House Dems Pass Another ‘Roadblock’ Public Building Energy Bill
By a vote of 57-40 House Democrats pushed through a bill that on paper, will quite possibly add to the length of time (and cost) needed to design, construct and operate new public buildings.
BILL WILL REQUIRE "ENERGY CONSUMPTION ANALYSIS" FOR NEW STRUCTURES
According to House Bill 1280 when it comes to the design of new public-owned (government) buildings or leased facilities, the Department of Enterprise Services will have to do the following (among other things):
"address energy considerations during the planning phase of the project; identify energy components and system alternatives, including energy management systems, renewable energy systems, and combined heat and power, prior to commencing the energy consumption analysis;
• identify simplified methods to assure the lowest life-cycle cost alternatives for selected buildings with between 25,000 and 100,000 square feet of usable floor area;..."
In the summary of the bill provided along with the bill itself at WashingtonVotes.org is says this:
"It is the public policy of the state to ensure that greenhouse gas emissions reduction practices are included in the design of major publicly owned or leased facilities, and that the use of all-electric energy systems and at least one renewable energy or combined heat and power system is considered."
These additional hurdles will most certainly add more time to the design and construction process as well as result in rising costs needed to fulfill these requirements.
House Rep Mary Dye had offered an amendment when this bill was proposed in 2021 that would have required balance with low-cost and "least-risk" design, but it was rejected.