109 HR 5594 IH: SUN Act of 2006 U.S. House of Representatives 2006-06-13 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

I 109th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 5594 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES June 13, 2006 Mr. Smith of Texas (for himself, Mr. Udall of Colorado, Mr. Wamp, Mr. Ehlers, Mr. Boehlert, Mr. Brown of Ohio, Mr. Bachus, Mr. Doggett, Mr. Simmons, Mr. McCaul of Texas, Mr. Bartlett of Maryland, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Bass, Mr. Hayworth, and Mr. Butterfield) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science A BILL To direct the Secretary of Energy to establish a photovoltaic demonstration program, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Solar Utilization Now Demonstration Act of 2006 or the SUN Act of 2006.

2.

Findings

Congress makes the following findings: (1)Renewable energy is a growth industry around the world. However, the United States has not been investing as heavily as other countries, and is losing market share. (2)Since 1996, the United States has lost significant market share in the solar industry, dropping from 44 percent of the world market to 13 percent in 2003. (3)In 2003, Japan spent more than $200,000,000 on solar research, development, demonstration, and commercial application and other incentives, and Germany provided more than $750,000,000 in low cost financing for solar photovoltaic projects. This compares to United States Government spending of $139,000,000 in 2003 for research, development, demonstration, and commercial application and other incentives. (4)Germany and Japan each had domestic photovoltaic industries that employed more than 10,000 people in 2003, while in the same year the United States photovoltaics industry employed only 2,000 people. (5)The United States is becoming increasingly dependent on imported energy. (6)The high cost of fossil fuels is hurting the United States economy. (7)Small reductions in peak demand can result in very large reductions in price, according to energy market experts. (8)Although the United States has only 2 percent of the world’s oil reserves and 3 percent of the world’s natural gas reserves, our Nation’s renewable energy resources are vast and largely untapped. (9)Renewable energy can reduce the demand for imported energy, reducing costs and decreasing the variability of energy prices. (10)By using domestic renewable energy resources, the United States can reduce the amount of money sent into unstable regions of the world and keep it in the United States. (11)By supporting renewable energy research and development, and funding demonstration and commercial application programs for renewable energy, the United States can create an export industry and improve the balance of trade. (12)Renewable energy can significantly reduce the environmental impacts of energy production.

3.

Photovoltaic demonstration program

(a)

In General

The Secretary of Energy (in this Act referred to as the Secretary) shall establish a program of grants to States to demonstrate advanced photovoltaic technology. (b)

Requirements

(1)

Ability to meet requirements

To receive funding under the program under this section, a State must submit a proposal that demonstrates, to the satisfaction of the Secretary, that the State will meet the requirements of subsection (f). (2)

Compliance with requirements

If a State has received funding under this section for the preceding year, the State must demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the Secretary, that it complied with the requirements of subsection (f) in carrying out the program during that preceding year, and that it will do so in the future, before it can receive further funding under this section. (3)

Funding allocation

Except as provided in subsection (c), each State submitting a qualifying proposal shall receive funding under the program based on the proportion of United States population in the State according to the 2000 census. In each fiscal year, the portion of funds attributable under this paragraph to States that have not submitted qualifying proposals in the time and manner specified by the Secretary shall be distributed pro rata to the States that have submitted qualifying proposals in the specified time and manner. (c)

Competition

If more than $80,000,000 is available for the program under this section for any fiscal year, the Secretary shall allocate 75 percent of the total amount of funds available according to subsection (b)(3), and shall award the remaining 25 percent on a competitive basis to the States with the proposals the Secretary considers most likely to encourage the widespread adoption of photovoltaic technologies. (d)

Proposals

Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act, and in each subsequent fiscal year for the life of the program, the Secretary shall solicit proposals from the States to participate in the program under this section. (e)

Competitive Criteria

In awarding funds in a competitive allocation under subsection (c), the Secretary shall consider— (1)the likelihood of a proposal to encourage the demonstration of, or lower the costs of, advanced photovoltaic technologies; and (2)the extent to which a proposal is likely to— (A)maximize the amount of photovoltaics demonstrated; (B)maximize the proportion of non-Federal cost share; and (C)limit State administrative costs. (f)

State Program

A program operated by a State with funding under this section shall provide competitive awards for the demonstration of advanced photovoltaic technologies. Each State program shall— (1)require a contribution of at least 60 percent per award from non-Federal sources, which may include any combination of State, local, and private funds, except that at least 10 percent of the funding must be supplied by the State; (2)limit awards for any single project to a maximum of $1,000,000; (3)prohibit any nongovernmental recipient from receiving more than $1,000,000 per year; (4)endeavor to fund recipients in the commercial, industrial, institutional, governmental, and residential sectors; (5)limit State administrative costs to no more than 10 percent of the grant; (6)report annually to the Secretary on— (A)the amount of funds disbursed; (B)the amount of photovoltaics purchased; and (C)the results of the monitoring under paragraph (7); (7)provide for measurement and verification of the output of a representative sample of the photovoltaics systems demonstrated throughout the average working life of the systems, or at least 20 years; and (8)require that applicant buildings must have received an independent energy efficiency audit during the 6-month period preceding the filing of the application. (g)

Unexpended Funds

If a State fails to expend any funds received under subsection (b) or (c) within 3 years of receipt, such remaining funds shall be returned to the Treasury. (h)

Reports

The Secretary shall report to Congress 5 years after funds are first distributed to the States under this section— (1)the amount of photovoltaics demonstrated; (2)the number of projects undertaken; (3)the administrative costs of the program; (4)the amount of funds that each State has not received because of a failure to submit a qualifying proposal, as described in subsection (b)(3); (5)the results of the monitoring under subsection (f)(7); and (6)the total amount of funds distributed, including a breakdown by State. (i)

Authorization of Appropriations

There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for the purposes of carrying out this section— (1)$50,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; (2)$100,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; (3)$150,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; (4)$200,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; and (5)$300,000,000 for fiscal year 2011.