Biden-Harris Administration seeks input on innovation for clean and efficient commercial buildings

October 16, 2023

General Services Administration, Department of Energy issue RFI for technologies that support net-zero carbon buildings

WASHINGTON — Today, as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, and through the Green Proving Ground (GPG) program,  the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), announced a new request for information (RFI) about technologies that can enable energy efficiency, electrification, and decarbonization in commercial buildings and contribute to a more efficient electric infrastructure. With $30 million in funding from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)–the largest climate investment in history–this RFI will result in more than triple the number of technologies in the program.  

Earlier this year, GSA announced that it will invest $30 million from the Inflation Reduction Act, in collaboration with DOE, to increase the sustainability of federal buildings by testing novel technologies through the GPG program. The funding allowed the program to increase its capacity and take steps to advance President Biden’s goal to achieve a net-zero emissions federal buildings portfolio by 2045, per Executive Order 14057 and the Federal Sustainability Plan. 

GSA’s GPG program leverages GSA’s real estate portfolio to evaluate innovative building technologies. Technologies selected to participate in this program will be piloted in one or more federal buildings and/or private sector facilities for evaluation by DOE national labs. The program enables GSA to make sound investment decisions in next-generation building technologies based on their real-world performance. Technology companies receive third-party evaluations facilitated by the federal government which can help scale their technology and grow their business, which strengthens U.S. competitiveness, the economy and creates jobs. 

“The GPG program is one way we’re creating the technical foundation for long-term, transformational changes,” said GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan. “We’re aiming for a triple win: more good American jobs, cost savings to taxpayers from reduced energy consumption, and a healthier future for all Americans.”

This year’s RFI is focused on emerging and sustainable technologies that support:

• Deep Energy Retrofits.
• All-Electric Buildings and Vehicle Fleets.
• Net-Zero Operations.
• Healthy and Resilient Buildings.
• Building Commissioning and Control.

Submissions should be early-or underutilized-commercial technologies ready for evaluation in occupied, operational buildings. Technologies will be considered for GSA’s Green Proving Ground (GPG) program (for federally owned facilities), and/or DOE-facilitated voluntary partnership programs (for privately owned facilities).

The RFI will be open for submissions until Friday, December 8, 2023. Parties interested in submitting an application can review the RFI on sam.gov, available directly at Solicitation #FY24RFI101623. Please direct inquiries regarding the RFI to gpg@gsa.gov. 

GSA’s Green Proving Ground program works with third-party evaluators to test innovative early commercial building technologies in federally owned buildings. To date, following favorable evaluation results, 32 GPG-evaluated technologies have been deployed in more than 700 facilities in GSA’s real-estate portfolio resulting in more than 116,000 tons annual CO2 reduction, $28 million dollars of annual savings and $375 million in lifecycle cost avoidance. 

For more information, visit GSA’s Green Proving Ground webpage.

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About GSA: GSA provides centralized procurement and shared services for the federal government, managing a nationwide real estate portfolio of nearly 370 million rentable square feet, overseeing about $87 billion in products and services via federal contracts, and delivering technology services that serve millions of people across dozens of federal agencies. GSA’s mission is to deliver the best customer experience and value in real estate, acquisition, and technology services to the government and the American people. For more information, visit GSA.gov and follow us at @USGSA.