Size Does Matter

It all started with big energy hogs—like spas, heated pools, and snowmelt systems—that fell outside (literally) the residential energy code. Snowmelt systems, for example, can use the same amount of energy per square foot as a home! When the local building code was tightened to encompass these energy uses, there was no way to improve the structure’s performance enough to offset the massive amounts of energy that pools and driveway heaters use. Instead of letting the code be a de facto ban on these profligate energy uses, the City and County decided that noncompliant energy users must play or pay: install on-site renewable energy systems for these uses or pay mitigation fees that local government will use for renewable energy generation someplace else. And while they were at it, the city and county threw in mitigation requirements and fees for really big homes as well.

According to Stephen Kanipe, the county and city building inspector who handles the requirements and fees for REMP, approximately $1.2 million has been collected in just over a year, with mitigation fees as high as $80,000 being collected from a single residence! The calculation for mitigation fees for spas, heated pools, and snowmelt systems is based on the system’s energy use over a 20-year period multiplied by twice the marginal cost of locally available windpower.