Affordable Solar Energy for Our Communities Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8165 To direct the Secretary of Energy to establish a program to provide assistance for low-income solar projects, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SEPTEMBER 4, 2020 Mr. CA´RDENAS (for himself and Ms. LEE of California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To direct the Secretary of Energy to establish a program to provide assistance for low-income solar projects, 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 ‘‘Affordable Solar En- 4 ergy for Our Communities Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM FOR SOLAR INSTALLATIONS LO- 6 CATED IN, OR THAT SERVE, LOW-INCOME 7 AND UNDERSERVED AREAS. 8 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:17 Sep 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8165.IH H8165 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8165 IH (1) BENEFICIARY.—The term ‘‘beneficiary’’ 1 means a low-income household or a low-income 2 household in an underserved area. 3 (2) COMMUNITY SOLAR FACILITY.—The term 4 ‘‘community solar facility’’ means a solar generating 5 facility that— 6 (A) through a voluntary program, has mul- 7 tiple subscribers that receive financial benefits 8 that are directly attributable to the facility; 9 (B) has a nameplate rating of 5 megawatts 10 AC or less; and 11 (C) is located in the utility distribution 12 service territory of subscribers. 13 (3) COMMUNITY SOLAR SUBSCRIPTION.—The 14 term ‘‘community solar subscription’’ means a share 15 in the capacity, or a proportional interest in the elec- 16 tricity generation, of a community solar facility. 17 (4) COVERED FACILITY.—The term ‘‘covered 18 facility’’ means— 19 (A) a community solar facility— 20 (i) that is located in an underserved 21 area; or 22 (ii) at least 50 percent of the capacity 23 of which is reserved for low-income house- 24 holds; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:17 Sep 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8165.IH H8165 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8165 IH (B) a solar generating facility located at a 1 residence of a low-income household; or 2 (C) a solar generating facility located at a 3 multi-family affordable housing complex. 4 (5) COVERED STATE.—The term ‘‘covered 5 State’’ means a State with processes in place to en- 6 sure that covered facilities deliver financial benefits 7 to low-income households. 8 (6) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 9 ty’’ means— 10 (A) a nonprofit organization that provides 11 services to low-income households or multi-fam- 12 ily affordable housing complexes; 13 (B) a developer, owner, or operator of a 14 community solar facility that reserves a portion 15 of the capacity of the facility for subscribers 16 who are members of low-income households or 17 for low-income households that otherwise finan- 18 cially benefit from the facility; 19 (C) a covered State, or political subdivision 20 thereof; 21 (D) an Indian Tribe or a tribally owned 22 electric utility; 23 (E) a Native Hawaiian community-based 24 organization; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:17 Sep 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8165.IH H8165 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8165 IH (F) any other national or regional entity 1 that has experience developing or installing 2 solar generating facilities for low-income house- 3 holds that maximize financial benefits to those 4 households; and 5 (G) an electric cooperative or municipal 6 electric utility (as such terms are defined in sec- 7 tion 3 of the Federal Power Act). 8 (7) ELIGIBLE INSTALLATION PROJECT.—The 9 term ‘‘eligible installation project’’ means a project 10 to install a covered facility in a covered State. 11 (8) ELIGIBLE PLANNING PROJECT.—The term 12 ‘‘eligible planning project’’ means a project to carry 13 out pre-installation activities for the development of 14 a covered facility in a covered State. 15 (9) ELIGIBLE PROJECT.—The term ‘‘eligible 16 project’’ means— 17 (A) an eligible planning project; or 18 (B) an eligible installation project. 19 (10) FEASIBILITY STUDY.—The term ‘‘feasi- 20 bility study’’ means any activity to determine the 21 feasibility of a specific solar generating facility, in- 22 cluding a customer interest assessment and a siting 23 assessment, as determined by the Secretary. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:17 Sep 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8165.IH H8165 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8165 IH (11) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 1 means any Indian Tribe, band, nation, or other or- 2 ganized group or community, including any Alaska 3 Native village, Regional Corporation, or Village Cor- 4 poration (as defined in, or established pursuant to, 5 the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 6 1601 et seq.)), that is recognized as eligible for the 7 special programs and services provided by the 8 United States to Indians because of their status as 9 Indians. 10 (12) INTERCONNECTION SERVICE.—The term 11 ‘‘interconnection service’’ has the meaning given 12 such term in section 111(d)(15) of the Public Utility 13 Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 14 2621(d)(15)). 15 (13) LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLD.—The term 16 ‘‘low-income household’’ means that income in rela- 17 tion to family size which— 18 (A) is at or below 200 percent of the pov- 19 erty level determined in accordance with criteria 20 established by the Director of the Office of 21 Management and Budget, except that the Sec- 22 retary may establish a higher level if the Sec- 23 retary determines that such a higher level is 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:17 Sep 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8165.IH H8165 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8165 IH necessary to carry out the purposes of this sec- 1 tion; 2 (B) is the basis on which cash assistance 3 payments have been paid during the preceding 4 12-month period under titles IV and XVI of the 5 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq., 6 1381 et seq.) or applicable State or local law; 7 or 8 (C) if a State elects, is the basis for eligi- 9 bility for assistance under the Low-Income 10 Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 11 U.S.C. 8621 et seq.), provided that such basis 12 is at least 200 percent of the poverty level de- 13 termined in accordance with criteria established 14 by the Director of the Office of Management 15 and Budget. 16 (14) MULTI-FAMILY AFFORDABLE HOUSING 17 COMPLEX.—The term ‘‘multi-family affordable hous- 18 ing complex’’ means any federally subsidized afford- 19 able housing complex in which at least 50 percent of 20 the units are reserved for low-income households. 21 (15) NATIVE HAWAIIAN COMMUNITY-BASED OR- 22 GANIZATION.—The term ‘‘Native Hawaiian commu- 23 nity-based organization’’ means any organization 24 that is composed primarily of Native Hawaiians 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:17 Sep 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8165.IH H8165 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8165 IH from a specific community and that assists in the 1 social, cultural, and educational development of Na- 2 tive Hawaiians in that community. 3 (16) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 4 the program established under subsection (b). 5 (17) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 6 means the Secretary of Energy. 7 (18) SOLAR GENERATING FACILITY.—The term 8 ‘‘solar generating facility’’ means— 9 (A) a generator that creates electricity 10 from light photons; and 11 (B) the accompanying hardware enabling 12 that electricity to flow— 13 (i) onto the electric grid; 14 (ii) into a facility or structure; or 15 (iii) into an energy storage device. 16 (19) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 17 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Guam, the 18 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Northern Mar- 19 iana Islands, the Virgin Islands, and American 20 Samoa. 21 (20) SUBSCRIBER.—The term ‘‘subscriber’’ 22 means a person who— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:17 Sep 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8165.IH H8165 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8165 IH (A) owns a community solar subscription, 1 or an equivalent unit or share of the capacity 2 or generation of a community solar facility; or 3 (B) financially benefits from a community 4 solar facility, even if the person does not own 5 a community solar subscription for the facility. 6 (21) UNDERSERVED AREA.—The term ‘‘under- 7 served area’’ means— 8 (A) a geographical area with low or no 9 photovoltaic solar deployment, as determined by 10 the Secretary; 11 (B) a geographical area that has low or no 12 access to electricity, as determined by the Sec- 13 retary; 14 (C) a geographical area with an average 15 annual residential retail electricity price that 16 exceeds the national average annual residential 17 retail electricity price (as reported by the En- 18 ergy Information Agency) by 50 percent or 19 more; or 20 (D) trust land, as defined in section 3765 21 of title 38, United States Code. 22 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 23 a program to provide financial assistance to eligible enti- 24 ties to— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Sep 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8165.IH H8165 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 8165 IH (1) carry out planning projects that are nec- 1 essary to establish the feasibility, obtain required 2 permits, identify beneficiaries, or secure subscribers 3 to install a covered facility; or 4 (2) install a covered facility for beneficiaries in 5 accordance with this section. 6 (c) APPLICATIONS.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive as- 8 sistance under the program, an eligible entity shall 9 submit to the Secretary an application at such time, 10 in such manner, and containing such information as 11 the Secretary may require. 12 (2) INCLUSION FOR INSTALLATION ASSIST- 13 ANCE.— 14 (A) REQUIREMENTS.—For an eligible enti- 15 ty to receive assistance for a project to install 16 a covered facility, the Secretary shall require 17 the eligible entity to include— 18 (i) information in the application that 19 is sufficient to demonstrate that the eligi- 20 ble entity has obtained, or has the capacity 21 to obtain, necessary permits, subscribers, 22 access to an installation site, and any other 23 items or agreements necessary to comply 24 with an agreement under subsection (g)(1) 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:17 Sep 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8165.IH H8165 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 8165 IH and to complete the installation of the ap- 1 plicable covered facility; 2 (ii) a description of the mechanism 3 through which financial benefits will be 4 distributed to beneficiaries or subscribers; 5 and 6 (iii) an estimate of the anticipated fi- 7 nancial benefit for beneficiaries or sub- 8 scribers. 9 (B) CONSIDERATION OF PLANNING 10 PROJECTS.—The Secretary shall consider the 11 successful completion of an eligible planning 12 project pursuant to subsection (b)(1) by the eli- 13 gible entity to be sufficient to demonstrate the 14 ability of the eligible entity to meet the require- 15 ments of subparagraph (A)(i). 16 (d) SELECTION.— 17 (1) IN GENERAL.—In selecting eligible projects 18 to receive assistance under the program, the Sec- 19 retary shall— 20 (A) prioritize— 21 (i) eligible installation projects that 22 will result in the most financial benefit for 23 subscribers, as determined by the Sec- 24 retary; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:17 Sep 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8165.IH H8165 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 8165 IH (ii) eligible installation projects that 1 will result in development of covered facili- 2 ties in underserved areas; and 3 (iii) eligible projects that include ap- 4 prenticeship, job training, or community 5 participation as part of their application; 6 and 7 (B) ensure that such assistance is provided 8 in a manner that results in eligible projects 9 being carried out on a geographically diverse 10 basis within and among covered States. 11 (2) DETERMINATION OF FINANCIAL BEN- 12 EFIT.—In determining the amount of financial ben- 13 efit for low-income households of an eligible installa- 14 tion project, the Secretary shall ensure that all cal- 15 culations for estimated household energy savings are 16 based solely on electricity offsets from the applicable 17 covered facility and use formulas established by the 18 State or local government with jurisdiction over the 19 applicable covered facility for verifiable household 20 energy savings estimates that accrue to low-income 21 households. 22 (e) ASSISTANCE.— 23 (1) FORM.—The Secretary may provide assist- 24 ance under the program in the form of a grant 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:17 Sep 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8165.IH H8165 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 8165 IH (which may be in the form of a rebate) or a low-in- 1 terest loan. 2 (2) MULTIPLE PROJECTS FOR SAME FACIL- 3 ITY.— 4 (A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity may 5 apply for assistance under the program for an 6 eligible planning project and an eligible installa- 7 tion project for the same covered facility. 8 (B) SEPARATE SELECTIONS.—Selection by 9 the Secretary for assistance under the program 10 of an eligible planning project does not require 11 the Secretary to select for assistance under the 12 program an eligible installation project for the 13 same covered facility. 14 (f) USE OF ASSISTANCE.— 15 (1) ELIGIBLE PLANNING PROJECTS.—An eligi- 16 ble entity receiving assistance for an eligible plan- 17 ning project under the program may use such assist- 18 ance to pay the costs of pre-installation activities as- 19 sociated with an applicable covered facility, includ- 20 ing— 21 (A) feasibility studies; 22 (B) permitting; 23 (C) site assessment; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:17 Sep 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8165.IH H8165 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 8165 IH (D) on-site job training, or other commu- 1 nity-based activities directly associated with the 2 eligible planning project; or 3 (E) such other costs determined by the 4 Secretary to be appropriate. 5 (2) ELIGIBLE INSTALLATION PROJECTS.—An 6 eligible entity receiving assistance for an eligible in- 7 stallation project under the program may use such 8 assistance to pay the costs of— 9 (A) installation of a covered facility, in- 10 cluding costs associated with mater [Text truncated for display. 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