ALASKA

CURRENT CODE
Residential:
BEES state-developed code,
based on 2006 IECC with amend-
ments
Commercial:
No statewide code
DEMOGRAPHICS
Population: 686,293
Total Housing Units:
265,377
ENERGY
CONSUMPTION
Residential Sector:
61.7 Trillion BTU
Commercial Sector:
67.6 Trillion BTU
46% of the state’s natural
gas supply and 36% of the
state’s consumed fuel oil is
used for heating the home.
Alaska’s residential sector
relies most heavily on natu-
ral gas for energy.
Residential use of natural
gas costs up to $10.40 per
thousand cubic ft. in
Alaska. can be submitted to the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, which reviews
and acts on the proposals. Public hearings are required before changes are
CODE CHANGE CYCLE adopted. It would be necessary to go through the state legislature in order to
No set schedule
promulgate a statewide commercial energy code.
Alaska will receive $28 Million from the federal govern-
ment if the state adopts the latest energy codes:
 IECC 2009 (International Energy Conservation
Code)
 ASHRAE 90.1 2007 (American Society of Heating
Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers)
Accumulated residential sector savings, 2009 to 2030,
would be:
 1 trillion Btu of energy
 65 thousand metric tons of CO2 (Equivalent to the an-
nual greenhouse gas emissions of 11,904 passenger vehi-
cles)
 $7 million
 $7 million would almost pay the full under-
graduate tuition of current students at private
universities in Alaska.
FINANCING OPPORTUNITIES:
In February 2009 the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act allocated
$3.1 billion for U.S. Department of Energy’s State Energy Program (SEP) to
assist states with building energy efficiency efforts. As one of the require-
ments to receive SEP grants, state governors must certify to DOE that their
state will implement energy codes of equal or greater stringency than the lat-
est national model codes (currently IECC 2009 and Standard 90.1-2007).
Thus, it is in the state’s best economic interests to adopt these standards
statewide and begin enjoying the benefits of an efficient building sector.
CODE ADOPTION AND CHANGE PROCESS: Legislative (commercial) & Regu-
latory (residential): Proposed changes to the standards for residential buildings

For more information please consult the Building Codes Assistance Project (www.bcap-energy.org)
or Nick Zigelbaum (nzigelbaum@nrdc.org)

BCAP
BCAP 1850 M St. NW Suite 600 | Washington, DC 20036 | www.bcap-energy.org