Cities and government agencies alike are guiding the industry toward a zero-energy future

July 23, 2015

The benefits of zero-energy building have gained such widespread attention from commercial building customers that the technique is steadily gaining adopters across the globe. According to Technavio's recent analysis of the global zero-energy buildings market, the industry is expected to explode between 2015-2019, experiencing a compound annual growth rate of 35 percent over the next four years.

Technavio's report highlighted escalating energy costs and emission risks pushing firms toward greater energy efficiency as major factors motivating this shift toward zero-energy designs. Likewise, federal and local governments worldwide, especially in the EU,  are currently pushing for stricter building codes and green ratings that are slowly guiding the commercial sector toward zero-energy construction.

A similar interplay between local and federal governments is currently playing out in the United States. Greentech Media pointed out that a greener, more sustainable approach toward commercial development is necessary to counteract the negative impacts of urbanization. It's no surprise that so many cities and federal decision makers are beginning to identify zero-energy building, along with associated technologies like renewable generation and energy storage, as a cleaner path into the future.

Zero-energy cities look to pave the way for the rest of the nation
Looking to defray energy costs and set a good example for surrounding towns, multiple cities have sought to establish entire zero-energy communities. Lancaster, California, for example, has looked to achieve zero-energy performance for the past six years, according to Government Technology. Since announcing his goal to make the city energy neutral, Mayor R. Rex Parris went about eliminating the legislative barriers that might stymie the expansion of technologies like renewable energy, storage and any other green building techniques that could be used to help Lancaster achieve zero-energy performance.

A similar effort is currently underway in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where the city's Getting to Net Zero Task Force announced a 25-year plan to achieve citywide zero-energy performance just last May. Like in Lancaster, supporters of the movement in Cambridge are currently focusing on making it easier to expand zero-energy building by easing up legislative restrictions, according to the Cambridge Chronicle and Tab.

"Some of the things that we can do in Cambridge are the net-zero construction standards," said Quinton Zondervan, member of the Getting to Net Zero Task Force. "By 2020, all municipal construction will be net zero. It sets a tremendous example."

Multiple federal agencies focusing on developing zero-energy portfolios and hard targets
A number of the federal government's biggest agencies are looking to reinforce the growing adoption of zero-energy building strategies. According to Energy Storage Report, the Department of Defense (DOE) plans to set its goal at 25 percent of energy to be generated by renewables by 2025. In addition to this goal, the United States Army subsequently set out to build 25 new zero-energy installations by the end of 2030.

Looking to lead through policy, the Department of Energy (DOE) plans to create broadly accepted zero-energy standards. According to The Hill, the DOE intends to use a new national standard to track zero-energy development accurately and create greater incentives for green building.

Zero-energy building is currently positioned to make a big impact worldwide over the next few years, and support from multiple government bodies will certainly help this technology trend along in its development.