ESG Today reports that 31 federal facilities are to be retrofitted with solar panels and heat pumps, as the investment represents the first of three distributions of a total worth 250 million dollars made by the Biden Administration to support the development of net-zero buildings.

White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Brenda Mallory said that "President Biden has charged the Federal Government to lead by example by transforming its footprint of over 300,000 buildings to be more energy efficient and climate resilient, which means cleaner air across the country."

The Pentagon is one of the first federal buildings to be modernized in this regard and it will be equipped with solar panels generating electricity, heat pumps, as well as solar thermal power for heating the water, which could reduce the reliance on things like natural gas.

DOE officials suggest that for the first year of sustainable operation, these 31 projects could lead to money savings amounting to around 29 million USD and would bring emissions savings equivalent to taking 23.000 cars off the road.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said that "the Federal Government is the nation’s largest consumer of energy, and conserving as much power as possible in our buildings and vehicle fleets benefits taxpayers and bolsters our national security."