[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3224 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3224

To increase the quantity of solar photovoltaic electricity by providing 
 rebates for the purchase and installation of an additional 10,000,000 
                     photovoltaic systems by 2018.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              July 7, 2008

   Mr. Sanders (for himself, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Specter, Mr. 
Warner, and Mr. Menendez) introduced the following bill; which was read 
  twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To increase the quantity of solar photovoltaic electricity by providing 
 rebates for the purchase and installation of an additional 10,000,000 
                     photovoltaic systems by 2018.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``10 Million-Solar Roofs Act of 
2008''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1)(A) there is huge potential for increasing the quantity 
        of electricity produced in the United States from distributed 
        solar photovoltaics; and
            (B) the use of photovoltaics on the roofs of 10 percent of 
        existing buildings could meet 70 percent of peak electric 
        demand;
            (2) investment in solar photovoltaics technology will 
        create economies of scale that will allow the technology to 
        deliver electricity at prices that are competitive with 
        electricity from fossil fuels;
            (3) electricity produced from distributed solar 
        photovoltaics helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and does 
        not emit harmful air pollutants, such as mercury, sulfur 
        dioxide, and nitrogen oxides;
            (4) electricity produced from distributed solar 
        photovoltaics enhances national energy security;
            (5) investments in renewable energy stimulate the 
        development of green jobs that provide substantial economic 
        benefits;
            (6)(A) rebate programs in several States have been 
        successful in increasing the quantity of solar energy from 
        distributed photovoltaics;
            (B) the State of California has used rebate programs to 
        install nearly 300 megawatts of grid-connected photovoltaics 
        since 2000; and
            (C) the State of New Jersey has installed nearly 50 
        megawatts of grid-connected photovoltaics since 2001, including 
        20 megawatts in 2007 alone; and
            (7) Germany has installed nearly 4,000 megawatts of 
        distributed solar photovoltaics and sustained an annual growth 
        rate approaching 67 percent since enacting aggressive laws to 
        encourage photovoltaic installations

SEC. 3. REBATES FOR PURCHASE AND INSTALLATION OF PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEMS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Energy (referred to in this Act 
as the ``Secretary'') shall establish a program under which the 
Secretary shall provide rebates to eligible individuals or entities for 
the purchase and installation of photovoltaic systems for residential 
and commercial properties in order to install, over the 10-year period 
beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, at least an additional 
10,000,000 solar systems in the United States (as compared to the 
number of solar systems installed in the United States as of the date 
of enactment of this Act) with a cumulative capacity of at least 30,000 
megawatts.
    (b) Eligibility.--
            (1) In general.--To be eligible for a rebate under this 
        section--
                    (A) the recipient of the rebate shall be a 
                homeowner, business, nonprofit entity, or State or 
                local government that purchased and installed a 
                photovoltaic system for a property located in the 
                United States;
                    (B) the total capacity of the photovoltaic system 
                for the property shall not exceed 4 megawatts;
                    (C) the buildings on the property for which the 
                photovoltaic system is installed shall--
                            (i) in the case of a new or renovated 
                        building, achieve a rating of not less than 75 
                        under the Energy Star program established by 
                        section 324A of the Energy Policy and 
                        Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6294a) (or an 
                        equivalent rating under an established 
                        benchmarking metric); and
                            (ii) in the case of any building not 
                        described in clause (i), be retrofitted to 
                        achieve a rating improvement of not less than 
                        30 points under the Energy Star program (or an 
                        equivalent improvement under an established 
                        benchmarking metric); and
                    (D) the recipient of the rebate shall meet such 
                other eligibility criteria as are determined to be 
                appropriate by the Secretary.
            (2) Other entities.--After public review and comment, the 
        Secretary may identify other individuals or entities located in 
        the United States that qualify for a rebate under this section.
    (c) Amount.--
            (1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the amount of a 
        rebate provided to an eligible individual or entity for the 
        purchase and installation of a photovoltaic system for a 
        property under this section shall be at least $3 for each watt 
        of installed capacity.
            (2) Maximum amount.--The total amount of a rebate provided 
        to an eligible individual or entity for the purchase and 
        installation of a photovoltaic system for a property under this 
        section shall not exceed 50 percent of the cost of the purchase 
        and installation of the system.
    (d) Relationship to Other Law.--The authority provided under this 
section shall be in addition to any other authority under which credits 
or other types of financial assistance are provided for installation of 
a photovoltaic system for a property.
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this section.
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