Bill would require federal buildings to comply with green guidelines

Aug. 2 -- Bipartisan legislation introduced in the House would encourage the development of energy-efficient green buildings and require new federal building construction to adopt the technologies.

Reps. Mike Doyle, D-Pa., and Mary Bono, R-Calif., introduced the High Performance Green Building Act, which would authorize the use of $50 million over five years to encourage the development of green buildings. The Doyle-Bono legislation would require that all newly constructed federal buildings comply with the most up-to-date green building technology. The bill also would expand existing federal research on green building technology and create a green building clearinghouse to provide interested parties with the latest green building research.

Buildings in the Untied States account for 39 percent of total energy use, 70 percent of electricity consumption, 38.1 percent of greenhouse gas emissions and 30 percent of raw material use, according to the Department of Energy.