[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2901 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2901

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 2024, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 18, 2014

  Mr. Sanders (for himself, Mr. Merkley, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Harkin, Mr. 
Whitehouse, 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 2024, 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.

    This Act may be cited as the ``10 Million Solar Roofs Act of 
2014''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) there is enormous potential for increasing the quantity 
        of electricity produced in the United States from distributed 
        solar photovoltaic systems;
            (2) as the market for solar technology continues to grow, 
        the industry will achieve economies of scale that make the cost 
        of solar-generated electricity broadly competitive with the 
        cost of electricity from fossil fuels;
            (3) producing electricity from distributed solar 
        photovoltaic systems helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 
        and does not result in emissions of harmful air pollutants such 
        as mercury, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides;
            (4) increasing the quantity of electricity generated from 
        domestic renewable energy sources enhances national energy 
        security;
            (5) investments in solar energy and other renewable energy 
        sources lead to the creation of green jobs that provide 
        substantial economic benefits;
            (6) the United States solar industry employed more than 
        140,000 people spread across all 50 States in 2013, which is a 
        53 percent increase over 2010, according to the Solar 
        Foundation; and
            (7) the solar industry is investing almost $15,000,000,000 
        in the United States economy annually, according to GTM 
        Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Photovoltaic system.--The term ``photovoltaic system'' 
        includes--
                    (A) solar panels;
                    (B) roof support structures;
                    (C) inverters;
                    (D) an energy storage system, if the energy storage 
                system is integrated with the photovoltaic system; and
                    (E) any other hardware necessary for the 
                installation of a photovoltaic system.
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Energy.

SEC. 4. REBATES FOR PURCHASE AND INSTALLATION OF PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEMS.

    (a) In General.--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 photovoltaic systems in the United States (as 
compared to the number of photovoltaic systems installed in the United 
States as of the date of enactment of this Act) with a cumulative 
capacity of at least 60,000 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; and
                    (B) 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.--Subject to subsection (d)(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 equal to the lesser of--
            (1) 15 percent of the initial capital costs for purchasing 
        and installing the photovoltaic system, including costs for 
        hardware, permitting and other ``soft costs'', and 
        installation; or
            (2) $10,000.
    (d) Intermediate Report.--As soon as practicable after the end of 
the 5-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress, and 
publish on the website of the Department of Energy, a report that 
describes--
            (1) the number of photovoltaic systems for residential and 
        commercial properties purchased and installed with rebates 
        provided under this section; and
            (2) any steps the Secretary will take to ensure that the 
        goal of the installation of an additional 10,000,000 
        photovoltaic systems in the United States is achieved by 2024.
    (e) 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.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary 
to carry out this Act.
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