Renewable and Carbon Free Energy and Electricity

This working group established under section 508 of the E.O. will consist of representatives appointed by CEQ, DOD, DOE, EPA, GSA, OMB, and other agencies designated by the Chair of CEQ. The working group must provide recommendations on implementation of the CFE goals and report semiannually to the Federal Chief Sustainability Officer and the NCTF on its actions and progress toward achievement of CFE goals.

Transitioning to 100 percent CFE, and achieving 50 percent 24/7 CFE, will require coordination across agencies to streamline energy purchasing, consolidate and aggregate procurements, and leverage the expertise of the Department of Defense (DOD), DOE, and the General Services Administration (GSA) to contract for electricity for Federal agencies. Agencies must coordinate with DOD, DOE, and GSA to develop procurement strategies to achieve CFE goals and targets. DOD, DOE, and GSA must develop, in consultation with EPA and DOE-FEMP, robust accounting to facilitate tracking of CFE produced, used, or facilitated through such procurements.

To calculate progress, agencies may include CFE produced and consumed at a Federal facility; purchased from a utility service provider, retail service provider, or energy supply contractor, through a power purchase agreement; or procured as part of a performance contract. Where applicable to the energy source, agencies must maintain or obtain and retire any attributes representing the renewable or zero-carbon nature of the purchased electricity, such as renewable energy certificates (RECs). In coordination with the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), CEQ will develop methodologies for CFE accounting to measure progress toward the goals of the E.O., including accounting for the share of CFE delivered to the regional electrical grid.

Section 203 of the E.O. directs each agency to increase its percentage use of carbon pollution-free electricity (CFE), so that it constitutes 100 percent of facility electrical energy use by fiscal year 2030, with 50 percent procured to match actual electricity consumption on an hourly basis and produced within the same regional grid where the electricity is consumed or "24/7" CFE. In addition, section 203 requires agencies to maximize opportunities to facilitate new CFE generation and storage capacity deployment.

Of the total amount of electric energy the Federal government consumes during any fiscal year (FY), the following amounts shall be renewable energy: not less than 7.5% in FY 2013 and each FY thereafter.