Congress is currently deliberating legislation that would
require states to update building codes in order to meet certain
guidelines. In particular, Congress is considering mandating that
states' building codes meet the benchmark of 30 percent energy
efficiency over the American Society for Air Conditioning and
Refrigerating Engineers (ASHRAE) 90.1 (2004) by the year 2010 and
meet the benchmark of 50 percent energy efficiency improvement by
2020. ASHRAE 90.1 (2004) sets the baseline in energy efficiency and
has been adopted by most states as the standard for commercial
buildings.
While the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the
House Energy and Commerce Committee are working on energy
efficiency legislation, the National Association of Industrial and
Office Properties (NAIOP), the leading trade association for
developers, owners, investors and other professionals involved in
commercial, industrial and mixed-use real estate, has released a
study as to
