GSA.GOV — During remarks at the American Institute of Architects’ annual conference in San Francisco, Robin Carnahan, Administrator of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), today announced that GSA, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), will invest $30 million from the Inflation Reduction Act to increase the sustainability of federal buildings by testing novel technologies through the Green Proving Ground (GPG) program.
The GPG program evaluates emerging and sustainable technologies in real-world settings and will accelerate the agency’s efforts to achieve net-zero emissions in federal buildings while creating good-paying clean energy jobs. These new, American-made technologies will help increase federal electric vehicle supply equipment, protect air quality, reduce climate pollution, and enhance building performance.
This year the GPG program has selected 20 emerging and sustainable technologies for real-world evaluation in GSA’s real-estate portfolio, a four-fold increase over previous years thanks to funding from the Inflation Reduction Act. This includes enabling the GPG program, which typically evaluates 4-5 technologies per year, to increase its capacity and take other steps to advance President Biden’s goal to achieve a net-zero emissions federal buildings portfolio by 2045.
This year’s GPG program focuses on seven technology areas. One of these is germicidal ultraviolet technologies using next-generation LEDs and Far-UVC light to disinfect air without increasing ventilation. The GPG program will evaluate technologies that support healthier buildings while reducing energy use from Far UV Technologies, R-Zero and PURO (subsidiary of Applied UV Inc.) with the Academy Energy Group.
