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This chapter provides information on Federal building energy consumption, characteristics, and expenditures, as well as information on legislation affecting said consumption. The main points from this chapter are summarized below:

• In FY 2007, Federal buildings accounted for 2.2% of all building energy consumption and 0.9% of total U.S. energy consumption.


• Five Federal agencies were responsible for 83% of all Federal building primary energy consumption in FY 2007. The Department of Defense alone accounted for more than half of this amount.


• From 2006 to 2007, the amount of renewable energy used by Federal agencies as a percentage of total electricity used decreased from 7% to 5%.

Federal buildings consumed 0.88 quads of primary energy in fiscal year (FY) 2007, the most recent year for which comprehensive data are available. (4.1.1) This quantity represented 56% of total Federal energy consumption, 2.2% of all building energy consumption, and 0.9% of total U.S. energy consumption. Adjusting for delivery losses, site energy consumption in Federal buildings was 0.39 quads, of which 49% came from electricity. (4.1.2) Other fuels consumed included natural gas (34%), fuel oil (7%), coal (5%), and purchased steam (4%). Overall, Federal agencies spent $6.0 billion ($2010) on energy in FY 2007, a 2.4% decrease from FY 2006 spending. (4.3.1)

Five Federal agencies were responsible for 83% of all Federal building primary energy consumption in FY 2007: the Department of Defense (DOD) (54%), the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) (10%), the Department of Energy (DOE) (10%), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) (6%), and the General Services Administration (GSA) (5%). (4.1.2) These five agencies occupied 87% of all Federal building floor space with DOD accounting for 63% of the total, USPS 10%, GSA 6%, VA 5%, and DOE 3%. (4.2.1)