Why Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings Feature Prominently in Joe Biden’s Plans
Originally published on RMI.org.
By John Matson
The White House on May 17 announced a slate of new programs aimed at integrating US buildings into the clean energy economy. The initiatives include electrification programs for existing homes, workforce training for next-generation jobs in the buildings sector, and efforts to increase the adoption of efficient electric heat pumps and EV fast chargers.
Alongside the plans for job training and building electrification, the announcement also highlighted the Biden administration’s goals for grid-interactive efficient buildings — a less well-known approach that has significant potential to reduce carbon emissions.
In this blog post, we’ll explore what grid-interactive efficient buildings are and why they feature so prominently in plans for a clean energy future.
What Are Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings?
A grid-interactive efficient building (GEB) continuously optimizes energy use by combining efficiency measures such as LED lighting, efficient heat pumps, and high-performance windows with smart technologies such as solar, battery storage, and integrated building controls. Rather than simply consuming energy from the grid based on the building’s baseline energy use and occupant demands, a GEB interacts with the grid to continuously manage its demand in response to key signals from the electric utility.
To save money, reduce strain on the grid, or limit carbon emissions from electricity generation, a GEB might shed load (e.g., automatically dimming LED lights throughout the building) or shift its load from one time to another (e.g., drawing from on-site batteries rather than the grid) in a practice known as demand flexibility, or load flexibility.
What Is Demand Flexibility?
Demand flexibility is a building’s ability to shed or time-shift its energy demand in response to near-real-time signals about conditions on the grid. Demand flexibility signals can include the current price of electricity, the availability of renewable energy sources such as solar and wind, and the carbon intensity of the current energy mix. For instance, a GEB might employ demand flexibility to shift its peak electricity demand to a time of day when solar energy is abundant and might otherwise be curtailed.
Demand flexibility offers significant promise for reducing the carbon emissions from building operations, especially as the grid integrates more distributed energy resources. But the benefits can extend beyond cost and carbon savings. As detailed in a new RMI insight brief, buildings that flex their demand can shift energy away from peak usage times, when utilities often rely on fossil-burning “peaker” plants to help meet surging demand. Demand flexibility can therefore reduce the need for these peaker plants, eliminating not only their carbon emissions but also their significant contributions to air pollution.
What Are the Potential Benefits of GEBs?
The potential energy, emissions, and cost savings from combining energy efficiency and demand flexibility in GEBs are substantial. Buildings account for more than 70 percent of US electricity consumption and at least one-third of US emissions, according to the US Department of Energy’s Building Technologies Office (BTO). A new GEB roadmap from the BTO estimates that smarter, more efficient buildings can eliminate 80 million tons of CO2 emissions annually by 2030, reducing the emissions of the entire US power sector by 6 percent. The emissions savings from GEBs would be equivalent to retiring more than 50 midsize coal plants or taking 17 million cars off the road.
Widespread adoption of GEB technologies would reduce peak loads on the grid, which would in turn reduce the needed capacity of the grid to meet those demands. The cost savings of GEBs would therefore extend beyond the owners and tenants of the GEBs themselves. By 2040, the BTO calculates, GEBs could save the US power system more than $100 billion in cumulative electricity generation and transmission costs.
What Are the New US Goals for GEBs?
In the GEB roadmap, released May 17 in conjunction with the White House announcement, the US Department of Energy laid out a goal of tripling the energy efficiency and demand flexibility of buildings by 2030, relative to 2020 levels. To reach that goal, the roadmap articulates 14 recommendations, from enhancing R&D for smart-building technologies to policy options for encouraging integration of GEB practices.
Among the roadmap’s recommendations is that government agencies should “lead by example” — deploying GEB measures in government-owned buildings to demonstrate the benefits and provide valuable insights and best practices for more widespread deployment. Already, the vast majority of US states have adopted requirements for energy usage or efficiency in government buildings, and demand flexibility could become a valuable tool for meeting those requirements.
At the federal level, the savings from GEBs would be significant. The US General Services Administration (GSA) is the nation’s largest landlord, with nearly 10,000 buildings and more than 375 million square feet of real estate under its control. In a 2019 cost-benefit analysis, RMI found that the GSA could save $50 million annually (about 20 percent of its energy expenditures) by implementing GEB measures across its portfolio of buildings. In all six locations that RMI studied in the GSA analysis, the payback period for GEB improvements was less than four years (and in some cases less than a year), demonstrating the soundness of the investment for the government and for taxpayers.
Next Steps at the Federal Level
A new report from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) provides a blueprint for the GSA to select buildings that are ideal candidates for cost-effective GEB projects. The report also lays out strategies and best practices for integrating GEB measures into the various phases of contract development for energy-focused building retrofits.
The NREL report notes that the sheer number of buildings managed by the GSA would allow the agency to screen its real estate portfolio for the highest-value GEB candidates before applying the early lessons learned in implementing GEB measures in performance contracts. NREL also notes that the buildings with the greatest economic potential for grid-interactive efficiency tend to share features such as time-of-use energy rates, high demand charges for a building’s peak energy usage, or utility or state programs that incentivize utility customers to be responsive in their energy demand.
One of the challenges identified by the new reports from BTO and NREL is the maturity and availability of some technologies that would optimize GEB implementation. Systems for coordinated, whole-building automation in response to signals from the grid are among the emerging technologies that will be needed to maximize GEBs’ benefits. The GSA’s Proving Ground program is evaluating some of these building control systems in demonstration projects, and the learnings from those evaluations should help to further shape best practices for implementing GEB projects nationwide.
The Path to 2030 and Beyond
By integrating energy efficiency, distributed energy generation technologies, and demand flexibility into its buildings, the GSA can help to advance the state of the art in grid-interactive efficient buildings. The proof points from GEB projects in the federal government’s building portfolio will not only help advance the DOE goal of tripling demand flexibility and efficiency measures by 2030. They should also make for a cleaner, more resilient grid powering smarter, more efficient buildings—all while saving taxpayers money.
Following a lawsuit brought against the California Air Resources Board (CARB) by major heavy truck manufacturers over California’s emissions requirements, CARB has struck back with fresh lawsuit of its own alleging that the manufacturers violated the terms of the 2023 Clean Truck Partnership agreement to sell cleaner vehicles.
Daimler Truck North America, International Motors, Paccar and Volvo Group North America sued the California Air Resources Board in federal court this past August, seeking to invalidate the Clean Truck Partnership emissions reduction deal they signed with the state in 2023 to move away from traditional trucks and toward zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs). The main point of the lawsuit was that, because the incoming Trump Administration rolled back Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) policies that had previously given individual states the right to set their own environmental and emissions laws, the truck makers shouldn’t have to honor the deals signed with individual states.
“Plaintiffs are caught in the crossfire: California demands that OEMs follow preempted laws; the United States maintains such laws are illegal and orders OEMs to disregard them,” the lawsuit reads. “Accordingly, Plaintiff OEMs file this lawsuit to clarify their legal obligations under federal and state law and to enjoin California from enforcing standards preempted by federal law.”
After several weeks of waiting for a response, we finally have one: CARB is suing the OEMs right back, claiming that the initial suit proves the signing manufacturers, “(have) unambiguously stated that they do not intend to comply.”
They want to sell Americans more diesel
In its lawsuit, CARB argues that monetary damages alone would not make the people of the State of California whole as far as damages are concerned, citing that the stated goal of the 2023 Clean Truck Partnership was, “to achieve emissions reductions that cannot be measured strictly in financial terms,” according to ACT-News.
The agency is asking the court to compel the truck companies to perform on their 2023 obligations or, failing that, to allow CARB to rescind the contract and recover its costs. A hearing on the truck makers’ request for a preliminary injunction was held Friday, with another court date set for November 21, when CARB will seek to dismiss the case brought forth by the truck brands. The outcome of these cases could shape how state and federal government agencies cooperation on emissions rules in the future.
You can read the full 22-page lawsuit, below, then let us know what you think of CARB’s response (and their chances of succeeding) in the comments.
SOURCES: CARB; via ACT-News, Trucking Dive.
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Starting this month, parking lots in South Korea with more than 80 spaces will be required to install solar canopies and carports. But, unlike similar laws that have been proposed in the US, this new law doesn’t just apply to new construction – existing lots will have to comply as well!
South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced in August that it has prepared an amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Promotion of the Development, Use, and Diffusion of New and Renewable Energy to the effect that all publicly- and privately-owned parking lots in the Asian country with room for more than 80 vehicles will be compelled to add solar panels to their lots in a move designed to proactively expand renewable energy and create more solar and construction jobs.
In addition to creating jobs and working to stabilize the local grid with more renewable energy, the proposed solar canopies will offer a number of practical, day-to-day benefits for Korean drivers, as well.
The shaded structures will protect vehicles from heavy rain, snow, and the blistering summer sun — keeping interiors cooler, extending the life of plastics and upholstery, and even helping to preserve battery range in EVs and PHEVs by reducing their AC loads (and, of course, provide charging while the cars are parked).
To their credit, Ministry officials absolutely get it. “Through this mandatory installation,” one unnamed official told Asia Business Daily, “we expect to expand the distribution of eco-friendly renewable energy generation facilities while providing tangible benefits to the public. By utilizing idle land such as parking lots, we can maximize land use efficiency. In addition, installing canopy-type solar panels can provide shade underneath, offering noticeable comfort to people using parking lots during hot weather.”
The new rule was approved in late September, and is expected to go into effect later this month, with new installation projects set to begin immediately.
It could work here
South Korea is proving that an idea like is practical. Here in the US, we’re proving that out, too – the Northwest Fire District in Arizona partnered with Standard Solar to build a conceptually similar, 657 kW solar carport system across 12 parking lots (shown, above) that delivers more than 1.23 million kWh of clean, emissions-free power annually and offsets the equivalent of 185,000 vehicles’ worth of harmful carbon emissions.
That’s just Arizona. In New York, a new initiative to help expand solar into parking lots has more than doubled commercially zoned land where EV charging stations can be sited, “freeing up” an additional 400 million square feet of space throughout the city.
Sun-rich states like Texas, New Mexico, and Florida could also benefit, and even if we’re “just” adding fresh energy sources to municipal parking, dealer lots, and public schools, we could do a lot to reduce the cost of energy generation for the entire community. And, for what it’s worth, that seems to be right in line with the big reasons why people are choosing to add solar to their homes today.
What do you guys think – would something like this work in the US, or are we too far gone down the sophomoric, pseudo-libertarian rabbit hole to ever dig our way out? Let us know your take in the comments.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Asia Business Daily, via LinkedIn; Standard Solar.
If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
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Autonomous taxi company Waymo faced scrutiny last month when a car was caught on video illegally passing a stopped school bus that was letting children off in Atlanta. Now, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is looking into it.
Georgia State Representative Clint Crowe seemed stunned after being presented with video of a Waymo driverless car illegally passing a stopped school bus on Briarcliff Road in Atlanta last month. “I’m a big fan of new technologies and emerging technologies and I think that driverless cars are going to become more prevalent,” he told local NBC news affiliate WBIR. “But we got [sic] to think about how they’re going to comply with the law.”
WBIR | Waymo illegally passes school bus
Crowe co-sponsored Addy’s Law in 2024. The legislation was named after 8-year-old Addy Pierce, who was killed in Henry County after being struck while crossing the street to get to her bus. The law stiffened penalties for illegally passing a stopped school bus, carrying penalties of up to $1,000 in fines and even jail time.
According to Crowe, those rules still apply to autonomous vehicles. “The majority of our traffic laws, the penalty is usually a fine and or driver’s license suspension. These cars don’t have a driver, so they don’t have a driver’s license and so we’re really going to have to rethink who’s the responsible party, who’s going to be responsible for being in control of that vehicle and who’s going to be the operator of that vehicle,” he said.
Crowe believes manufacturers should face stronger consequences when their vehicles break the law, saying the $1,000 fine doesn’t go far enough.
Now, thanks to pressure from social media and politicians like Crowe and Geoirgia State Senator Rick Williams, who helped co-author Addy’s Law, it seems like NHTSA is getting involved.
Prompted by media reports, the US Department of Transportation issued an investigation regarding Waymo’s AV, which states that, “the AV initially stopped, but then drove around the front of the bus by briefly turning right to avoid running into the bus’s right front end, then turning left to pass in front of the bus, and then turning further left and driving down the roadway past the entire left side of the bus. During this maneuver, the Waymo AV passed the bus’s extended crossing control arm near disembarking students (on the bus’s right side) and passed the extended stop arm on the bus’s left side.”
While it remains to be seen how much work NHTSA is actually doing amid the ongoing shutdown of the Federal government, it’s worth noting that, regardless of the outcome, Senator Williams said he plans to introduce new legislation that would hold driverless car companies accountable with higher fines if their vehicles violate traffic laws. If that passes in Georgia, it could set the stage for politicians across the US and even abroad to use similar fins to halt the spread of autonomous taxis in their states.
“Driverless cars should be stopped until it can be figured out,” said Williams. “We should not have this on the road. It’s too dangerous for our children.”
You can read NHTSA summary, below.
We’re typically pretty tech- and autonomous-forward here, but as a parent I would absolutely lose my s*** if a Waymo or Robotaxi or whatever else ran over my kid. but I’ve also seen plenty of human drivers blow past a school bus with a knee on the steering wheel and both eyes glued firmly to their phones. Let us know who you’d be more ready to trust with your kids’ lives in the comments.
SOURCES: WBIR, NHTSA, via School Transportation News.
If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
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