MoCo Leaders Marc Elrich and Hans Riemer Today Announced Historic Electrification Bill for Buildings

Speakers at today’s event included (left to right): Joelle Novey, Interfaith Power & Light; Lindsey Shaw, Energy and Climate Section, MoCo DEP; Doris Nguyen, Climate Action Plan Coalition; Tom Deyo, Montgomery County Green Bank; Mike Tidwell, CCAN Action Fund; Montgomery County Councilmember Hans Riemer; Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich; and Shane Pollin, PS Ventures (representing the Hillandale Gateway partnership).

Statement from Mike Tidwell, Director of Chesapeake Climate Action Network and CCAN Action Fund

ROCKVILLE, MD – Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich and County Councilmember Hans Riemer today outlined details of a  bill that would make the county a national leader in the movement to fully electrify all new buildings to fight climate change and promote public health.

STATEMENT FROM MIKE TIDWELL, DIRECTOR, CCAN ACTION FUND: 

“Hats off  to Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich and County Councilmember Hans Riemer. Their joint bill to fully electrify new buildings by 2024 is perhaps the strongest step ever proposed by the County to fight climate change. To solve global warming, we must ‘electrify everything.’ That includes buildings. This pioneering bill helps set a standard for the rest of the region and the nation. If enacted, it would be transformational.”

The “Comprehensive Building Decarbonization” bill was unveiled today by Elrich and Riemer at a press conference in Silver Spring, MD. The legislation – Bill 13-22 – will be introduced before the Montgomery County Council on June 14 and will require all-electric building standards for new construction, major renovations and additions by Jan. 1, 2024. The law would apply to residential and commercial construction. See explanatory County memorandum here

The legislation would put Montgomery County in the forefront of cities and counties in the U.S. working to decarbonize buildings, the source of 40% of all greenhouse gases in the nation. The bill will ensure that all-electric building standards become part of the County’s building code, guaranteeing new buildings will be primed for a zero-greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions future.  

The announcement will be made at the future site of the Hillandale Gateway, an all-electric, mixed-use development envisioned in Eastern Montgomery County that is the cornerstone of the White Oak Science Gateway Master Plan.

The Hillandale Gateway buildings are being designed to Passive House standards with high-performance elements that are extremely energy efficient while also creating comfortable and safe indoor environments. The project development team consists of the Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County and The Duffie Companies/PS Ventures. 

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The CCAN Action Fund is the advocacy arm of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, the oldest and largest grassroots organization dedicated exclusively to raising awareness about the impacts and solutions associated with global warming in the Chesapeake Bay region. For almost 20 years, CCAN has been at the center of the fight for clean energy and wise climate policy in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C. 

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