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!

On February 11, 2009, a bill (SB 232) was introduced in the Rhode Island General Assembly that would mandate at least a USGBC LEED "Certified" rating (or equivalent green certification) for public buildings and schools that enter the design phase after January 1, 2010. This would include all new facilities in excess of 5,000 square feet and all renovations in excess of 10,000 square feet.

[Updated June 25, 2009]

On May 14, 2009, Rhode Island Governor Donald Carcier signed HB 5986 into law, directing the Rhode Island State Building Commission to update the state building code to include the 2009 IECC and ASHRAE 90.1-2007 and to develop a plan to achieve compliance in 90 percent of new and renovated building space by February 2017.

Rhode Island has revised its commercial building energy code to incorporate air barrier requirements similar to those in the Massachusetts state code. This change will become effective January 1, 2009. The state hopes to train its builders on this new requirement during this time.

For Rhode Island code status information, please consult the BCAP Rhode Island Code Status page.

On February 26, 2008, the Rhode Island legislature introduced The Global Warming Solution Act, House Bill 7884. It includes an automatic update of the most recent IECC and requires state buildings to be constructed to exceed ASHRAE 90.1-2004 by no less than 20%. On April 1, 2008, the House Environment and Natural Resources Committee recommended that it be held for further study.