Making Inroads: Phius 2021 Policy Wrap-up

 In this week’s blog, Phius Policy Specialist Isaac Elnecave outlines the various incentive programs, QAPs and energy codes that Phius was included in this past year.

The surge of Phius-related policies continued in 2021 with the inclusion of Phius in utility incentive programs, Qualified Allocation Plans and energy codes.

Over the last few years, it has become clear that well-designed policies can significantly spur the construction of projects meeting the Phius standard. In 2021 alone, there have been 47 projects submitted in Massachusetts, 29 projects in New York State and 27 projects in Connecticut (all states with existing Phius-related policies). 

With the calendar turning to 2022, we wanted to take this opportunity to provide a rundown of some of our policy successes from this past year. Below you will find a list of new Phius-related policies (including a number of advancements in Phius’ home state of Illinois).

Utility Incentives

Illinois

ComEd in Illinois has established a pilot incentive program providing money for both pre-construction and upon receiving final certification. ComEd will be taking applications for the program through 2022.  The applications will be reviewed on a competitive basis and will be chosen based on criteria such as size, financial status and timeline. Utilities in Massachusetts (through the MassSave program) and Connecticut (through energizeCT) offer similar programs.

Low-Income Housing Tax Credit

Illinois

The award-winning Finch Cambridge project was funded in part by a Massachusetts incentive program.

The Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) completed the 2022-2023 Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP). The QAP is the document the IHDA uses to evaluate which potential projects will receive tax credits. The evaluation process consists of using a points system (projects with higher point totals are more likely to receive funding). One of the criteria for evaluation is sustainability and/or energy efficiency. In the new QAP, projects receiving a Phius CORE certification will receive 10 points (Phius Zero projects receive an additional three points) out of a possible 100 points. 

Michigan

The Michigan State Housing Development Authority included Phius in its QAP for the first time. Projects meeting the Phius standard will receive four points; most other standards will receive three points or fewer. 

Connecticut

While Phius projects have been included in previous versions of the Connecticut QAP, the updated versiongives Phius projects the largest number of points (only projects meeting the Living Futures Standard receive the same number of points). 

Energy Codes

Illinois

The Illinois legislature enacted – and the Governor signed – the Clean Energy Jobs Act (CEJA). Among the requirements included in the 800-page piece of legislation, is that the Illinois Capital Development Board (the agency in charge of developing the state energy code) must include Phius as an alternative compliance path. This means that projects certified by Phius automatically meet code in Illinois.

We at Phius are proud of the inroads we and our community made in the realm of policies, incentives and codes this past year, and we look forward to carrying that momentum into 2022.