1.This Act may be cited as
the Thermal Energy Efficiency Act of
2009
.
2.Congress finds that—
(1)approximately 40
percent of the total quantity of energy consumed in the United States is used
in heating and air conditioning buildings and industrial process heat;
(2)thermal energy is
an essential, but often overlooked, segment of the national energy mix;
(3)district energy
systems use 1 or more central plants to provide thermal energy or combined heat
and power to multiple buildings that range in size from campus applications to
systems heating entire towns or cities;
(4)district energy
systems provide several advantages that support secure, affordable, renewable,
and sustainable energy for the United States, including—
(A)fuel flexibility
to reduce fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions;
(B)use of local
fuels that keep jobs and energy dollars in local economies;
(C)stable,
predictable energy costs for businesses and industry; and
(D)reduction in
reliance on fossil fuels;
(5)district energy
systems provide infrastructure to produce and distribute thermal energy and use
electric energy from sources of industrial surplus heat and from renewable
sources, such as biomass, geothermal, and solar;
(6)as of 2009, the
United States had approximately 2,500 operating district energy systems;
(7)combined heat and
power systems increase energy efficiency of power plants by capturing thermal
energy and using the thermal energy to provide heating and cooling, more than
doubling the efficiency of conventional power plants; and
(8)according to the
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, if the United States was able to increase
combined heat and power from approximately 9 percent of total electric
generation capacity on the date of enactment of this Act to 20 percent by 2030,
the increase would—
(A)save as much
energy as half of all household energy consumption;
(B)create
approximately 1,000,000 new jobs;
(C)avoid more than
800,000,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually, which is
equivalent to taking 1/2 of all United States passenger
vehicles off the road; and
(D)save hundreds of
millions of barrels of oil equivalent.
3.In this Act:
(1)The
term Administrator means the Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency.
(2)The term combined heat and power means
simultaneous generation of electric energy and heat in a single, integrated
system, with an overall efficiency of 60 percent or higher based on a
higher-heating value basis.
(3)The term district energy system means a
system that provides thermal energy from 1 or more central plants to at least 2
or more buildings through a network of pipes to provide steam, hot water, or
chilled water to be used for space heating, air conditioning, domestic hot
water, compression, process energy, or other end uses for the thermal
energy.
(4)The term eligible entity means—
(A)an institutional
entity;
(B)a commercial or
industrial entity; or
(C)a Federal agency
or facility.
(5)The
term Fund means the Thermal Energy Efficiency Fund established by
section 4(a).
(6)The term institutional entity
means—
(A)an institution of higher education;
(B)a public school district;
(C)a local government;
(D)a State
government;
(E)a tribal
government;
(F)a municipal utility; or
(G)a nonprofit or
public hospital; or
(H)a designee of 1 of the entities described
in subparagraphs (A) through (G).
(7)The term qualifying project means a district
energy, combined heat and power, or recoverable waste energy project that (in
accordance with guidance issued by the Secretary)—
(A)reduces or avoids
greenhouse gas emissions; and
(B)(i)produces thermal energy
from renewable energy resources (such as biomass, geothermal, and solar
resources) and natural cooling sources (such as cold lake or ocean water
sources);
(ii)captures and productively uses
thermal energy from an existing electric generation facility;
(iii)provides for the capture and
productive use of thermal energy in a new electric generation facility;
(iv)integrates new electricity
generation into an existing district energy system;
(v)captures and productively uses
surplus thermal energy from an industrial or municipal process (such as
wastewater treatment); or
(vi)distributes and transfers to
buildings the thermal energy from the energy sources described in clauses (i)
through (v).
(8)The term recoverable waste energy means
electrical, thermal, or mechanical energy that—
(A)may be recovered
or generated through modification of an existing facility or addition of a new
facility; and
(B)if not for that
recovery, would be wasted.
(9)The
term Secretary means the Secretary of Energy.
4.
Thermal Energy Efficiency Fund
(a)There
is established in the Treasury a fund to be known as the Thermal Energy
Efficiency Fund.
(b)If
a program for the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions is established by
Federal law (including regulations) for any of calendar years 2012 through 2050
and emission allowances are allocated under the program, the Administrator
shall allocate to the Fund 2 percent of the quantity of emission allowances
established for the calendar year.
(c)The
Administrator shall auction all of the emission allowances allocated to the
Fund for a calendar year under subsection (b).
(d)The
Administrator shall deposit all proceeds of auctions conducted pursuant to
subsection (c), immediately on receipt of those proceeds, in the Fund.
5.Grants for
qualifying projects
(a)For each calendar year during which a program described
in section 4(b) is in effect, the Secretary shall use amounts in the Fund,
without further appropriation, to make competitive grants to eligible entities
to carry out qualifying projects in accordance with this section, as determined
by the Secretary.
(b)Of the amount of grants that are made available for
each of calendar years 2012 through 2050 under this section, the Secretary
shall use—
(1)at least 75
percent of the amount to make grants to support infrastructure construction and
development for qualifying projects;
(2)at least 15
percent of the amount to make grants to support planning, engineering, and
feasibility studies for qualifying projects; and
(3)the remainder to
make grants described in paragraph (1) or (2), as determined by the
Secretary.
(c)Of the amount of grants that are made available for
each of calendar years 2012 through 2050 under this section, the Secretary
shall use—
(1)at least 40
percent of the amount to make grants to institutional entities to carry out
qualifying projects;
(2)at least 40
percent of the amount to make grants to industrial and commercial entities to
carry out qualifying projects; and
(3)the remainder to
make grants described in paragraph (1) or (2) or to fund qualifying projects
carried out by Federal agencies or facilities, as determined by the
Secretary.
(d)To be eligible to obtain a grant, a recipient (other
than a Federal agency or facility) shall provide matching funds in an amount
equal to at least—
(1)in the case of
each of calendar years 2012 through 2017, 25 percent of the amount of the
grant; and
(2)in the case of
each of calendar years 2018 through 2050, 50 percent of the amount of the
grant.
6.It is the goal of
the United States that by calendar year 2030, 20 percent or more of the total
electrical power capacity of the United States be met through combined heat and
power.