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Landmark Signing Moves Denver Federal Center Closer to Net Zero

GSA Representatives Region 8
Group photo of representatives from GSA Region 8, Department of Energy, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and Xcel Energy company where the landmark Memorandum of Understanding Photograph by Photo Courtesy of NREL

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) recently signed between a federal agency and an energy provider will have a major impact on energy use Region 8’s Denver Federal Center (DFC) moving forward.

The Department of Energy (DOE) and Xcel Energy will provide Federal facilities in Colorado with 100% carbon pollution-free electricity (CFE) by 2030.

This agreement supports the administration’s goals of a carbon pollution-free electricity sector by 2035 and net-zero emissions economy-wide by 2050, according to a press release announcing the signing.

“This MOU marks another milestone that demonstrates the strong momentum behind President Biden’s goal to power the Federal Government with 100 percent carbon pollution-free electricity,” said U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) Administrator Robin Carnahan. “GSA looks forward to building on this progress by partnering with utilities around the country and using our buying power to spur demand for clean, reliable, and affordable energy for American businesses and families.”

Benefitting from this new partnership will be the DFC which has the largest concentration of federal agencies outside of Washington, D.C.

This marks the second such partnership announced by the Biden-Harris Administration as the Government works with the private sector across the country to lead the way on sustainability, according to the press release.  This partnership demonstrates a commitment to catalyze clean-energy industries and create jobs through initiatives to achieve net-zero.

The DOE and Xcel Energy will commence a three-month work period to develop a plan that, when implemented, will mean federal customers are supplied with 100% CFE by 2030 on an annual basis, with at least 50% CFE every day.

Region 8 associates Mike Casper, Mountain Plains Service Center Director, Zach Ehlenbeck, Supervisory Program Management Specialist, and Lisa Haskins, Supervisory Sustainability Team Lead attended the signing.