2007 Energy Bill Promotes High-Performance Buildings

Congress passed and President Bush signed the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 in December. With it, the green building community saw progress in several areas, including energy- and water- efficiency standards for appliances, carbon-reduction goals for federal buildings, and programs designed to promote high-performance commercial buildings. Under a veto threat from President Bush, however, other green building items were stripped from the bill.

Among the more aggressive provisions in the bill is one requiring new federal buildings to meet the goals of the 2030 Challenge, an initiative championed by the nonprofit group Architecture 2030 (see

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