Affordable Housing - A Passive Building Pathway

About the Pilot

Background
Through the Affordable Housing New Construction (AHNC) pilot, developers and design teams working on low-income housing tax credit projects can receive incentives for achieving either U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Zero Energy Ready Home certification or Phius+ Passive Building certification on their project design. The pilot will test whether a dedicated program for affordable housing development can increase the number of low-income housing tax credit-financed projects pursuing energy efficiency certification, deepen energy savings, and support safer and healthier homes. This effort specifically targets income-eligible units to promote high efficiency building practices.

Project Timeline: January 2023 – December 2025
Customer Segment: Residential

Pilot Objectives

Determine the financial and technical support needed to create higher efficiency affordable housing by:
Incentivize developers to build energy efficient housing to help alleviate tenant energy burdens.
Providing technical assistance on energy efficiency building design and equipment upgrades to qualify affordable housing projects for Phius + passive building certification or DOE Zero Energy Ready Home Program certification
Certify 100 affordable housing units, for Zero Energy Ready Home Program or Phius+ passive building certification

Pilot Updates

One project is currently enrolled and is pursuing DOE Zero Energy Ready Home certification. The team will continue to recruit additional project sites through July 31, 2024, and is actively conducting outreach to developers that have applied for and received WHEDA Low Income Tax Credits.

* Recruitment has ended for this pilot.

Get Involved

Why Participate?

Eligible projects will receive financial incentives for implementing energy-efficient design into affordable multifamily housing projects. Design team incentives are paid prior to construction starting and intended to offset the expense of meeting certification requirements. Developer incentives are paid upon successful project completion, inspection, and verification.

Pathway	Design Team Incentive	Developer Incentive
DOE ZERH	$7,000	$3,000/unit
Phius+	$10,000	$4,000/unit

Participation Requirements

Projects must meet the following criteria to qualify for Affordable Housing New Construction incentives from Focus on Energy:

The construction site must be served by a participating Focus on Energy utility.
The project must be more than four units.
The project must have a documented application with the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) and an award letter for low-income housing tax credits (LIHTC).
The project must be in a schematic or design development phase.
The project may not be already enrolled in another Focus on Energy program.

Apply Today

Complete the Focus Custom Project Application.
When completing the Custom Project Information form, the Design Team should be noted as the Trade Ally.

Custom Project Application

Fill out the online Supplemental Application below.
Be sure to have your Custom Application, WHEDA Application, and LIHTC Award letter available to upload.

Supplemental Application

Learn more
Learn more about the pilot in the Pilot Overview and Pilot Webinar.

Questions?

Contact Dan Moring at dan.moring@focusonenergy.com.