The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provides a historic opportunity to advance the efficiency and resilience of building energy codes in states and local jurisdictions throughout the United States. As outlined in Section 40511 of the Act, $225M in funding has been appropriated to “eligible entities to enable sustained cost-effective implementation of updated building energy codes” through a competitive grant process over five years (FY22-FY26).
Awardees eligible for this funding must include a relevant state or tribal government agency, and priority will be given to teams that include strategic partnerships, such as a local building code agency, codes and standards developers, associations of builders and design and construction professionals, and many others. Projects must also be tied to an updated building energy code, which includes any amendment or code update resulting in increased energy efficiency as compared to the previously adopted code. The act outlines priority criteria for the funding, including an established need by an eligible entity, the long-term sustainability of measures and savings, the ability to address equity, energy, and environmental justice (EEEJ) and resilience priorities, and others.
Second Round of RECI Funding Announced
Released: March 4, 2024
On March 4, 2024, DOE announced $90 million in funding to support building energy code adoption, training, and technical assistance at the state, tribal, and local level. This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) represents the second installment of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law: Resilient and Efficient Codes Implementation initiative and builds on the 27 awards that were announced last year, which included activities such as workforce development; community engagement; research and data collection; energy, equity, and environmental justice; and increased support for compliance and enforcement.
This FOA maintains the same broad format, flexibility, and crosscutting areas of interest, while emphasizing and prioritizing specific gaps, needs, and opportunities to support building energy codes identified as focal points through the first RECI FOA and continued stakeholder engagement. This FOA will continue to support the goals and specification of BIL Section 40511, as well as a broader government-wide approach to advancing building codes and supporting their successful implementation.
DOE expects to make a total of approximately $90,000,000 of federal funding available for new awards under this FOA, subject to the availability of appropriated funds. DOE anticipates making approximately 20-40 awards under this FOA. DOE may issue one, multiple, or no awards. Individual awards may vary between $500,000 and $10,000,000.
Current Funded Projects
On July 12, 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $90 million in competitive awards to help states, cities, tribes, and partnering organizations implement updated energy codes for buildings. Funded by the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, these awards will support 27 projects across 27 states and the District of Columbia to ensure buildings meet the latest standards for energy efficiency—reducing greenhouse gas emissions and lowering energy bills for American families and businesses. Awardees will provide technical assistance for updating state and local building codes, as well as their successful implementation across the country.
The 27 awarded projects were selected following a robust stakeholder engagement process and target partnerships across the range of energy code stakeholders who play an important role supporting the successful implementation of building codes. These awards encompass a number of key activities supporting energy code updates and implementation, including workforce development, community engagement, research and data collection, energy, equity and environmental justice, and increased support for compliance and enforcement.
Previous RECI Funding Opportunities
Initial RECI FOA: On December 19, 2022, DOE issued the First FOA of the RECI Initiative supporting the implementation of resilient and efficient energy codes, in accordance with Section 40511 of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). A Notice of Intent (NOI) was issued on July 21, 2022.
Stakeholder Engagement
In preparing for this BIL technical assistance initiative, DOE conducted extensive engagement and stakeholder outreach to identify prominent needs and challenges impeding energy code implementation, explore, prioritize, and validate topics of interest, and establish key desired outcomes.
In April 2022, DOE issued an initial Request for Information (RFI) and hosted a Public Workshop seeking input from stakeholders to inform the implementation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s $225M in funding for improved building codes.
- Official RFI. Please note that the deadline for public comments has now passed.
- Public Workshop: Presentation Slides and Workshop Summary