES TO ADOPT AND IMPLEMENT THE LATEST BUILDING ENERGY CODES, ZERO ENERGY BUILDING CODES, OR EQUIVALENT CODES OR STANDARDS. AN ENERGY CODE IS ONE OF SEVERAL TYPES OF BUILDING CODES THAT HELP CONTRIBUTE TO THE OVERALL HEALTH, SAFETY, EFFICIENCY, AND LONG-TERM RESILIENCE OF BUILDINGS. ENERGY CODES CAN BE ADOPTED DIRECTLY AS A STANDALONE CODE, SUCH AS THE INTERNATIONAL ENERGY CONSERVATION CODE (IECC), WHICH IS COMMONLY ADOPTED BY STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. MOREOVER, ENERGY CODES ARE ALSO FUNDAMENTAL COMPONENTS OF CERTAIN MORE BROADLY ADOPTED BUILDING CODES, INCLUDING THE INTERNATIONAL BUILDING CODE (IBC) AND INTERNATIONAL RESIDENTIAL CODE (IRC), WHICH ARE REFERENCED IN THE UNITED STATES AS “PARENTAL” CODES. ENERGY CODES ARE OFTEN DESCRIBED AS A SUBSET OF THESE BROADER BUILDING CODES, REPRESENTING DISTINCT CHAPTERS OF THE IBC AND IRC ALONGSIDE OTHER COMMONLY RECOGNIZED PROVISIONS, SUCH AS THOSE PERTAINING TO STRUCTURAL, PLUMBING, OR ELECTRICAL REQUIREMENTS, AND OTHER BASIC ASPECTS OF BUILDING DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION. ADOPTION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF SUCH CODES SUPPORTS THE DECARBONIZATION OF NEW AND EXISTING RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS. IN ADDITION, UPDATES TO REFRIGERANT APPROVALS AT THE STATE AND LOCAL LEVEL THAT ALLOW FOR THE INSTALLATION OF EQUIPMENT THAT UTILIZE REFRIGERANTS WITH LOWER GLOBAL WARMING POTENTIAL IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY’S SIGNIFICANT NEW ALTERNATIVES POLICY PROGRAM ALONG WITH ENERGY CODE UPDATES HELPS TO SUPPORT THE TRANSITION TO A CLEAN ENERGY ECONOMY. THIS OPPORTUNITY ASSISTS ELIGIBLE ENTITIES IN FURTHER DECARBONIZING THEIR BUILDINGS THROUGH THE ADOPTION OF THE LATEST NATIONAL MODEL BUILDING ENERGY CODES, ZERO ENERGY CODES, OTHER CODES THAT DELIVER EQUIVALENT OR GREATER ENERGY SAVINGS, INCLUDING INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO DECARBONIZE EXISTING BUILDINGS THROUGH CERTAIN MEASURABLE AND ENFORCEABLE REQUIREMENTS. THE IRA IS UNPRECEDENTED IN ITS OPPORTUNITY TO SUPPORT SUSTAINABLE CHANGE AT THE STATE AND LOCAL LEVEL WITH RESPECT TO ADVANCING THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY OF NEW, RENOVATED, AND EXISTING BUILDINGS. DOE IS PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN SUPPORTING STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS IN IMPLEMENTING LOCAL CAPACITY BUILDING, MULTI-YEAR INVESTMENTS IN WORKFORCE AND EDUCATION, AND LONG-TERM IMPROVEMENTS IN BUILDING ENERGY CODES THROUGH MULTI-CYCLE ADOPTION AND BUILDING PERFORMANCE STANDARDS (BPS). BUILDING ENERGY CODES ESTABLISH MINIMUM LEVELS OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY FOR NEW AND EXISTING RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS. MODEL ENERGY CODES, SUCH AS THE 2021 IECC AND ASHRAE STANDARD 90.1-2019, ARE DEVELOPED AND UPDATED THROUGH NATIONAL CONSENSUS PROCESSES. STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS ULTIMATELY IMPLEMENT BUILDING ENERGY CODES, WHICH ARE HANDLED THROUGH VARIOUS ADOPTION, COMPLIANCE, AND ENFORCEMENT PROCESSES AND CAN VARY WIDELY ACROSS THE UNITED STATES. MANY STATES HAVE CONSISTENTLY RECEIVED FUNDING THROUGH THEIR STATE ENERGY PLAN TO SUPPORT THE ADOPTION OF TRADITIONAL BUILDING ENERGY CODES. IN ADDITION TO THIS COMPETITIVE FUNDING OPPORTUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT, A FORMAL FUNDING ANNOUNCEMENT WAS PUBLISHED ON SEPTEMBER 19, 2023 FOR STATES PURSUING PRE-APPROVED CODE PACKAGES. DOE UNDERSTANDS THAT IMPLEMENTATION OF BUILDING ENERGY CODES ALSO DEPENDS ON A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF STAKEHOLDERS, INCLUDING STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT JURISDICTIONS, BUILDING AND SAFETY DEPARTMENTS, BUILDERS, CONTRACTORS, AND DESIGN PROFESSIONALS, OWNERS, OCCUPANTS, AS WELL AS A VARIETY OF CRITICAL COMMUNITY INTERESTS. SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE LATEST MODEL ENERGY CODES, ZERO ENERGY CODES AND OTHER INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO INCREASING BUILDING ENERGY EFFICIENCY RELIES UPON THE FORMATION OF PARTNERSHIPS AMONGST MANY OF THESE GROUPS AND IS CRITICAL TO ENSURING THEIR BENEFITS ARE REALIZED IN AMERICAN HOMES AND BUSINESSES.

81.117 - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Information Dissemination, Outreach, Training and Technical Analysis/Assistance

Golden Field Office (GFO) [DOE - EERE]

Department of Energy (DOE)

Rockville, Maryland United States

City-Wide

Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) Assistance for the Adoption of the Latest and Zero Building Energy Codes (DE-FOA-0003056)