[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4017 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4017

To promote efficient energy use in the Federal and private sectors, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 14, 2012

  Mr. Bass of New Hampshire (for himself, Mr. Matheson, Mr. Dold, Mr. 
Welch, Mr. Barrow, and Mr. Fitzpatrick) introduced the following bill; 
  which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in 
   addition to the Committees on Oversight and Government Reform and 
    Science, Space, and Technology, 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 promote efficient energy use in the Federal and private sectors, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Smart Energy 
Act''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
               TITLE I--FEDERAL ENERGY USE AND GENERATION

Sec. 101. Utilizing energy savings performance contracts.
Sec. 102. Demand response programs.
Sec. 103. Federal data center consolidation.
Sec. 104. Adoption of personal computer power savings techniques by 
                            Federal agencies.
Sec. 105. Best practices for advanced metering.
Sec. 106. Federal energy management and data collection standard.
TITLE II--PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN BUSINESS AND 
                                INDUSTRY

Sec. 201. Loan program for energy efficiency upgrades to existing 
                            buildings.
Sec. 202. Coordination of research and development of energy efficient 
                            technologies for industry.
Sec. 203. Combined heat and power and waste heat recovery.

               TITLE I--FEDERAL ENERGY USE AND GENERATION

SEC. 101. UTILIZING ENERGY SAVINGS PERFORMANCE CONTRACTS AND UTILITY 
              ENERGY SERVICE CONTRACTS.

    (a) Implementation of Energy Management Requirements.--Section 
543(f)(10) of the National Energy Conservation Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 
8253(f)(10)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (B)(i), by striking ``To carry'' and 
        inserting ``To the extent consistent with subparagraph (C), to 
        carry'';
            (2) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking ``A Federal'' and 
        inserting ``To the extent consistent with subparagraph (C), a 
        Federal''; and
            (3) by amending subparagraph (C) to read as follows:
                    ``(C) Implementation.--
                            ``(i) General rule.--Except as provided in 
                        clause (i) or (ii) of this subparagraph, each 
                        Federal agency shall implement the requirements 
                        under this subsection through private financing 
                        described in subparagraph (B)(i)(II).
                            ``(ii) Exception.--A Federal agency may 
                        implement the requirements under this 
                        subsection using appropriated funds described 
                        in subparagraph (B)(i)(I) if implementation 
                        pursuant to clause (i) of this subparagraph 
                        conflicts with the primary mission of the 
                        agency or facility, or if greater cost savings 
                        can be generated under a different program. A 
                        Federal agency shall provide a written 
                        justification for any decision to implement 
                        such requirements under this clause, including 
                        an analysis of the impact of such decision on 
                        the taxpayer.
                            ``(iii) Federal administrative costs.--A 
                        Federal agency may implement the requirements 
                        under this subsection using appropriated funds 
                        described in subparagraph (B)(i)(I) to the 
                        extent necessary to cover Federal 
                        administrative costs with respect to 
                        implementation pursuant to clause (i) of this 
                        subparagraph.''.
    (b) Termination Clauses.--Section 801(b)(2) of the National Energy 
Conservation Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 8287(b)(2)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (B);
            (2) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph 
        (C)(iv) and inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(D) require each agency to include in contracts 
                appropriate termination clauses for facilities that 
                will or may close before the end of the term of the 
                contract.''.
    (c) ESPCs for Electric Vehicles and Fueling Infrastructure.--
Section 804 of the National Energy Conservation Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 
8287c) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``or'' at the end of subparagraph (A);
            (2) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (B) 
        and inserting ``; or''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(C) a measure to support the use of electric 
                vehicles or the fueling or charging infrastructure 
                necessary for electric vehicles.''.
    (d) UESCs for Electric Vehicles and Fueling Infrastructure.--
Section 546 of the National Energy Conservation Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 
8256) is amended in subsection (c)(1) by inserting ``, including 
measures taken to finance the acquisition or use of electric-powered 
vehicles or their fueling infrastructure,'' after ``demand''.

SEC. 102. DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAMS.

    Section 543 of the National Energy Conservation Policy Act (42 
U.S.C. 8253) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating the second subsection (f) as 
        subsection (g); and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(h) Demand Response Programs.--To carry out this section, a 
Federal agency shall participate in demand response programs offered by 
electric utilities, Independent System Operators, Regional Transmission 
Organizations, and demand response aggregators, where such programs are 
available, if such participation does not conflict with the primary 
mission of the agency or facility, in order to support electric grid 
reliability and security and reduce energy bills for the agency or 
facility.''.

SEC. 103. FEDERAL DATA CENTER CONSOLIDATION.

    (a) Definition.--In this section, the term ``Federal data center'' 
means a room or space in a Federal building that is used for housing 
computer servers, data storage devices, or network equipment, including 
server closets.
    (b) OMB Requirements.--The Director of the Office of Management and 
Budget shall direct the Federal Chief Information Officer to--
            (1) require that agencies, when updating their Federal data 
        center inventories in the third quarter of each fiscal year, 
        state what actions have been taken to verify the inventories 
        and to identify any limitations of this information;
            (2) require that agencies complete the missing elements in 
        their respective plans and submit complete Federal data center 
        consolidation plans, or provide a schedule for when they will 
        do so, not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 
        this Act;
            (3) require agencies to consider consolidation challenges 
        and lessons learned when updating their consolidation plans; 
        and
            (4) utilize the existing accountability infrastructure by 
        requiring the Data Center Consolidation Task Force to assess 
        agency consolidation plans to ensure they are complete and to 
        monitor the agencies' implementation of their plans.
    (c) Department and Agency Requirements.--Each of the department 
secretaries and agency heads of the 23 departments and agencies 
participating in the Office of Management and Budget's Federal data 
center consolidation initiative shall--
            (1) direct their component agencies and their Federal data 
        center consolidation program managers to complete the missing 
        elements in their respective Federal data center consolidation 
        inventories and plans; and
            (2) require their Federal data center consolidation program 
        managers to consider consolidation challenges and lessons 
        learned when updating their consolidation plans.

SEC. 104. ADOPTION OF PERSONAL COMPUTER POWER SAVINGS TECHNIQUES BY 
              FEDERAL AGENCIES.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 360 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy, in consultation with 
the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and the 
Administrator of General Services, shall issue guidance for Federal 
agencies to employ advanced tools allowing energy savings through the 
use of computer hardware, energy efficiency software, and power 
management tools.
    (b) Reports on Plans and Savings.--Not later than 180 days after 
the date of the issuance of the guidance under subsection (a), each 
Federal agency shall submit to the Secretary of Energy a report that 
describes--
            (1) the plan of the agency for implementing the guidance 
        within the agency; and
            (2) estimated energy and financial savings from employing 
        the tools described in subsection (a).

SEC. 105. BEST PRACTICES FOR ADVANCED METERING.

    Section 543(e) of the National Energy Conservation Policy Act (42 
U.S.C. 8253(e)) is amended by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the 
following:
            ``(3) Plan.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Not later than 180 days after 
                the date on which guidelines are established under 
                paragraph (2), in a report submitted by the agency 
                under section 548(a), each agency shall submit to the 
                Secretary a plan describing the manner in which the 
                agency will implement the requirements of paragraph 
                (1), including--
                            ``(i) how the agency will designate 
                        personnel primarily responsible for achieving 
                        the requirements; and
                            ``(ii) a demonstration by the agency, 
                        complete with documentation, of any finding 
                        that advanced meters or advanced metering 
                        devices (as those terms are used in paragraph 
                        (1)), are not practicable.
                    ``(B) Updates.--Reports submitted under 
                subparagraph (A) shall be updated annually.
            ``(4) Best practices report.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Not later than 180 days after 
                the date of enactment of the Smart Energy Act, the 
                Secretary of Energy, in consultation with the Secretary 
                of Defense and the Administrator of General Services, 
                shall develop, and issue a report on, best practices 
                for the use of advanced metering of energy use in 
                Federal facilities, buildings, and equipment by Federal 
                agencies.
                    ``(B) Updating.--The report described under 
                subparagraph (A) shall be updated annually.
                    ``(C) Components.--The report shall include, at a 
                minimum--
                            ``(i) summaries and analysis of the reports 
                        by agencies under paragraph (3);
                            ``(ii) recommendations on standard 
                        requirements or guidelines for automated energy 
                        management systems, including--
                                    ``(I) potential common 
                                communications standards to allow data 
                                sharing and reporting;
                                    ``(II) means of facilitating 
                                continuous commissioning of buildings 
                                and evidence-based maintenance of 
                                buildings and building systems; and
                                    ``(III) standards for sufficient 
                                levels of security and protection 
                                against cyber threats to ensure systems 
                                cannot be controlled by unauthorized 
                                persons; and
                            ``(iii) an analysis of--
                                    ``(I) the types of advanced 
                                metering and monitoring systems being 
                                piloted, tested, or installed in 
                                Federal buildings; and
                                    ``(II) existing techniques used 
                                within the private sector or other non-
                                Federal government buildings.''.

SEC. 106. FEDERAL ENERGY MANAGEMENT AND DATA COLLECTION STANDARD.

    Section 543 of the National Energy Conservation Policy Act (42 
U.S.C. 8253) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating the second subsection (f) (as added by 
        section 434(a) of Public Law 110-140 (121 Stat. 1614)) as 
        subsection (g); and
            (2) in subsection (f)(7), by striking subparagraph (A) and 
        inserting the following:
                    ``(A) In general.--For each facility that meets the 
                criteria established by the Secretary under paragraph 
                (2)(B), the energy manager shall use the web-based 
                tracking system under subparagraph (B)--
                            ``(i) to certify compliance with the 
                        requirements for--
                                    ``(I) energy and water evaluations 
                                under paragraph (3);
                                    ``(II) implementation of identified 
                                energy and water measures under 
                                paragraph (4); and
                                    ``(III) follow-up on implemented 
                                measures under paragraph (5); and
                            ``(ii) to publish energy and water 
                        consumption data on an individual facility 
                        basis.''.

TITLE II--PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN BUSINESS AND 
                                INDUSTRY

SEC. 201. LOAN PROGRAM FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY UPGRADES TO EXISTING 
              BUILDINGS.

    Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16511 et 
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 1706. BUILDING RETROFIT FINANCING PROGRAM.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Credit support.--The term `credit support' means a 
        guarantee or commitment to issue a guarantee or other forms of 
        credit enhancement to ameliorate risks for efficiency 
        obligations.
            ``(2) Efficiency obligation.--The term `efficiency 
        obligation' means a debt or repayment obligation incurred in 
        connection with financing a project, or a portfolio of such 
        debt or payment obligations.
            ``(3) Project.--The term `project' means the installation 
        and implementation of efficiency, advanced metering, 
        distributed generation, or renewable energy technologies and 
        measures in a building (or in multiple buildings on a given 
        property) that are expected to increase the energy efficiency 
        of the building (including fixtures) in accordance with 
        criteria established by the Secretary.
    ``(b) Eligible Projects.--
            ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding sections 1703 and 1705, 
        the Secretary may provide credit support under this section, in 
        accordance with section 1702.
            ``(2) Inclusions.--Buildings eligible for credit support 
        under this section include commercial, multifamily residential, 
        industrial, municipal, government, institution of higher 
        education, school, and hospital facilities that satisfy 
        criteria established by the Secretary.
    ``(c) Guidelines.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
        of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) establish guidelines for credit support 
                provided under this section; and
                    ``(B) publish the guidelines in the Federal 
                Register; and
                    ``(C) provide for an opportunity for public comment 
                on the guidelines.
            ``(2) Requirements.--The guidelines established by the 
        Secretary under this subsection shall include--
                    ``(A) standards for assessing the energy savings 
                that could reasonably be expected to result from a 
                project;
                    ``(B) examples of financing mechanisms (and 
                portfolios of such financing mechanisms) that qualify 
                as efficiency obligations;
                    ``(C) the threshold levels of energy savings that a 
                project, at the time of issuance of credit support, 
                shall be reasonably expected to achieve to be eligible 
                for credit support;
                    ``(D) the eligibility criteria the Secretary 
                determines to be necessary for making credit support 
                available under this section; and
                    ``(E) notwithstanding subsections (d)(3) and 
                (g)(2)(B) of section 1702, lien priority and credit 
                risk protections established by the Secretary, in 
                consultation with the Director of the Office of 
                Management and Budget, which shall include--
                            ``(i) requirements to preserve priority 
                        lien status of secured lenders and creditors in 
                        buildings eligible for credit support;
                            ``(ii) remedies available to the Secretary 
                        under chapter 176 of title 28, United States 
                        Code, in the event of default on the efficiency 
                        obligation by the borrower; and
                            ``(iii) measures to limit the exposure of 
                        the Secretary to financial risk in the event of 
                        default, such as--
                                    ``(I) the collection of a credit 
                                subsidy fee from the borrower as a loan 
                                loss reserve, taking into account the 
                                limitation on credit support under 
                                subsection (d);
                                    ``(II) minimum debt-to-income 
                                levels of the borrower;
                                    ``(III) minimum levels of value 
                                relative to outstanding mortgage or 
                                other debt on a building eligible for 
                                credit support;
                                    ``(IV) allowable thresholds for the 
                                percent of the efficiency obligation 
                                relative to the amount of any mortgage 
                                or other debt on an eligible building;
                                    ``(V) analysis of historic and 
                                anticipated occupancy levels and rental 
                                income of an eligible building;
                                    ``(VI) requirements of third-party 
                                contractors to guarantee energy savings 
                                that will result from a retrofit 
                                project, and whether financing on the 
                                efficiency obligation will amortize 
                                from the energy savings;
                                    ``(VII) requirements that the 
                                retrofit project incorporate protocols 
                                to measure and verify energy savings; 
                                and
                                    ``(VIII) recovery of payments 
                                equally by the Secretary and the 
                                retrofit.
            ``(3) Efficiency obligations.--The financing mechanisms 
        qualified by the Secretary under paragraph (2)(B) may include--
                    ``(A) loans, including loans made by the Federal 
                Financing Bank;
                    ``(B) power purchase agreements, including energy 
                efficiency power purchase agreements;
                    ``(C) energy services agreements, including energy 
                performance contracts;
                    ``(D) property assessed clean energy bonds and 
                other tax assessment-based financing mechanisms;
                    ``(E) aggregate on-meter agreements that finance 
                retrofit projects; and
                    ``(F) any other efficiency obligations the 
                Secretary determines to be appropriate.
            ``(4) Priorities.--In carrying out this section, the 
        Secretary shall prioritize--
                    ``(A) the maximization of energy savings with the 
                available credit support funding;
                    ``(B) the establishment of a clear application and 
                approval process that allows private building owners, 
                lenders, and investors to reasonably expect to receive 
                credit support for projects that conform to guidelines;
                    ``(C) the distribution of projects receiving credit 
                support under this section across States or 
                geographical regions of the United States; and
                    ``(D) projects designed to achieve whole-building 
                retrofits.
    ``(d) Limitation.--Notwithstanding section 1702(c), the Secretary 
shall not issue credit support under this section in an amount that 
exceeds--
            ``(1) 90 percent of the principal amount of the efficiency 
        obligation that is the subject of the credit support; or
            ``(2) $10,000,000 for any single project.
    ``(e) Aggregation of Projects.--To the extent provided in the 
guidelines developed in accordance with subsection (c), the Secretary 
may issue credit support on a portfolio, or pool of projects, that are 
not required to be geographically contiguous, if each efficiency 
obligation in the pool fulfills the requirements described in this 
section.
    ``(f) Application.--
            ``(1) In general.--To be eligible to receive credit support 
        under this section, the applicant shall submit to the Secretary 
        an application at such time, in such manner, and containing 
        such information as the Secretary determines to be necessary.
            ``(2) Contents.--An application submitted under this 
        section shall include assurances by the applicant that--
                    ``(A) each contractor carrying out the project 
                meets minimum experience level criteria, including 
                local retrofit experience, as determined by the 
                Secretary;
                    ``(B) the project is reasonably expected to achieve 
                energy savings, as set forth in the application using 
                any methodology that meets the standards described in 
                the program guidelines;
                    ``(C) the project meets any technical criteria 
                described in the program guidelines;
                    ``(D) the recipient of the credit support and the 
                parties to the efficiency obligation will provide the 
                Secretary with--
                            ``(i) any information the Secretary 
                        requests to assess the energy savings that 
                        result from the project, including historical 
                        energy usage data, a simulation-based 
                        benchmark, and detailed descriptions of the 
                        building work, as described in the program 
                        guidelines; and
                            ``(ii) permission to access information 
                        relating to building operations and usage for 
                        the period described in the program guidelines; 
                        and
                    ``(E) any other assurances that the Secretary 
                determines to be necessary.
            ``(3) Determination.--Not later than 90 days after 
        receiving an application, the Secretary shall make a final 
        determination on the application, which may include requests 
        for additional information.
    ``(g) Fees.--
            ``(1) In general.--In addition to the fees required by 
        section 1702(h)(1), the Secretary may charge reasonable fees 
        for credit support provided under this section.
            ``(2) Availability.--Fees collected under this section 
        shall be subject to section 1702(h)(2).
    ``(h) Underwriting.--The Secretary may delegate the underwriting 
activities under this section to 1 or more entities that the Secretary 
determines to be qualified.
    ``(i) Report.--Not later than 1 year after commencement of the 
program, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate committees of 
Congress a report that describes in reasonable detail--
            ``(1) the manner in which this section is being carried 
        out;
            ``(2) the number and type of projects supported;
            ``(3) the types of funding mechanisms used to provide 
        credit support to projects;
            ``(4) the energy savings expected to result from projects 
        supported by this section;
            ``(5) any tracking efforts the Secretary is using to 
        calculate the actual energy savings produced by the projects; 
        and
            ``(6) any plans to improve the tracking efforts described 
        in paragraph (5).''.

SEC. 202. COORDINATION OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OF ENERGY EFFICIENT 
              TECHNOLOGIES FOR INDUSTRY.

    (a) In General.--As part of the research and development activities 
of the Advanced Manufacturing Office of the Department of Energy, the 
Secretary of Energy shall establish, as appropriate, collaborative 
research and development partnerships with other programs within the 
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (including the 
Building Technologies Program), the Office of Electricity Delivery and 
Energy Reliability, and the Office of Science that--
            (1) leverage the research and development expertise of 
        those programs to promote early stage energy efficiency 
        technology development;
            (2) support the use of innovative manufacturing processes 
        and applied research for development, demonstration, and 
        commercialization of new technologies and processes to improve 
        efficiency, reduce emissions, reduce industrial waste, and 
        improve industrial cost-competitiveness; and
            (3) apply the knowledge and expertise of the Advanced 
        Manufacturing Office to help achieve the program goals of the 
        other programs.
    (b) Reports.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of 
this Act and biennially thereafter, the Secretary of Energy shall 
submit to Congress a report that describes actions taken to carry out 
subsection (a) and the results of those actions.

SEC. 203. COMBINED HEAT AND POWER AND WASTE HEAT RECOVERY.

    (a) Goal.--It is the goal of the United States to, not later than 
December 31, 2020, achieve a doubling of the production of electricity 
from combined heat and power and waste heat recovery in the United 
States from the current level of approximately 85 to at least 170 
gigawatts by 2020 and thereby improve the energy efficiency of the 
industrial sector.
    (b) Strategic Plan.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, and biennially thereafter, the Secretary 
        of Energy (referred to in this section as the ``Secretary''), 
        in cooperation with the heads of other appropriate Federal 
        agencies, shall transmit to the Congress and make available to 
        the public a strategic plan, or update thereof, to achieve the 
        national goal established under subsection (a).
            (2) Public input and comment.--The Secretary shall develop 
        the strategic plan in a manner that provides appropriate 
        opportunities for public input and comment.
            (3) Plan contents.--The strategic plan shall--
                    (A) establish policy priorities and identify 
                requirements to ensure compliance with the national 
                goal established under subsection (a);
                    (B) include estimates for achievable increases in 
                combined heat and power and waste heat recovery 
                production and for energy savings that will be achieved 
                by those increases; and
                    (C) include data collection and compilation 
                methodologies used to establish baselines and document 
                energy savings data.
            (4) Plan updates.--
                    (A) Inclusion in national energy policy plan.--The 
                Secretary shall include each updated strategic plan in 
                the National Energy Policy Plan required by section 801 
                of the Department of Energy Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 
                7321).
                    (B) Contents.--In updating the strategic plan, the 
                Secretary shall--
                            (i) report on progress made toward 
                        implementing combined heat and power and waste 
                        heat recovery policies to achieve the national 
                        goal established under subsection (a); and
                            (ii) verify, to the maximum extent 
                        practicable, energy savings resulting from 
                        those policies.
                                 <all>