International. The development of biomass requirements is being explored by ASHRAE, the U.S. Green Building Council (Usgbc) and the Lighting Engineering Society (IES), for inclusion in the co-sponsored green building standard.
The ASHRAE/IES/USGBC 189.1 standard, Standard for High Performance Green Building Design, contains the minimum requirements for the siting, design, and construction of high-performance green buildings in support of building energy reduction, resource consumption, and other environmental impacts. To this end, the standard contains the requirements for the use of renewable energy systems, such as solar, wind and geothermal.
The Standard 189.1 Committee recently considered a proposal to add biomass to the definition of renewable energy systems, which was submitted by an interested individual from outside the committee. In this context, biomass includes organic material, such as wood and crop residues, which can be burned to generate thermal energy.
In 2015, during the ashrae Winter Conference held recently in Chicago, the committee did not vote to accept the proposal to simply add the word biomass to this definition. However, in its response to the proposal, the Committee expressed the intention to work on a definition of biomass, as well as the requirements on the use of biomass to meet the renewable energy requirements of the standard, according to Chair Andy Persily.
While the commission's proposal must first go through ASHRAE standard-making procedures, as well as public review, the committee is committed to developing a technically sound and responsible approach to including biomass as renewable. Persily noted that the standard currently has no restrictions on the use of biomass as an energy source; however, it does not allow it to be used to meet renewable energy needs.
