About PACE-D

The Partnership to Advance Clean Energy - Deployment (PACE-D) Technical

Assistance (TA) Program is a five-year bilateral program with an objective to
accelerate India's transition to a high performing, low emissions, and energy
secure economy. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
launched the program in July 2012 in partnership with the Ministry of Power and
the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy to support clean energy deployment
and scale-up. The program has three key components: Improving end-use Energy
Efficiency (EE), Increasing supply of Renewable Energy (RE), and Accelerating
deployment of Clean Fossil Technologies.

In the buildings sector, the PACE-D TA Program is supporting the Bureau of Energy
Efficiency (BEE) to promote energy efficiency and net-zero goals in India. These
activities build upon BEE's past activities in the buildings sector and will be
centered on the Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) Implementation
under the 12th Plan, with a strategic vision of leapfrogging the vibrant Indian
building market towards design and implementation of high performance
buildings in the near future. The activities include technical resource
development, capacity building, demonstration projects, ECBC implementation
support, and updating the ECBC 2007 with provision for NZEB components. Seminar on

PACE-D Program Building Energy Efficiency Team

USAID/India Contacts
Monali Zeya Hazra
Program Management Specialist
Program Officer – PACE-D
USAID/India
Email: mhazra@usaid.gov
Net-Zero Energy Buildings in India
May 16-17, 2013 | New Delhi
Partnership to Advance Clean Energy - Deployment [PACE-D]
Apurva Chaturvedi
Program Management Specialist Technical Assistance Program
Program Officer - Building Efficiency
USAID/India
Email: achaturvedi@usaid.gov

PACE-D TA Program Contacts

Sanjay Dube Tanmay Tathagat

Nexant Inc. Director
Chief of Party Environmental Design Solutions (EDS)
PACE-D Technical Assistance Program PACE-D Technical Assistance Program
Email: sdube@pace-d.com Email: tanmay@edsglobal.com

Vasudha Lathey Anamika Prasad

Nexant Inc. Director
Deputy Chief of Party: Energy Efficiency Environmental Design Solutions (EDS)
PACE-D Technical Assistance Program PACE-D Technical Assistance Program
Email: vlathey@pace-d.com Email: anamika@edsglobal.com

Net
 1 What is NZEB?
A Net-Zero Energy Building (NZEB) can be succinctly described as 'a highly energy
efficient, grid-connected building that generates at least as much energy through on-
site renewable sources as it uses, accounted for annually'. In other words, in a NZEB
the difference between the annual energy consumption and the annual energy
generation through systems utilizing renewable resources like solar, bio-mass, wind,
geo-thermal, and urban waste, and other sources is equal to (or less than) zero.
Countries across the globe are embracing net-zero or near-zero goals as they seek to
diminish the energy footprint and carbon emissions of their building stock.
In spite of the increasing popularity of net-zero concepts, the term lacks a lucid,
universally accepted and technically consistent definition. Moreover, there are no
definitive, widely accepted net-zero metrics for quantification of targets, goals and
actual building performance. Depending on the context, the net-zero scope may
include remotely located renewable energy sources, take into account a time-period
that is seasonal, comprise of a community-level project boundary, consider primary
energy generation at the source, or use an accounting matrix that includes carbon
emissions or embodied energy of building materials.
2 NZEB in the Indian Context
Buildings account for 33 percent of the total electricity consumption in India. An
estimated 70 percent of the buildings stock required for 2030 is yet to be built. This
formidable growth in the construction industry and the resultant energy demand will
increase dependence on imported fuel, contribute to higher greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions, and strain the country's fossil fuel dependent infrastructure. While
implementing minimum energy performance standards for buildings will contribute
towards checking the increasing energy demand, net-zero goals are needed for energy
security.
In India, it is essential that net-zero goals must be accompanied by robust energy-
efficiency measures that include a sound climatically responsive passive approach to
design, low-energy comfort systems, daylighting and lighting controls, efficient
equipment and systems, and a design approach that embraces adaptive thermal
comfort standards. Additionally, net-zero goals require a supportive renewable energy
policy and a comprehensive smart grid program.
Net
3 Existing Framework for NZEB
The entire effort in the area of energy efficiency building codes and standards is being
led by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE). Currently, the policy framework for
building energy-efficiency in India addresses and recognizes incremental reductions in
energy-use through minimum performance standards stipulated in the Energy
Conservation Building Code (ECBC). Recognizing the need for developing a long-term
strategy for meeting energy demands of buildings primarily through renewable
resources, the USAID ECO-III Project had drafted an initial roadmap for net-zero
buildings in India in August 2011. The roadmap was developed through extensive
stakeholder engagement and explored potential barriers to NZEB, plausible
milestones, and design interventions needed to increase energy-efficiency in buildings
to reach net-zero status
The USAID Partnership to Advance Clean Energy - Deployment (PACE-D) Technical
Assistance Program continues this focus on Net-Zero Energy Buildings through multiple
activities that address the diverse components needed to facilitate the progression of
the Indian building industry towards net-zero goals.
4 Role of PACE-D
The PACE-D Technical Assistance (TA) Program focuses on increasing the market
deployment of energy efficient and renewable energy technologies, smart-grids,
improving access to clean energy finance, strengthening policy and regulatory
frameworks and increasing the technical capacity of institutions to advance clean
energy in India. These activities will be deployed in a complementary manner to put
India on the pathway to a net-zero future.
The PACE-D TA team is working closely with the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) to
define net-zero goals as well as to achieve the synergies required across various focus
areas. The PACE-D TA Program will also focus on demonstrating the technical feasibility
of the NZEB concept. The demo projects will provide the opportunity to engage
stakeholders across the building value chain and disseminate information about tools,
technologies, costs, performance, and measurement and verification data over a
period of time. The PACE-D TA Program will engage local stakeholders at the state level
across India and establish a network of demonstration projects that are supported by
State Designated Agencies and State Renewable Energy Development Agencies. The
PACE-D TA Program will also facilitate the information exchange between relevant
stakeholders through knowledge dissemination which will showcase Net-Zero Energy
Building success stories from around the world.