Building Initiative for Low Emissions Development (BUILD) Program Guidelines, 1st Edition

These proposed final program guidelines for the Building Initiative for Low-Emissions Development (BUILD) Program establish the rules for the program, including eligibility requirements, participation process, and incentive structure. BUILD is a building decarbonization initiative established by Senate Bill (SB) 1477 (Stern, Chapter 378, Statutes of 2018) that will provide technical assistance and financial incentives for new, low-income residential building projects using near-zero-emission building technologies. BUILD is further governed by California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) Decision (D.) 20-03-027, which also established the CEC as program administrator. Applicants are required to adopt all-electric building design and technologies in their new housing developments for low-income Californians, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and energy demands from future buildings. Incentives are determined based on the estimated greenhouse gas emissions reduction quantities achieved through the installation of eligible technologies, with the option of increasing the incentive amounts through specific technology use. In addition, technical assistance will be provided to eligible low-income residential developers and builders.