August 6, 2020 – A stakeholder group has released recommendations on the design and implementation of a building energy performance standard (BEPS) for Montgomery County that builds on the county’s current energy benchmarking requirements.

BEPS would require reductions in Energy Use Intensity (EUI) — a measure of energy use per square foot — for buildings covered under the county’s benchmarking law. That law requires certain county-owned and private, non-residential buildings which are 50,000 square feet or larger, to annually track and report building and energy performance details to the county.

The group is not recommending a terminal standard at this time. Instead, it has proposed an implementation methodology that would draw a straight line from each building’s energy performance in a base year to a required terminal performance (for example, in 2035) and set interim EUI standards at five-year intervals.

The report anticipated the addition of large, multifamily buildings as the program develops.

In fall 2019, the county expressed interest in pursuing BEPS for Montgomery County buildings as part of its ambitious climate goals of 80% reduction in GHG emissions by 2027 and zero GHG emissions by 2035.

“Trajectory model”: County draws a straight line from each building’s initial performance in a base year to its required terminal standards and sets interim targets for all buildings at intervals of 5 years.