DOE Reports That Most Federal Agencies Met Fiscal Year 2007 Energy Goals

According to draft data agencies provide to DOE, most of the 22 federal  agencies reporting in fiscal year 2007 met the energy efficiency,  greenhouse gas emission, and renewable energy goals. Some agencies  used credits to meet the goals and would not have met the goals through  reductions in energy intensity alone. The same renewable energy  purchase and source energy credits that count toward the energy  efficiency goal also count toward the greenhouse gas emissions goal. Assessing Progress Toward the Goals Over Time Is Problematic Due to Key Changes in the Goals and How Performance Is Measured

Determining the extent to which agencies have made progress toward the  goals over time is problematic due to key changes in the goals—as  specified in statute and executive order—and how performance is  measured. Energy efficiency. Greenhouse gas emissions. Now, the greenhouse gas emissions direction is  measured using energy intensity against a 2003 baseline. However, a reduction in energy intensity does  not track directly with lower greenhouse gas emissions for two reasons. As past GAO  work has shown, a decrease in this intensity-based measure may result in  increased greenhouse gas emissions. Agencies’ Prospects for Meeting Energy Goals in the Future Depend on Addressing Four Challenges

The prospects for meeting the energy goals in the future for the agencies  we reviewed depend largely on overcoming four key challenges. Finally, sites may lack staff  dedicated to energy management, and also may find it difficult to retain  staff with sufficient energy expertise; lack of expertise could make it  difficult to undertake alternative financing projects. Federal officials are  participating in energy-related training courses and undertaking initiatives  to hire, support, and reward energy management personnel. However, we  determined that the long-term energy plans for one or more of the six  agencies lacked some of the following key elements for effective long-term  energy planning:    approaches or strategies for achieving long-term energy goals;    strategies that linked energy goals and provide a framework for aligning  agency activities, processes, and resources to attain the goals of the plan; identification of the required resources needed to achieve long-term  energy goals;   strategies that properly reflect and address external factors; and    provisions for obtaining reliable performance data needed to set goals,  evaluate results, and improve performance. Paying for this investment up front with appropriated funds may be  difficult for agencies because energy projects compete with other budget  priorities. Our  June 2005 report also showed that agencies entering into these alternative  finance contracts could not always verify whether energy savings were  greater than project costs and may yield lower dollar savings than if  timely, full, and upfront appropriations had been used. There is no consensus on a best measure  at present; however, there are alternative measures that may better track  agencies’ greenhouse gas emissions than the current measure based on  energy intensity. GAO staff who made key contributions to this report are  listed in appendix V.

Appendix I: Scope and Methodology

To determine the extent to which agencies met energy efficiency,  greenhouse gas emission, and renewable energy goals, we analyzed data  on agencies’ performance in meeting these goals using draft agency energy  data, as of July 2008, for fiscal year 2007, which were reported by the  agencies to the Department of Energy (DOE) for use in DOE’s Annual  Report to Congress on Federal Government Energy Management and  Conservation Programs. To assess the agencies’ progress in each of these areas in recent years, we  reviewed energy efficiency, greenhouse gas emission, and renewable  energy goals, as established in current and previous statute and executive  orders—the Energy Policy Act of 2005, Executive Order 13123, and  Executive Order 13423. To determine the extent to which the agencies are poised to meet future  energy goals, we selected six agencies on the basis of several criteria,  including the following: (1) energy consumed: of the agencies reporting  energy data to DOE, these six agencies together accounted for nearly 94  percent of the energy consumed in standard buildings in fiscal year 2005;  (2) level of investment in energy and utility savings performance contracts;  (3) amount of renewable energy purchased, and self-generated; and (4)  estimated carbon emissions.
Why GAO Did This Study

The federal government is the nation's single largest energy consumer, spending approximately $17 billion in fiscal year 2007. A number of statutes and executive orders have established and revised goals directing agencies to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions--such as carbon dioxide, which results from combustion of fossil fuels and natural processes, among other things--and increase renewable energy use. GAO was asked to determine the extent to which (1) federal agencies met energy efficiency, greenhouse gas emission, and renewable energy goals in fiscal year 2007; (2) federal agencies have made progress in each of these areas in the recent past; and (3) six selected agencies are poised to meet energy goals into the future. For this review, GAO, among other things, conducted site visits for six agencies and reviewed the Department of Energy's (DOE) annual reports to Congress on federal energy management.

What GAO Found

Based on draft DOE data, most of the 22 agencies reporting to DOE for fiscal year 2007 met energy goals for energy efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions, and renewable energy. Specifically, all but one agency met the energy efficiency goal. Three of these agencies would not have met the goal through reductions in energy intensity--the amount of energy consumed per gross square foot--alone; they also used credits for the purchase of renewable energy or source energy to help meet the goal. Because the greenhouse gas emission goal is tied to the energy efficiency goal, the same number of agencies met the greenhouse gas emission goal, while 17 of the 22 agencies met the renewable energy goal. Determining the extent to which agencies have made progress over time toward the goals is problematic due to key changes in the goals--as specified in statute and executive order--and how progress is measured. For example, the energy efficiency goal changed the types of buildings included and the baseline year against which progress was measured. The greenhouse gas emissions goal also changed, from a measure of greenhouse gas emissions to a measure of energy intensity; this change makes it problematic to compare performance before and after the change. Moreover, GAO found that a goal based on energy intensity is not a good proxy for emissions because a reduction in energy intensity does not always result in lower greenhouse gas emissions. Although there is no consensus on a best measure at present, alternative measures are in use that may better track agencies' greenhouse gas emissions than the current measure based on energy intensity. Agencies' prospects for meeting energy goals into the future depend on overcoming four key challenges. First, the six agencies GAO reviewed--the departments of Defense (DOD), Energy (DOE), and Veterans Affairs (VA); the General Services Administration (GSA); the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); and the U.S. Postal Service (USPS)--had long-term plans for achieving energy goals that lacked key elements, such as plans that outline agencies' strategies that are linked to goals and provide a framework for aligning activities, processes, and resources to attain the goals of the plan. Second, investment in energy projects competes with other budget priorities, causing agency officials to increasingly rely on alternative financing mechanisms--contracts with private companies that pay for energy improvements. However, as past GAO work has shown, agencies entering into these contracts could not always verify whether money saved from using less energy was greater than projected costs and may yield lower savings than if timely, full, and upfront appropriations had been used. Third, agencies face challenges in obtaining reliable energy consumption data but are taking steps to collect more reliable data. Finally, facilities may lack staff dedicated to energy management and may find it difficult to retain staff with sufficient energy expertise; however, agency officials are participating in training and implementing initiatives for energy management personnel.