II 112th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1757 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES October 20, 2011 Mr. Tester (for himself, Mr. Harkin, Mr. Bennet, and Ms. Klobuchar) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry A BILL To promote clean energy infrastructure for rural communities.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Clean Energy Infrastructure for Rural Communities Act of 2011.

2.

Electric loans for renewable energy

Section 317 of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 940g) is amended— (1)in subsection (b)— (A)by striking for electric generation and inserting “for— (1)electric generation ; (B)by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and; and (C)by adding at the end the following: (2)transmission facilities primarily for the purpose of interconnecting 1 or more renewable energy facilities to a high-voltage transmission line. ; and (2)by striking subsection (c).

3.

Rural natural gas infrastructure

Section 310B(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1932(a)) is amended— (1)in paragraph (1)— (A)by redesignating subparagraph (B) as subparagraph (C); and (B)by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following: (B)

Natural gas

The term natural gas means— (i)unmixed natural gas; or (ii)any mixture of natural and artificial gas. ; and (2)in paragraph (2)— (A)in subparagraph (C), by striking and at the end; (B)by redesignating subparagraph (D) as subparagraph (E); and (C)by inserting after subparagraph (C) the following: (D)improving the economic and environmental climate by encouraging the development and construction of infrastructure to provide access to natural gas in rural communities; and .