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Maryland Department of the Environment Existing Building Stock: Energy Performance + Cost-Effectiveness Analysis

The Baltimore Inner Harbor Skyline
This project will demonstrate Maryland’s Building Energy Performance Standards modeling framework, which evaluates emissions targets, EUI standards, and hybrid policy pathways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the state’s existing building stock, and make it easier for regulators to scale equitable, cost-effective decarbonization strategies to hospitals, laboratories, and other building types.
People
  • Therese Peffer
    Associate Director and Program Director of Enabling Technology Development, CIEE
  • Travis Walter
    Research Affiliate, CIEE
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Partners

Maryland’s Climate Solutions Now Act established Building Energy Performance Standards (BEPS) requiring large buildings to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions over the coming decades. CIEE is partnering with the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) to analyze how these standards could affect emissions, energy use, and retrofit costs across the state’s existing building stock.

Using benchmarking data and scenario-based modeling, CIEE researchers are evaluating multiple policy pathways—including emissions targets, energy use intensity (EUI) standards, and hybrid approaches—to understand their potential impacts on emissions reductions, energy savings, and peak demand.

The project also examines how BEPS policies address specialized energy uses in buildings, such as hospitals and laboratories. The analysis will help regulators refine Maryland’s building performance standards while supporting equitable, cost-effective building decarbonization.