What is the Rural Codes Collaborative?
The National Rural Codes Collaborative (NRCC) is a group of 10 member states and Tribal communities that will examine and test ways to overcome geographic, financial, and outreach barriers to building energy codes and efficiency programs in rural areas. Participating states include Connecticut, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, and Texas.
Why?
Nationally, rural areas do not experience the benefits of energy codes to the same extent as their metropolitan counterparts, which contributes to a 42 percent higher energy burden in rural households. This project examines the causes of this energy code gap, which may include lower rates of code enforcement, geographic hurdles, financial barriers, and a scarcity of qualified energy assessors and contractors. The NRCC will bridge the code implementation gap in rural communities across the nation by convening stakeholders, collecting data, mapping barriers and opportunities, developing intervention strategies, supporting implementation pilots, assessing results, and creating a national roadmap. The NRCC aims to improve building energy code implementation in rural communities, resulting in long-term improvements in energy affordability and resiliency for rural households.
NRCC National Codes Context
The NRCC will draft communications and engagement plans with the National Codes Collaborative (NCC) and the Building Energy Codes Program Technical Assistance Network (BECP TAN). The NRCC will participate in NCC activities and coordinate with the BECP TAN to identify the elements of code implementation and compliance that require additional resources and support. NRCC representatives will also participate in national conferences focused on energy efficiency and codes to advance its work.
Timeline
NRCC Project Team
The project team consists of the six Regional Energy Efficiency Organizations (REEOs), the International Code Council, state partners, and tribal community partners. The project team will produce research and strategy reports, develop and manage the pilot programs, and write the Rural Codes Roadmap to 2030.
NRCC Technical Advisory Group (TAG)
The project team will convene a Technical Advisory Group (TAG) comprised of local code officials, decision makers, code experts, builders, advocates, and others with knowledge of barriers and opportunities for code implementation, including code adoption, training, compliance, and implementation in rural communities. The TAG will assist with the development of locally relevant strategies for overcoming these barriers. This NRCC TAG will leverage the NCC TAG structure.
NRCC Project Advisory Committee (PAC)
The project team will also convene a Project Advisory Committee (PAC) composed of representatives from community-based organizations and government working in housing, workforce, or economic development in rural and Tribal communities in member states. Continued engagement with the PAC will inform the Collaborative’s work based on the needs and priorities of rural communities and ensure that the project outcomes maximize benefits to rural communities.
Resources
Technical Volume [link]
Thank You to our Partner Organizations
NEEP is leading the National Rural Codes Collaborative in partnership with the Regional Energy Efficiency Organizations (REEOs) network, partner states, and organizations. The NRCC is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) through the Resilient and Efficient Codes Implementation (RECI) program.
Our partner REEOs are Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (MEEA), Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA), Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance (SEEA), South-central Partnership for Energy Efficiency as a Resource (SPEER), and Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP).
Our partner states include Connecticut, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, and Texas.
Our partner organization is The International Code Council (ICC), which is a global source of model codes and standards and building safety solutions that include accreditation, training, and certification.
Interactive Map
Interested in learning more? Please contact us at nrcc@neep.org.
