Rural Wind Energy Modernization and Extension Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8654 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify the energy tax credit to apply to qualified distributed wind energy property. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 23, 2020 Mr. BLUMENAUER (for himself and Mr. COLE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means A BILL To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify the energy tax credit to apply to qualified distributed wind energy property. 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 ‘‘Rural Wind Energy 4 Modernization and Extension Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. QUALIFIED DISTRIBUTED WIND ENERGY PROP- 6 ERTIES ADDED TO ENERGY CREDIT. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 48 of the Internal Rev- 8 enue Code of 1986 is amended— 9 (1) in subsection (a)— 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:40 Nov 06, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8654.IH H8654 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8654 IH (A) in paragraph (7)— 1 (i) in the header, by striking, 2 ‘‘PHASEOUT FOR FIBER-OPTIC SOLAR, 3 QUALIFIED FUEL CELL, AND QUALIFIED 4 SMALL WIND ENERGY PROPERTY’’ and in- 5 serting ‘‘PHASEOUT FOR FIBER-OPTIC 6 SOLAR OR QUALIFIED FUEL CELL PROP- 7 ERTY’’, and 8 (ii) by striking ‘‘qualified fuel cell 9 property, qualified small wind property, or 10 energy property’’ and inserting ‘‘qualified 11 fuel cell property or energy property’’, and 12 (B) by adding at the end the following new 13 paragraph: 14 ‘‘(8) PHASEOUT FOR QUALIFIED DISTRIBUTED 15 WIND ENERGY PROPERTY.— 16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara- 17 graph (B), in the case of any qualified distrib- 18 uted wind energy property described in para- 19 graph (3)(A)(vi), the energy percentage deter- 20 mined under paragraph (2) shall be equal to— 21 ‘‘(i) in the case of any property the 22 construction of which begins before Janu- 23 ary 1, 2026, 30 percent, and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:40 Nov 06, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8654.IH H8654 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8654 IH ‘‘(ii) in the case of any property the 1 construction of which begins after Decem- 2 ber 31, 2025, 10 percent. 3 ‘‘(B) PLACED IN SERVICE DEADLINE.—In 4 the case of any qualified distributed wind en- 5 ergy property described in subparagraph (A)(i) 6 which is not placed in service before January 1, 7 2028, the energy percentage determined under 8 paragraph (2) shall be equal to 10 percent.’’, 9 (2) by striking ‘‘qualified small wind energy 10 property’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘quali- 11 fied distributed wind energy property’’, and 12 (3) by amending subsection (c)(4) to read as 13 follows: 14 ‘‘(4) QUALIFIED DISTRIBUTED WIND ENERGY 15 PROPERTY.— 16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified 17 distributed wind energy property’ means prop- 18 erty that uses one or more wind turbines in a 19 single project with a total nameplate capacity 20 not exceeding 10 MW which— 21 ‘‘(i) are installed on properties with 22 sufficient electrical load such that the an- 23 nual energy consumption of the property is 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:40 Nov 06, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8654.IH H8654 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8654 IH at least 50 percent of the annual energy 1 produced by the wind energy property, or 2 ‘‘(ii) are used as part of a subscrip- 3 tion-based or shared-ownership program 4 that benefits at least five customers and 5 allocates energy production proportionately 6 to subscription or ownership where no 7 more than 50 percent of the energy pro- 8 duced is claimed by any one owner or sub- 9 scriber. 10 ‘‘(B) WIND TURBINE.—The term ‘wind 11 turbine’ means equipment which— 12 ‘‘(i) uses wind to produce electricity, 13 and 14 ‘‘(ii) is certified by an accredited cer- 15 tification agency that applies the perform- 16 ance and design standards of the American 17 Wind Energy Association or International 18 Electrotechnical Commission.’’. 19 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 20 this section shall apply to property placed in service after 21 the date of the enactment of this Act. 22 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:40 Nov 06, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H8654.IH H8654 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS