SMART Electric Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2369 To require the Secretary of Energy to establish a program to provide rebates for expenditures for energy efficient electrotechnologies that are used to replace fossil fuel-fired technologies, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 5, 2021 Mr. NORCROSS (for himself and Mr. MCKINLEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To require the Secretary of Energy to establish a program to provide rebates for expenditures for energy efficient electrotechnologies that are used to replace fossil fuel- fired technologies, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Strengthening Manu- 4 facturing in America through Responsible Transitions to 5 Electric Act’’ or the ‘‘SMART Electric Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2369.IH H2369 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2369 IH SEC. 2. REBATE PROGRAM FOR ENERGY EFFICIENT 1 ELECTROTECHNOLOGIES. 2 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 3 (1) ENERGY EFFICIENT 4 ELECTROTECHNOLOGY.—The term ‘‘energy efficient 5 electrotechnology’’ means— 6 (A) any electric technology that, when used 7 instead of a fossil fuel-fired technology in an in- 8 dustrial process results in— 9 (i) energy efficiency, or production ef- 10 ficiency, gains; or 11 (ii) environmental benefits; or 12 (B) any electric technology that, when used 13 instead of a fossil fuel-fired technology in an in- 14 dustrial application results in— 15 (i) improvements in on-site logistics or 16 material handling; and 17 (ii) energy efficiency gains and envi- 18 ronmental benefits. 19 (2) QUALIFIED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘qualified 20 entity’’ means an industrial or manufacturing facil- 21 ity, commercial building, or a utility or energy serv- 22 ice company. 23 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 24 the Secretary of Energy. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2369.IH H2369 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2369 IH (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days after 1 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall es- 2 tablish a program to provide rebates in accordance with 3 this section. 4 (c) REBATES.—The Secretary may provide a rebate 5 under the program established under subsection (b) to the 6 owner or operator of a qualified entity for expenditures 7 made by the owner or operator of the qualified entity for 8 an energy efficient electrotechnology that is used to re- 9 place a fossil fuel-fired technology. 10 (d) REQUIREMENTS.—To be eligible to receive a re- 11 bate under this section, the owner or operator of a quali- 12 fied entity shall submit to the Secretary an application 13 demonstrating— 14 (1) that the owner or operator of the qualified 15 entity purchased an energy efficient electrotechnolo- 16 gy; 17 (2) the energy efficiency gains, production effi- 18 ciency gains, and environmental benefits, as applica- 19 ble, resulting from use of the energy efficient elec- 20 trotechnology— 21 (A) as measured by a qualified professional 22 or verified by the energy efficient electrotech- 23 nology manufacturer, as applicable; or 24 (B) as determined by the Secretary; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2369.IH H2369 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2369 IH (3) that the fossil fuel-fired technology replaced 1 by the energy efficient electrotechnology has been 2 permanently decommissioned and scrapped; and 3 (4) that all laborers and mechanics who were 4 involved in the installation or maintenance, or con- 5 struction or renovation to support such installation 6 or maintenance, of the energy efficient electrotech- 7 nology, or the decommissioning and scrapping of the 8 fossil fuel-fired technology replaced by the energy ef- 9 ficient electrotechnology, and who were employed by 10 the owner or operator of the qualified entity, or con- 11 tractors or subcontractors at any tier thereof, were 12 paid wages at rates not less than those prevailing on 13 projects of a character similar in the locality as de- 14 termined by the Secretary of Labor in accordance 15 with subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United 16 States Code (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Davis- 17 Bacon Act’’). 18 (e) LIMITATION.—The Secretary may not provide a 19 rebate under the program established under subsection (b) 20 to an owner or operator of a qualified entity for expendi- 21 tures made by the owner or operator of the qualified entity 22 for an energy efficient electrotechnology that is used to 23 replace a fossil fuel-fired technology if the Secretary deter- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2369.IH H2369 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2369 IH mines that such expenditures were necessary for the owner 1 or operator to comply with Federal or State law. 2 (f) AUTHORIZED AMOUNT OF REBATE.—The amount 3 of a rebate provided under this section shall be not less 4 than 30 percent, and not more than 50 percent, of the 5 overall cost of the energy efficient electrotechnology, in- 6 cluding installation costs. 7 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 8 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 9 $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026. 10 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2369.IH H2369 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS