Building Trades: Energy code costs may thwart construction
Photo | Grant Welker
Green Island Boulevard, a new street built by the city, cuts through a planned new development that would stand across Madison Street from Polar Park.
Gov. Charlie Baker isn't the only one voicing concerns to the Legislature about the provision in the recently-passed climate policy bill allowing cities and towns to adopt a yet-to-be-created net-zero "stretch energy code." Labor unions and trade organizations told lawmakers in a series of recent letters that they're worried the provision could grind some projects to a halt.
The climate bill, which Baker has already vetoed once, includes a requirement that the Department of Energy Resources "develop and adopt, as an appendix to the state building code, in consultation with the board of building regulations and standards, a municipal opt-in specialized stretch energy code that includes, but is not limited to, a definition of net-zero building" which could give cities and towns the authority to require that newly-constructed or renovated buildings meet a net-zero emissions threshold.
"Net Zero Building is an open-ended term that leaves a lot to the imagination," Harry Brett of the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing, Pipefitting and Sprinkler Fitting Industry wrote in a letter to House lawmakers.
The Greater Boston Plumbing Contractors Association said the provision could force developers to stop construction until they have a better understanding of what the new requirements might be, telling lawmakers that "it is impossible for anyone investing millions of dollars to build an office building or a new multifamily building near transit, as examples, to understand the new costs that such a requirement will add to their project."
Other opposition to the provision came from Plumbers and Gasfitters Local 12 Boston, WesternMass Economic Development Council and Mass. Building Trades Council.
Buildings use about 54 percent of the energy used each year in Massachusetts and are responsible for about 40 percent of the state's greenhouse gas emissions. Supporters of the provision, like Mass. Climate Action Network, say a net-zero stretch energy code would help ensure that older and less-efficient buildings are replaced by highly-efficient ones that can tap into renewable power.
When he vetoed the climate bill last time, Baker said he supports the development of "a new high performance energy stretch code," but suggested he would rather see it go through the Board of Building Regulation and Standards. The bill is back on his desk, but this time the governor is expected to return it to the Legislature with proposed amendments. He has until Sunday to act on the bill.
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