HF 3401

1st Committee Engrossment - 85th Legislature (2007 - 2008) Posted on 12/22/2009 12:39pm

1.1A bill for an act

1.2relating to energy; providing for development and application of building energy
1.3usage performance standards;amending Minnesota Statutes 2006, section
1.416B.325; Minnesota Statutes 2007 Supplement, section 216B.241, subdivision
1.51e, by adding a subdivision.
1.6BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.7    Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 16B.325, is amended to read:
1.816B.325 SUSTAINABLE BUILDING GUIDELINES.
1.9    Subdivision 1. Development of sustainable building guidelines. The Department
1.10of Administration and the Department of Commerce, with the assistance of other agencies,
1.11shall develop sustainable building design guidelines for all new state buildings by January
1.1215, 2003, and for all major renovations of state buildings by February 1, 2009. The
1.13primary objectives of these guidelines are to ensure that all new state buildings, and
1.14major renovations of state buildings, initially exceed existing the state energy code, as
1.15established in Minnesota Rules, chapter 7676, by at least 30 percent.
1.16    Subd. 2. Lowest possible cost; energy conservation. The guidelines must focus
1.17on achieving the lowest possible lifetime cost for new buildings and major renovations,
1.18and allow for changes in the guidelines that encourage continual energy conservation
1.19improvements in new buildings. and major renovations. The guidelines must define
1.20"major renovations" for purposes of this section. The definition may not allow "major
1.21renovations" to encompass less than 10,000 square feet or to encompass less than the
1.22replacement of the mechanical, ventilation, or cooling system of the building or a section
1.23of the building. The design guidelines must establish sustainability guidelines that include
1.24air quality and lighting standards and that create and maintain a healthy environment
2.1and facilitate productivity improvements; must specify ways to reduce material costs;
2.2and must consider the long-term operating costs of the building, including the use of
2.3renewable energy sources and distributed electric energy generation that uses a renewable
2.4source or natural gas or a fuel that is as clean or cleaner than natural gas.
2.5    Subd. 3. Development of guidelines; applicability. In developing the guidelines,
2.6the departments shall use an open process, including providing the opportunity for public
2.7comment. The guidelines established under this section are mandatory for all new
2.8buildings receiving funding from the bond proceeds fund after January 1, 2004, and for all
2.9major renovations receiving funding from the bond proceeds fund after February 1, 2009.
2.10    Subd. 4. Revisions. The commissioners of administration and commerce shall
2.11review the guidelines periodically and as soon as practicable revise the guidelines to
2.12incorporate performance standards developed under section 216B.241, subdivision 9.

2.13    Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2007 Supplement, section 216B.241, subdivision 1e,
2.14is amended to read:
2.15    Subd. 1e. Applied research and development grants. (a) The commissioner
2.16may, by order, approve and make grants for applied research and development projects
2.17of general applicability that identify new technologies or strategies to maximize energy
2.18savings, improve the effectiveness of energy conservation programs, or document
2.19the carbon dioxide reductions from energy conservation programs. When approving
2.20projects, the commissioner shall consider proposals and comments from utilities and
2.21other interested parties. The commissioner may assess up to $3,600,000 annually for the
2.22purposes of this subdivision. The assessments must be deposited in the state treasury
2.23and credited to the energy and conservation account created under subdivision 2a. An
2.24assessment made under this subdivision is not subject to the cap on assessments provided
2.25by section 216B.62, or any other law.
2.26    (b) The commissioner, as part of the assessment authorized under paragraph (a),
2.27shall annually assess and grant up to $500,000 for the purpose of subdivision 9.

2.28    Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2007 Supplement, section 216B.241, is amended by adding
2.29a subdivision to read:
2.30    Subd. 9. Building performance standards; Sustainable Building 2030. (a) The
2.31purpose of this subdivision is to establish cost-effective energy-efficiency performance
2.32standards for new and substantially reconstructed residential, commercial, industrial,
2.33and institutional buildings that can significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions by
2.34lowering energy use in new and substantially reconstructed buildings. For the purposes of
3.1this subdivision, the establishment of these standards may be referred to as Sustainable
3.2Building 2030.
3.3    (b) The commissioner shall contract with the Center for Sustainable Building
3.4Research at the University of Minnesota to coordinate development and implementation
3.5of energy-efficiency performance standards, strategic planning, research, data analysis,
3.6technology transfer, training, and other activities related to the purpose of Sustainable
3.7Building 2030. The commissioner and the Center for Sustainable Building Research
3.8shall, in consultation with utilities and experts in building design and technology, develop
3.9a Sustainable Building 2030 implementation plan that must address, at a minimum, the
3.10following issues:
3.11    (1) training architects to incorporate the performance standards in building design;
3.12    (2) incorporating the performance standards in utility conservation improvement
3.13programs; and
3.14    (3) developing procedures for ongoing monitoring of energy use in buildings that
3.15have adopted the performance standards.
3.16The plan must be submitted to the chairs and ranking minority members of the senate and
3.17house of representatives committees with primary jurisdiction over energy policy by
3.18July 1, 2009.
3.19    (c) Sustainable Building 2030 energy-efficiency performance standards must be firm,
3.20quantitative measures of total building energy use and associated carbon dioxide emissions
3.21per square foot for different building types and uses, that allow for accurate determinations
3.22of a building's conformance with a performance standard. The energy-efficiency
3.23performance standards must be updated every three or five years to incorporate all
3.24cost-effective measures. The performance standards must reflect the reductions in carbon
3.25dioxide emissions per square foot resulting from actions taken by utilities to comply
3.26with the renewable energy standards in section 216B.1691. The performance standards
3.27should be designed to achieve reductions equivalent to the following reduction schedule,
3.28measured against energy consumption by an average building in each applicable building
3.29sector in 2003: (1) 60 percent in 2010; (2) 70 percent in 2015; (3) 80 percent in 2020;
3.30and (4) 90 percent in 2025. A performance standard must not be established or increased
3.31absent a conclusive engineering analysis that it is cost-effective based upon established
3.32practices used in evaluating utility conservation improvement programs.
3.33    (d) The annual amount of the contract with the Center for Sustainable Building
3.34Research is up to $500,000. The Center for Sustainable Building Research shall expend
3.35no more than $150,000 of this amount each year on administration, coordination, and
3.36oversight activities related to Sustainable Building 2030. The balance of contract funds
4.1must be spent for subcontracts with not-for-profit energy organizations, architecture and
4.2engineering firms, and other qualified entities to undertake technical projects and activities
4.3in support of Sustainable Building 2030. The primary work to be accomplished each
4.4year by qualified technical experts under subcontracts is the development and thorough
4.5justification of recommendations for specific energy-efficiency performance standards.
4.6Additional work may include:
4.7    (1) research, development, and demonstration of new energy-efficiency technologies
4.8and techniques suitable for residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional buildings;
4.9    (2) analysis and evaluation of practices in building design, construction,
4.10commissioning and operations, and analysis and evaluation of energy use in the residential,
4.11commercial, industrial, and institutional sectors;
4.12    (3) analysis and evaluation of the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of Sustainable
4.13Building 2030 performance standards, conservation improvement programs, and building
4.14energy codes;
4.15    (4) development and delivery of training programs for architects, engineers,
4.16commissioning agents, technicians, contractors, equipment suppliers, developers, and
4.17others in the building industries; and
4.18    (5) analyze and evaluate the effect of building operations on energy use.
4.19    (e) The commissioner shall require utilities to develop and implement conservation
4.20improvement programs that are expressly designed to achieve energy efficiency goals
4.21consistent with the Sustainable Building 2030 performance standards. These programs
4.22must include offerings of design assistance and modeling, financial incentives, and the
4.23verification of the proper installation of energy-efficient design components in new
4.24and substantially reconstructed buildings. A utility making an expenditure under its
4.25conservation improvement program that results in a building meeting the Sustainable
4.26Building 2030 performance standards may claim the energy savings toward its energy
4.27savings goal established in section 216B.241, subdivision 1c.
4.28    (f) The commissioner shall report to the legislature every three years, beginning
4.29January 15, 2010, on the cost-effectiveness and progress of implementing the Sustainable
4.30Building 2030 performance standards and shall make recommendations on the need to
4.31continue the program as described in this section.

4.32    Sec. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.
4.33    Sections 1 to 3 are effective the day following final enactment.