Alaska Legislature Introduces Statewide Energy Policy Legislation

On January, a bill (SB 220) was introduced in the Alaska State Legislature as the Alaska Sustainable Energy Act, which intends to achieve a 10 percent increase in energy efficiency on a per capita basis by 2015 and a 15 percent increase in energy efficiency by 2020.  The legislation declares the state’s energy policy to include statewide energy codes for public buildings and assistance for local communities interested in implementing residential and commercial energy codes. Among the provisions of the bill, the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation is charged with administering an energy efficiency grant fund to incentivize new or retrofitted public buildings to comply with the latest version of ASHRAE Standard 90.1 or achieve LEED certification. The bill also establishes an energy use index database for public buildings and requires energy audits at least once every seven years.

 

More Information: SB 220 Home Page | Bill Text (introduced)