Navigating the Clean Power Plan: A Template for Including Building Energy Codes in State Compliance Plans

The Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed Clean Power Plan establishes state-specific targets for carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants. This tool is intended to help states document and claim emissions reductions resulting from the adoption of building energy codes as a means of complying with their obligations under the Clean Power Plan. It includes a discussion of the guidance and precedents relied on to develop this template, the elements states should address in order to claim emissions reduction credit for building energy codes, recommendations on how to address these elements, and a hypothetical case study of a state that includes building energy codes in its compliance plan.