Commercial real estate professionals await impact of new energy law.(insession)(Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007)(Br

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 became law on December 19, 2007. The "High Performance Commercial Buildings" section is of the most interest to commercial real estate professionals. An individual with the title, Director of Commercial High-Performance Green Buildings, is to be appointed and will report to the Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. By March 19, 2008, the new director must formally recognize groups that qualify as a high-performance green building partnership consortium.

The director must establish the "Zero-Net Energy Commercial Building Initiative" to reduce the quantity of energy consumed by commercial buildings and to achieve the development of zero-net energy commercial buildings in the United States. The goal of the initiative is to develop and disseminate technologies, practices and policies for the development and establishment of zero-net energy commercial buildings for:

* Any commercial building newly constructed in the United States by 2030.

* 50 percent of the commercial building stock of the United States by 2040.

* All commercial buildings in the United States by 2050.

It is important to note that the goal of having all commercial buildings achieve zero-net energy by 2050 is a goal, not a mandate. The law does not contain any tax incentives for commercial building owners and managers.

IREM will closely monitor the proposed rules of relevant agencies implementing the law. For a detailed analysis of the new law, visit the Public Policy section at www.irem.org.

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