Advocacy Committee Chair, Kevin Malawski, AIA Testifies at City Council in Support of Clean Energy

On June 9th, 2022, AIA Philadelphia’s Kevin Malawski, AIA, principal of Karbon Architecture, testified in front of City Council in support of Bill 220293 on behalf of AIA Philadelphia.

Introduced by Councilmembers Derek Green and Katherine Gilmore Richardson, Bill 220293 expands the current state of Pennsylvania Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (CPACE) program to include single-owner multi-family residential buildings of five or more units, improvements to indoor air quality (IAQ), and resilience improvements to buildings. The current CPACE program allows commercial property owners the ability to spread the financing of sustainable energy and water efficiency retrofits over their expected payback period while benefitting from reduced energy bills and operational costs. Similar program expansion legislation is being considered for the statewide CPACE program.

The proposed Philadelphia CPACE expansion will

• Improve the health and energy efficiency of aging buildings.
• Lower resident and owner utility bills.
• Remove sources of indoor air contamination.
• Help buildings last beyond their typical usable life.
• Promote better housing stock in the city.
• Result in a cleaner city for everyone.

Expanding the CPACE program in Philadelphia to include residential properties, indoor air quality, and resiliency improvements puts Philadelphia ahead of the game and in the position to take full advantage of the statewide CPACE program as soon as it goes into effect.

To view Kevin’s full testimony, click here.