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Wednesday, August 13, 2025 | Department of Environmental Protection
Following EPA announcements of job cuts and restructuring in May, many in the industry have expressed concerned about the future of the ENERGY STAR program, including Portfolio Manager, building certification, and appliance labeling.
The Latest
The US Green Building Council (USGBC) reports tentative good news: On July 22, the House Appropriations Committee advanced its fiscal year 2026 (FY26) spending bill for EPA with the adoption of a bipartisan manager’s amendment directing the agency to maintain level funding of $32 million for the ENERGY STAR program. Later that week, on the other side of the Capitol, the Senate Appropriations Committee voted nearly unanimously to pass its own spending bill requiring EPA to fund ENERGY STAR at $36 million for the year.
While this represents a critical and promising step forward, the appropriations process still has a long way to go before spending bills reach final passage.
What You Can Do
DEP already saves and backs-up the benchmarking data reported to the County annually. To be doubly sure that you have a record of your data, it's always a good idea to download and backup data for your building or portfolio after reporting each year.
USGBC has created a campaign to contact your members of Congress in support of the program.
Additional Coverage
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Commercial Real Estate: What the end of Energy Star could mean for commercial real estate (CNBC)
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Multifamily Real Estate: What Happens if Energy Star Disappears? (Multi-Housing News); How the potential end of Energy Star could affect apartment operators (Multifamily Dive)
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Manufacturers: The unlikely coalition fighting to keep Energy Star labels on your appliances (Grist)
ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager’s Help Desk has moved to . Please update your bookmarks.
The Inflation Reduction Act originally extended many clean energy tax credits until 2033. However, on July 4, H.R. 1, also known as the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), changed many of those dates.
Commercial Energy Efficiency Tax Deduction
The Commercial Energy Efficiency Tax Deduction (179-D) starts at $0.58 per square foot and can reach $5.81 per square foot when prevailing wage and apprenticeship standards are met. OBBBA ends the Section 179D deduction for qualifying properties where construction begins after June 30, 2026.
Federal Clean Energy Tax Credits
Federal Clean Energy Tax Credits are available to businesses and for-profit organizations who installed solar energy systems, geothermal heat pumps, or small wind turbines. OBBBA particularly impacts wind and solar. It eliminates the Clean Electricity Investment Credit (Section 48E) and Clean Electricity Production Credit (Section 45Y) for facilities placed in service after 2027 and subjects these systems to rigorous foreign entity restrictions. Tax credits for other technologies phase out over time. Learn more.
Battery Storage
Good news! – The tax credit for battery storage has not changed and is still available until 2033. If you want to have backup power in case of a storm, this is your time to shine! You can add batteries to an existing solar system, or you can get a solar PV + battery storage system installed and get a tax credit on the batteries. Learn more.
Federal Tax Credits for All-Electric and Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles
Federal Tax Credits for All-Electric and Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles is available for commercial businesses, if the qualifying vehicle is purchased for business use. The credit for the business use of an electric vehicle is reported on Form 3800, General Business Credit. Learn more about this credit here. The OBBBA terminates this credit for vehicles acquired after September 30, 2025.
The Gateway Apartments is a garden-style residential community located in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The apartment is installing a 1.13 MW DC Solar PV System, across 20 garden style apartment buildings, which will produce 1,350,999 kWh of clean, renewable solar energy throughout the first twelve months of use.
Over the next 25 years, the solar PV, which is being installed by Solar Energy Services, will avoid the consumption of 31,716,616 kWh of energy not sourced from the local utility provider, mitigating 21,309 metric tons of carbon dioxide greenhouse gas emissions. The energy savings will lead to projected savings of $3,343,324 over 25 years in reduced electricity bills for the tenants.
Learn more from the Montgomery County Green Bank.
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Local News
Why are farmers so concerned about solar legislation passed in Maryland this year? (Maryland Matters)
Other News
Study: New Heat Pump Type Is Lowest-Cost Decarbonization Option for Big Apartment Buildings, "Large multifamily buildings with central heating systems that burn fossil fuels are among the hardest to decarbonize, but window-mounted heat pumps now provide a lower-cost option than any previous technology" (ACEEE)
Solar generation expected to rise by a third this summer: EIA, "The electric power sector will generate 124 billion kWh from solar this summer, 34% more than it did during the June-September 2024 period" (Utility Dive)
Chart: The world is investing more in clean energy than fossil fuels, "This year, $2.2 trillion will be invested in clean energy, efficiency, and electrification globally" (Canary Media)
What We're Listening To
Is Decarbonization Dead? (The Ezra Klein Show)
Solar+storage is so much farther along than you think (Volts)
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Aug 20, 12 - 1:30 pm | Rewiring America
Why Electrify, a free 101 online course that breaks down the basics of going electric.
Aug 24, 2 - 3 pm | Citizens' Climate Lobby DC
Book Club: What Does Abundance Mean for Clean Energy?
Oct 14 - 15 | Maryland Clean Energy Center
2025 Maryland Clean Energy Summit
Save the Date:
Oct 14, 2 - 4 pm| Montgomery County DEP
2025 H2O Summit, registration will open in mid to late August
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