DOE stays federal-building fossil fuel rule a third time, to March 1, 2027, 91 FR 56371

What the record shows

The notice is two pages long. Its operative sentence, in the dates section, says that as of September 2, 2026, the compliance date for 10 CFR part 433, subpart B, and 10 CFR part 435, subpart B, “is further stayed until March 1, 2027” [1]. Part 433 covers federal commercial and multi-family high-rise residential buildings; part 435 covers low-rise residential buildings [4].

The notice gives one reason. DOE’s review of the 2024 final rule and its implementation guidance “is still ongoing” [1]. It adds that “Federal agencies are not required to comply with these applicable energy performance standards during this time” [1].

Mary Sotos, director of the Federal Energy Management Program, signed the notice on August 31, 2026, under authority delegated by the Secretary of Energy [1]. It was filed for public inspection on September 1 [1].

The notice contains no regulatory text, no request for comment and no statement of what the review is weighing. Footnotes point to four executive orders: E.O. 14154 (Unleashing American Energy), E.O. 14156 (Declaring a National Energy Emergency), E.O. 14262 on electric grid reliability and security, and E.O. 14219 on the deregulatory initiative [1].

What the stayed provisions require

The stayed subparts are the core of the rule DOE published on May 1, 2024, at 89 FR 35384 [4]. They set maximum on-site fossil fuel-generated energy consumption for covered buildings, by building type and climate zone, in Appendix A tables expressed both in kBtu per square foot and in Scope 1 greenhouse gas emissions per square foot [4]. For buildings whose design begins in fiscal 2030 or later, that figure must be zero [4].

The 2024 rule reads “fossil fuel-generated energy consumption” to mean on-site stationary combustion in equipment such as boilers, furnaces, turbines and emergency generators [4]. It does not reach fossil fuel burned at off-site power plants to make grid electricity [4].

Coverage follows the statute. The rule applies to new federal buildings and major renovations for which the General Services Administration must send Congress a prospectus, or which cost at least $2.5 million in 2007 dollars, adjusted for inflation [4, 5]. DOE calculated the adjusted threshold at $3,811,583 as of October 2023 [4].

The rule also sets out how an agency petitions for a downward adjustment. The statute allows one when the agency head certifies in writing that meeting the target “would be technically impracticable” given the building’s functional needs and the Secretary concurs; the adjustment is not available to GSA [5].

Where it sits in the process

How did the federal buildings rule get here?

Congress enacted the requirement in section 433 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, Public Law 110-140, approved December 19, 2007 [5]. Section 433 amended the Energy Conservation and Production Act and told DOE to issue the standards “Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment” [5]. Its table requires reductions, measured against a similar building in fiscal 2003, of 55 percent in fiscal 2010, 65 percent in 2015, 80 percent in 2020, 90 percent in 2025 and 100 percent in 2030 [5].

DOE proposed a rule in October 2010 at 75 FR 63404 and a supplemental proposal in December 2022 at 87 FR 78382, before finalizing in 2024 [4]. NPR reported when the rule was finalized that the American Institute of Architects had pushed for the section 433 language in 2007, and that opposition from natural gas utilities was the most prominent of several factors that delayed the rule for years [6]. The final rule took effect July 15, 2024, and applied to buildings whose design for construction began on or after May 1, 2025 [4].

DOE has stayed that compliance date three times:

The first stay was filed under the original rulemaking docket, EERE-2010-BT-STD-0031, and RIN 1904-AB96 [3]. It said DOE would “not process petitions for downward adjustment” while it reviewed its January 2025 implementation guidance and petition template [3]. The second stay moved the matter to the new docket and the repeal-titled RIN, and widened the review from the guidance to the rule itself [2]. The third stay repeats that framing nearly word for word [1, 2].

What happens next?

The new compliance date is March 1, 2027 [1]. The notice sets no comment period and no other date [1].

Positions on the record

The stays themselves drew no comment period, so the filed positions date to the 2022 supplemental proposal and are summarized in the 2024 final rule [4].

Gas utilities and trade groups. The American Gas Association and the National Propane Gas Association argued that DOE lacked authority to define “fossil fuel-generated energy consumption” because, in their reading, the statute plainly refers to a building’s total energy use, not only on-site use [4]. Both groups also asked DOE to exclude renewable fuels such as renewable natural gas and synthetic hydrocarbons [4]. Washington Gas Light Company said the rule was overdue and that the proposed standards set up “an unrealistic expectation that [F]ederal agencies can achieve a sharp reduction in onsite fossil fuel energy consumption in less than 7 years” [4].

When the rule was finalized, the American Gas Association called it “expensive and counterproductive,” according to NPR [6]. AGA president Karen Harbert wrote that it would “raise costs on taxpayers to operate our federal government without any guarantee of real environmental gain” [6].

DOE in 2024. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in announcing the rule, “we are doing the same in our own federal buildings,” referring to DOE’s efforts to help households and businesses save energy [6]. In the rule, DOE answered commenters that it was issuing the rule “to meet its statutory obligations under EISA” [4]. It also argued that section 433 is best read to cover on-site use, since building design cannot eliminate fossil fuels burned at distant power plants [4].

Green building groups. The Green Building Initiative supported the on-site definition, saying it “presents the best opportunity to clearly track improvements” [4].

DOE in 2025 and 2026. The current position on the record is the stay notices’ own: the review “is still ongoing,” and compliance waits until March 1, 2027 [1].

Reading-room questions

Questions readers bring to this record, answered from the documents cited below.

Do new federal buildings have to meet DOE's fossil fuel reduction standards right now?

No. The September 2, 2026 notice stays the compliance date for subpart B of 10 CFR parts 433 and 435 until March 1, 2027, and says agencies are not required to comply during the stay [1].

Has DOE repealed the federal buildings Clean Energy Rule?

Not as of September 3, 2026. The docket, EERE-2026-FEMP-0067, and RIN 1904-AG17 carry a repeal title, but the documents published under them so far are two notifications of stay [1, 2].

Which federal buildings would the rule cover?

New federal buildings and major renovations that require a GSA prospectus to Congress, or that cost at least $2.5 million in 2007 dollars adjusted for inflation [4, 5]. DOE put the inflation-adjusted figure at $3,811,583 as of October 2023 [4].

What fossil fuel cuts does the 2007 law require for federal buildings?

Section 433 of EISA sets reductions against a similar fiscal year 2003 building of 90 percent starting in fiscal 2025 and 100 percent starting in fiscal 2030 [5]. The 2024 rule applies those targets to on-site fossil fuel combustion [4].

Why did DOE delay the federal building fossil fuel rule again?

The notice says DOE is still reviewing the 2024 rule and its implementation guidance for consistency with current energy policies and rulemaking guidance [1]. It cites executive orders on energy, grid reliability and deregulation [1, 2].

Note on sourcing

The September 2 notice states that DOE's review of the 2024 rule and its implementation guidance is ongoing; it does not say what the review will produce. Although the docket and RIN are titled for repeal, no proposed rule under RIN 1904-AG17 had appeared in the Federal Register as of publication. The previous stay ran until September 1, 2026, and the new one takes effect as of September 2; the notice does not address the intervening day. The account of why the rule was delayed before 2024, and the 2024 statements by Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and the American Gas Association, are as reported by NPR. Federal agencies and building-industry groups had not filed public statements on the third stay in the record cited here.

Sources

1. Repeal of Fossil Fuel Restrictions for New Federal Buildings and Major Renovations of Federal Buildings, notification of stay, 91 FR 56371 (FR Doc. 2026-17979)Federal Register (DOE), September 2, 2026 · federalregister.gov
2. Repeal of Fossil Fuel Restrictions for New Federal Buildings and Major Renovations of Federal Buildings, notification of stay, 91 FR 20868 (FR Doc. 2026-07628)Federal Register (DOE), April 20, 2026 · federalregister.gov
3. Clean Energy for New Federal Buildings and Major Renovations of Federal Buildings; Stay, 90 FR 18911 (FR Doc. 2025-07743)Federal Register (DOE), May 5, 2025 · federalregister.gov
4. Clean Energy for New Federal Buildings and Major Renovations of Federal Buildings, final rule, 89 FR 35384 (FR Doc. 2024-08196)Federal Register (DOE), May 1, 2024 · federalregister.gov
5. Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, Public Law 110-140, section 433U.S. Government Publishing Office, December 19, 2007 · govinfo.gov
6. Fossil fuels are banned from federal buildings in a new rule (Jeff Brady, NPR)NPR, April 26, 2024 · wusf.org

Subject headings

• DOE
• FEMP
• federal buildings
• energy efficiency
• EISA
• 10 CFR 433
• 10 CFR 435

Cross-references

Other register entries filed under the same subject headings.

1. July 28, 2026No. 0008 · Report · 2 shared headingsDOE extends comment period on appliance standards Process Rule rewrite to Aug. 21, 91 FR 47155
2. Sept. 14, 2026No. 0023 · Report · 1 shared headingDOE asks for input on foreign grid-equipment limits under E.O. 14421, 91 FR 57322
3. Aug. 28, 2026No. 0018 · Record of decision · 1 shared headingDOE and Montana DEQ issue final EIS for North Plains Connector HVDC line, DOE/EIS-0568