Investing in America Agenda is Lowering Energy Bills, Expanding Efficient Building Code Use, Making Buildings Safer in Extreme Weather, and Helping Tackle the Climate Crisis

WASHINGTON, D.C. — As part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $90 million in competitive awards to assist states, cities, Tribal Nations, and their partners in implementing updated energy codes for residential and commercial buildings. Funded by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, these awards will support 25 new projects across the country to ensure buildings meet the latest standards for energy efficiency—lowering energy bills for American families and businesses while reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions and advancing environmental justice.

Analysis from several DOE National Labs indicates that building energy codes enhance grid resilience and save lives during extreme weather events and power outages. Alongside $240 million in new funding recently selected through the Inflation Reduction Act to support modern building code implementation, today’s announcement highlights the Biden-Harris Administration’s comprehensive approach to lowering energy costs and increasing community resilience against climate change-fueled extreme weather events.

“The Biden-Harris Administration continues to use all the tools at our disposal to lower energy costs to keep more money in the pockets of working families,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “Thanks to the President's Investing in America agenda, DOE is providing unprecedented assistance to states, cities, and Tribal Nations to implement modern building codes—delivering healthier, safer, and more resilient communities while slashing energy bills for families and businesses across the country.”

Homes built according to current energy codes are 40% more efficient than those constructed 15 years ago. The DOE estimates that from 2010 through 2040, energy codes will save Americans $182 billion on utility bills and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 900 million metric tons—equivalent to the combined annual emissions of 187 million gasoline-powered cars.

The funding announced today is part of the $225 million Resilient and Efficient Codes Implementation (RECI) initiative established by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and administered by DOE's Building Technologies Office. This second installment builds on initial RECI funding of $90 million announced in July 2023 for 27 projects. It aims to advance DOE’s Decarbonizing the U.S. Economy by 2050: A National Blueprint for the Buildings Sector.

The new cohort of RECI projects expands geographic coverage and assistance under the initiative, supporting workforce development in high-impact states with substantial construction activity. Projects will also expand stakeholder engagement through tailored rural and regional collaboratives and develop resources, standardized policies, research methods, and data collection techniques.

Selected projects include:

- Regional Energy Efficiency Organizations, Tribal Homeownership Coalition of the Southwest, Maine Governor’s Energy Office, and Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection will establish a rural codes collaborative providing programming to overcome barriers in rural and Tribal communities nationwide (Award amount: $3.6 million).

- Slipstream, Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan, and Bay Mills Indian Community will collaborate with Tribal Nations in Michigan on training resources for code adoption (Award amount: $2.8 million).

- National Association of State Energy Officials will pilot a strategy evaluating building energy code impacts on resilience in Arizona and Florida (Award amount: $2.2 million).

- New Buildings Institute along with South-Central Partnership for Energy Efficiency as a Resource and Austin Energy will support efficient code implementation in Texas and Oklahoma (Award amount: $1.6 million).

- Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources together with Rhode Island Builders Association will provide training resources for implementing latest energy codes (Award amount: $1.6 million).

For a full list of projects supported under RECI initiative visit here.

These projects aim to provide critical resources needed by states and local governments including workforce training; addressing implementation challenges; investing in innovative tools; education; compliance support; ensuring equity; environmental justice efforts aligned with President’s Justice40 Initiative aiming at delivering benefits from federal investments to disadvantaged communities marginalized by underinvestment or pollution burdened.

Selection for award negotiations does not guarantee an award or funding issuance as DOE may cancel negotiations anytime during this process.

DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE) accelerates technology research/development towards achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions economy-wide by 2050 ensuring clean-energy economy benefits all Americans creating quality jobs especially impacting workers/communities historically underserved/overburdened by pollution.

For more information on DOE activities supporting building codes visit Building Energy Codes Program or see original funding opportunity announcement.

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