Building Codes Assistance Project

Join over 700 of energy efficiency's most notable leaders, representing 40+ countries, at the Energy Efficiency Global Forum & Exposition (EE Global), being held May 10-12, 2010 at the Washington DC Convention Center. With over 80% of 2009 participants self-identifying as executives or managers, EE Global 2010 will provide access to decision makers and offer executive-level insight and dialogue. Focusing solely on energy efficiency from the perspective of all energy end-use sectors (buildings, industrial and transportation) and with coverage of all cross-cutting issues (finance, policy, technology, and market transformation), EE Global serves as an exchange of best practices and policies for global implementation of energy efficiency. Visit www.eeglobalforum.org for detailed information about this exciting event!

The Washington State Building Code Council (SBCC) will be holding two public hearings regarding proposed changes to the 2009 Washington State Energy Code (WSEC). The first will be held in Renton on Tuesday, September 29 at 10:00 am PT (1:00 pm ET) in the Renton Holiday Inn, and the second will be held in Spokane on Monday, October 5 at 9:00 am PT (12:00 pm ET) in Spokane City Hall.

[Updated May 12, 2009]

On April 21, the Washington state House and Senate passed the final version of two companion bills originally agreed to in March that will require all new buildings and retrofits to consume significantly less energy.  The legislation will mandate that construction permitted under the 2031 edition of the state's building code use 70 percent less energy than those permitted under the 2006 Washington State Energy Code (WSEC). Upon the bill's signing by Gov. Christine Gregoire on May 8, Washington became the first state to legislatively adopt the Architecture 2030 Challenge into its building code.

With the help of a $300,000 federal grant, Washington will update its state energy code to an efficiency level that is a 30 percent improvement over ASHRAE 90.1-2004 and/or the 2006 IECC in the 2009 code revision process by providing code implementation support. This will include development and revision of materials to implement the 2009 changes and training and support to the building community to ensure success in code implementation.