[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5694 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5694

     To allow for the augmentation of electric power production at 
  hydroelectric facilities located on certain Federal lands by making 
other Federal lands available for renewable energy production, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 17, 2002

 Ms. Berkley introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and 
  Commerce, and Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
  of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
                               concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To allow for the augmentation of electric power production at 
  hydroelectric facilities located on certain Federal lands by making 
other Federal lands available for renewable energy production, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND DEFINITIONS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``National Renewable 
Energy Lands Act of 2002''.
    (b) Definitions.--For purposes of this Act:
            (1) The term ``renewable energy'' means electric energy 
        generated by solar, wind, or geothermal power.
            (2) The term ``candidate sites'' means sites identified 
        under section 4 as candidates for the siting of renewable 
        energy production facilities.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The expedited development and deployment of energy 
        efficiency and renewable energy technologies and resources in 
        the United States will both increase our energy independence 
        and contribute to ensuring our energy security.
            (2) Renewable energy facilities produce cleaner energy and 
        have much less impact on the environment than conventional 
        energy facilities and fuels in terms of air pollution, acid 
        rain, and greenhouse gases.
            (3) The United States has abundant solar, wind, and 
        geothermal resources on Federal lands providing, a tremendous 
        potential for the development and deployment of renewable 
        energy power.
            (4) The use of solar, wind, and geothermal technologies and 
        resources can be enhanced through the use of integrated 
        hydroelectric storage systems.
            (5) The development and deployment of renewable energy 
        technologies and resources on Federal lands can be done in an 
        expedited fashion consistent with the requirements of the 
        Federal Land Management Policy Act of 1976 and the National 
        Environmental Policy Act of 1969.

SEC. 3. EVALUATION OF FEDERAL HYDROELECTRIC FACILITY CANDIDATE SITES.

    The Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bureau of 
Reclamation and the Bureau of Land Management, and in consultation with 
the Federal Power Marketing Administrations and other appropriate 
Federal agencies, shall evaluate all Federal hydroelectric facilities 
on Federal lands and, within 1 year after the enactment of this Act, 
identify facilities that are candidates for interconnection with 
potential renewable energy generation facilities. Evaluation criteria 
to identify candidate facilities shall include--
            (1) proximity of the hydroelectric facilities to Federal 
        lands suitable for renewable energy projects;
            (2) existing transmission capacity infrastructure in 
        proximity to the hydroelectric facilities;
            (3) the need for, and value of, enhanced peaking power 
        production capability in conjunction with the hydroelectric 
        facilities;
            (4) the value of increased Department of the Interior 
        ability to address varied multiple-use concerns, such as water 
        resource management, recreational and wildlife uses, deriving 
        from the additional margins of generation potentially provided 
        by collocated renewable energy production facilities; and
            (5) other criteria to be determined.

SEC. 4. EVALUATION OF FEDERAL RENEWABLE ENERGY PRODUCTION CANDIDATE 
              SITES.

    The Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bureau of 
Reclamation and the Bureau of Land Management, and in consultation with 
the Federal Power Marketing Administrations and other appropriate 
Federal agencies, shall, within 1 year after the enactment of this Act, 
evaluate and identify potential renewable energy production sites on 
Federal lands. Evaluation criteria to identify candidate sites shall 
include each of the following:
            (1) Proximity to (A) hydroelectric facilities that are 
        identified under section 3 as candidates for interconnection 
        with potential renewable energy generation facilities, or (B) 
        support infrastructure, including roadways, transmission lines, 
        and other facilities.
            (2) Topography appropriate for solar, wind, or geothermal 
        generation systems.
            (3) The absence of cultural or historic resources.
            (4) The impact of facilities on wildlife including the 
        likelihood of interference with federally listed threatened or 
        endangered species and their habitats.
            (5) The absence of any other potential impediments to the 
        development of electric energy generation and transmission 
        facilities.
Upon completion of the evaluation, the Secretary shall publish a list 
of the sites that the Secretary finds to be qualified for the location 
of renewable energy facilities. Such list shall be made available for 
public comment for a period of at least 90 days.

SEC. 5. ENGINEERING FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS.

    The Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bureau of 
Reclamation and the Bureau of Land Management, and in consultation with 
other appropriate Federal agencies, shall complete an engineering 
feasibility analysis for sites that are identified under section 4 as 
candidate sites setting forth each of the following:
            (1) The capability and cost estimates of additional hydro-
        related transmission equipment additions (if any) based on pro 
        forma power production increases in 1-percent increments up to 
        a total of 10 percent of the subject hydrofacilities current 
        production capacity.
            (2) An analysis of the potential financial benefits of 
        coordinated operation of the potential renewable energy 
        facilities located at the candidate sites with hydroelectric 
        facilities on Federal lands.
            (3) An analysis of the potential environmental benefits to 
        affected aquatic ecosystems arising from improved flexibility 
        in hydrofacility water management attributable to collocated 
        renewable energy systems.

SEC. 6. LEASING.

    (a) In General.--Upon the completion of the engineering feasibility 
analysis under section 5 of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior, 
acting through the Director of the Bureau of Land Management, shall 
expeditiously make the most promising of the candidate sites identified 
under section 4 available for long-term lease pursuant to a competitive 
bidding process to qualified renewable energy development firms. In 
identifying the candidate areas to be made available for leasing under 
this section, the Secretary shall locate such areas and determine the 
size of such areas in such manner as will (1) minimize the need for 
additional rights of way for transmission and for transportation, and 
(2) provide such lands to enable the lessee to expand the size of any 
initial facility to be constructed on the lease lands.
    (b) Advertising.--The Director of the Bureau of Land Management 
shall publicly advertise the terms and conditions of potential long-
term lease agreements for the candidate sites.
    (c) Request for Proposals.--The Director of the Bureau of Land 
Management shall prepare a request for proposals to develop the 
candidate sites identified under section 4.
    (d) Issuance of Leases.--The leases issued under this section shall 
be for a period of not less than 30 years.
    (e) Commencement of Construction and Operation.--As a condition of 
any lease under this section, the Director of the Bureau of Land 
Management shall require lessees to commence construction of a 
renewable energy production facility within 24 months of the signing of 
the lease and be fully capable of producing electric energy for sale 
within 36 months of the signing of the lease for the public lands site.

SEC. 7. GAO REPORT.

    The Comptroller General of the United States shall undertake an 
investigation of, and prepare and submit to the Congress a report on, 
the existing impediments to the construction of renewable energy 
projects on Federal lands and the measures, including legislative 
measures, necessary to expedite the development of such projects.

SEC. 8. CONTRACT EXPIRATION.

    Upon expiration and renegotiation of any contract for the sale of 
electric energy generated by a Federal hydroelectric facility on 
Federal land, the interconnection of potential renewable energy sources 
to such facility shall be evaluated and implemented in accordance with 
the evaluation criteria as defined in section 3 of this Act.
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