The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation earlier this month rescinded its national definition of a zero-emissions building, saying the standard doesn’t align with the Trump administration’s goals or executive orders that are “broadly unsupportive of net-zero policies,” the agency said Dec. 3 in a Federal Register notice.
The action will lower costs and promote freedom of choice in the buildings sector by “relieving developers, investors and building owners of indirect pressure to account for federal guidelines that never had the force or effect of law,” the agency said in a release Dec. 3.
Under President Joe Biden, DOE released the first part of the zero-emissions building definition in 2024 after a process of collecting public input. The definition set discretionary standards for energy efficiency, on-site emissions from energy use and consumption from “clean” energy sources.
Among other things, to qualify as zero emissions, buildings had to obtain an Energy Star score of 75 or higher. If they were not eligible for a score, they had to reduce site energy use intensity to at least 35% better than the median energy use intensity for buildings of that category. The building also had to have zero on-site (Scope 1) emissions from energy use, and all energy it used, both on- and off-site, had to come from clean energy sources. The definition has been removed from the DOE website.
At the time, the definition was commended by industry organizations, including ASHRAE and the U.S. Green Building Council. DOE noted multiple executive orders from President Trump that it says disagree with the guidance, including Executive Order 14148, “Initial Rescission of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions.”
“These were not regulatory standards, and compliance was purely voluntary,” DOE said Dec. 3. “References to the rescinded definition have been removed from DOE’s website and informational resources. DOE will no longer provide technical assistance related to the definition.”
In its Federal Register notice, the agency discourages states, municipalities and standards-setting bodies from using or referencing the definition.
