American Renewable Energy and Efficiency Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 9036 To amend title VI of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to establish a Federal renewable electricity standard for retail electricity suppliers and a Federal energy efficiency resource standard for retail electricity suppliers and retail natural gas suppliers, and for other pur- poses. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DECEMBER 18, 2020 Mr. WELCH (for himself, Ms. CLARKE of New York, and Mr. LUJA´N) intro- duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To amend title VI of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to establish a Federal renewable electricity standard for retail electricity suppliers and a Federal energy efficiency resource standard for retail electricity suppliers and retail natural gas suppliers, 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; FINDINGS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘American Renewable Energy and Efficiency Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:13 Jan 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9036.IH H9036 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 9036 IH (b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 1 (1) the Federal renewable electricity standard 2 established by section 610 of the Public Utility Reg- 3 ulatory Policies Act of 1978 (as added by this Act) 4 establishes a market-based policy to create ongoing 5 competition among renewable electricity generators 6 across the United States and provide the greatest 7 quantity of clean electricity for the lowest price; 8 (2) the United States has vast wind, solar, hy- 9 dropower, biomass, and geothermal resources that— 10 (A) are renewable; 11 (B) are dispersed widely across different 12 regions of the United States; and 13 (C) can be harnessed to generate a signifi- 14 cant share of electricity in the United States; 15 (3) the Federal energy efficiency resource 16 standard established by section 611 of the Public 17 Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (as added by 18 this Act)— 19 (A) establishes nationwide minimum levels 20 of electricity and natural gas savings to be 21 achieved through utility efficiency programs, 22 building energy codes, appliance standards, and 23 related efficiency measures; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:13 Jan 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9036.IH H9036 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 9036 IH (B) rewards energy-saving improvements 1 achieved through— 2 (i) end-use energy efficiency upgrades; 3 (ii) reduced losses in transmission and 4 distribution of energy; and 5 (iii) fuel switching, to the extent that 6 the switching results in reduced primary 7 energy use; and 8 (4) in light of the cost-effective energy effi- 9 ciency opportunities that exist across the United 10 States in every sector of the economy, retail elec- 11 tricity suppliers, retail natural gas suppliers, and 12 States should— 13 (A) include energy efficiency as a resource 14 in utility planning and procurement activities; 15 and 16 (B) seek to achieve all energy efficiency 17 measures that are available at lower cost than 18 other energy supply options. 19 SEC. 2. FEDERAL RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY STANDARD. 20 Title VI of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act 21 of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.) is amended by adding 22 after section 609 (7 U.S.C. 918c) the following: 23 ‘‘SEC. 610. FEDERAL RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY STANDARD. 24 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:13 Jan 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9036.IH H9036 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 9036 IH ‘‘(1) FEDERAL RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY 1 CREDIT.—The term ‘Federal renewable electricity 2 credit’ means a credit, that represents, for purposes 3 of compliance with this section, 1 megawatt hour of 4 renewable electricity, issued pursuant to subsection 5 (e). 6 ‘‘(2) IMPACTED COMMUNITY.—The term ‘im- 7 pacted community’ means— 8 ‘‘(A) an economically distressed area af- 9 fected by environmental pollution or other haz- 10 ards that can lead to— 11 ‘‘(i) exposure to the pollution or haz- 12 ard, including negative public health ef- 13 fects resulting from that exposure; or 14 ‘‘(ii) environmental degradation; or 15 ‘‘(B) an economically distressed area af- 16 fected by high unemployment due to— 17 ‘‘(i) a significant decline in coal min- 18 ing activity; or 19 ‘‘(ii) the closure of a coal-fired power 20 plant. 21 ‘‘(3) INDIAN LAND.—The term ‘Indian land’ 22 means— 23 ‘‘(A) any land within the limits of any In- 24 dian reservation, pueblo, or rancheria; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:13 Jan 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9036.IH H9036 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 9036 IH ‘‘(B) any land not within the limits of any 1 Indian reservation, pueblo, or rancheria title to 2 which on the date of enactment of this section 3 was held by— 4 ‘‘(i) the United States for the benefit 5 of any Indian Tribe or individual; or 6 ‘‘(ii) any Indian Tribe or individual 7 subject to restriction by the United States 8 against alienation; 9 ‘‘(C) any dependent Indian community; or 10 ‘‘(D) any land conveyed under the Alaska 11 Native Claims Settlement Act to any Native 12 Corporation (as that term is defined in section 13 3 of that Act). 14 ‘‘(4) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian Tribe’ 15 means any Indian Tribe, band, nation, or other or- 16 ganized group or community (including any Native 17 village, Regional Corporation, or Village Corporation 18 (as those terms are defined in section 3 of the Alas- 19 ka Native Claims Settlement Act)) that is recognized 20 as eligible for the special programs and services pro- 21 vided by the United States to Indians because of 22 their status as Indians. 23 ‘‘(5) QUALIFIED HYDROPOWER.—The term 24 ‘qualified hydropower’ means energy produced from 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:13 Jan 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9036.IH H9036 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 9036 IH generating capacity added to a dam on or after Jan- 1 uary 1, 2001, if the Commission certifies that— 2 ‘‘(A) the dam— 3 ‘‘(i) was placed in service before the 4 date of enactment of this section; 5 ‘‘(ii) was operated for flood control, 6 navigation, or water supply purposes; and 7 ‘‘(iii) was not producing hydroelectric 8 power prior to the addition of the capacity; 9 and 10 ‘‘(B) the hydroelectric project installed on 11 the dam— 12 ‘‘(i) is licensed or is exempt from li- 13 censing by the Commission; 14 ‘‘(ii) is in compliance with— 15 ‘‘(I) the terms and conditions of 16 the license or exemption; and 17 ‘‘(II) other applicable legal re- 18 quirements for the protection of envi- 19 ronmental quality, including applica- 20 ble fish passage requirements; and 21 ‘‘(iii) is operated so that the water 22 surface elevation at any given location and 23 time that would have occurred in the ab- 24 sence of the hydroelectric project is main- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:13 Jan 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9036.IH H9036 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 9036 IH tained, subject to any license or exemption 1 requirements that require changes in water 2 surface elevation for the purpose of im- 3 proving the environmental quality of the 4 affected waterway. 5 ‘‘(6) QUALIFIED RENEWABLE BIOMASS.—The 6 term ‘qualified renewable biomass’ means renewable 7 biomass that, when combusted, yields, on a weight- 8 ed-average basis, at least 50 percent less lifecycle 9 greenhouse gas emissions (as defined in section 4(a) 10 of the American Renewable Energy and Efficiency 11 Act) per unit of useful energy, than the lifecycle 12 greenhouse gas emissions, including methane leak- 13 age, from the generation of such unit of useful en- 14 ergy by a combined cycle natural gas electric gener- 15 ating unit using the most efficient commercially 16 available technology (based on lifecycle greenhouse 17 gas emissions). 18 ‘‘(7) RENEWABLE BIOMASS.—The term ‘renew- 19 able biomass’ means— 20 ‘‘(A) crop byproducts or crop residues har- 21 vested from actively managed or fallow agricul- 22 tural land that is cleared prior to the date of 23 enactment of this section; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:13 Jan 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9036.IH H9036 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 9036 IH ‘‘(B) planted trees, brush, slash, and resi- 1 dues from an actively managed tree farm dedi- 2 cated to energy crop production and located on 3 land cleared prior to the date of enactment of 4 this section; 5 ‘‘(C) byproducts of wood or paper mill op- 6 erations, including lignin in spent pulping liq- 7 uors; 8 ‘‘(D) algae; 9 ‘‘(E) nonhazardous plant matter derived 10 from waste— 11 ‘‘(i) including separated yard waste, 12 landscape right-of-way trimmings, or food 13 waste; but 14 ‘‘(ii) not including municipal solid 15 waste, recyclable waste paper, painted, 16 treated or pressurized wood, or wood con- 17 taminated with plastic or metals; and 18 ‘‘(F) vegetative matter removed from with- 19 in 200 yards of any manmade structure or 20 campground for the purposes of protecting 21 structures from wildfire. 22 ‘‘(8) RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY.—The term ‘re- 23 newable electricity’ means electricity generated (in- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:13 Jan 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9036.IH H9036 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 9036 IH cluding by means of a fuel cell) from a renewable en- 1 ergy resource. 2 ‘‘(9) RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCE.—The 3 term ‘renewable energy resource’ means each of the 4 following: 5 ‘‘(A) Wind energy. 6 ‘‘(B) Solar energy. 7 ‘‘(C) Geothermal energy. 8 ‘‘(D) Qualified renewable biomass. 9 ‘‘(E) Biogas derived from qualified renew- 10 able biomass. 11 ‘‘(F) Biofuel derived from qualified renew- 12 able biomass. 13 ‘‘(G) Biogas derived from anaerobic diges- 14 tion at wastewater treatment facilities or from 15 farms through anaerobic digesters. 16 ‘‘(H) Qualified hydropower. 17 ‘‘(I) Marine and hydrokinetic renewable 18 energy (as defined in section 632 of the Energy 19 Independence and Security Act of 2007). 20 ‘‘(J) Landfill gas. 21 ‘‘(10) RETAIL ELECTRICITY SUPPLIER.— 22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘retail elec- 23 tricity supplier’ means, for any calendar year, 24 an electric utility that sells not fewer than 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:13 Jan 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9036.IH H9036 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 9036 IH 1,000,000 megawatt hours of electricity to elec- 1 tric consumers during the preceding calendar 2 year. 3 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS AND LIMITATIONS.—For 4 purposes of determining whether an electric 5 utility qualifies as a retail electricity supplier 6 under subparagraph (A)— 7 ‘‘(i) the sales made by any affiliate of 8 the electric utility to electric consumers, 9 other than sales to lessees or tenants of 10 the affiliate, shall be considered to be sales 11 made by the electric utility; and 12 ‘‘(ii) sales made by the electric utility 13 to an affiliate, lessee, or tenant of the elec- 14 tric utility shall not be treated as sales to 15 electric consumers. 16 ‘‘(C) AFFILIATE.—In this paragraph, the 17 term ‘affiliate’ when used in relation to a per- 18 son, means another person that directly or indi- 19 rectly owns or controls, is owned or controlled 20 by, or is under common ownership or control 21 with, that person, as determined under regula- 22 tions promulgated by the Commission. 23 ‘‘(11) RETAIL ELECTRICITY SUPPLIER’S BASE 24 QUANTITY.—The term ‘retail electricity supplier’s 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:13 Jan 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9036.IH H9036 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 9036 IH base quantity’ means the total quantity of electricity 1 sold by the retail electricity supplier, expressed in 2 megawatt hours, to electric consumers during the 3 relevant calendar year, excluding— 4 ‘‘(A) electricity generated by a hydro- 5 electric facility, other than qualified hydro- 6 power; and 7 ‘‘(B) electricity generated by the combus- 8 tion of municipal solid waste. 9 ‘‘(12) RETIRE AND RETIREMENT.—The terms 10 ‘retire’ and ‘retirement’ with respect to a Federal re- 11 newable electricity credit, mean to disqualify the 12 credit for any subsequent use under this section, re- 13 gardless of whether the use is a sale, transfer, ex- 14 change, or submission in satisfaction of a compliance 15 obligation. 16 ‘‘(b) ANNUAL COMPLIANCE OBLIGATION.—Except as 17 otherwise provided in subsection (f), for each of calendar 18 years 2021 through 2039, not later than March 31 of the 19 following calendar year, each retail electricity supplier 20 shall submit to the Commission a quantity of Federal re- 21 newable electricity credits that represents a quantity of 22 megawatt hours of renewable electricity that is at least 23 equal to the annual target of the retail electricity supplier 24 under subsection (d). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:13 Jan 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9036.IH H9036 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 9036 IH ‘‘(c) ESTABLISHMENT.— 1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 2 the date of enactment of this section, the Commis- 3 sion shall promulgate regulations to implement and 4 enforce the requirements of this section. 5 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In promulgating regu- 6 lations under paragraph (1), the Commission shall, 7 to the maximum extent practicable— 8 ‘‘(A) preserve the integrity and incorporate 9 best practices of existing State and tribal re- 10 newable electricity programs; 11 ‘‘(B) preserve the integrity of voluntary re- 12 newable energy markets; 13 ‘‘(C) delegate to an appropriate market- 14 making entity the administration of a national 15 tradeable Federal renewable electricity credit 16 market for purposes of creating a transparent 17 national market for the sale or trade of Federal 18 renewable electricity credits, relying on existing 19 and emerging State, tribal, or regional tracking 20 systems that issue and track non-Federal re- 21 newable electricity credits; and 22 ‘‘(D) cooperate with States and Indian 23 Tribes— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:13 Jan 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9036.IH H9036 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 9036 IH ‘‘(i) to facilitate coordination between 1 State, tribal, and Federal renewable elec- 2 tricity programs; and 3 ‘‘(ii) to minimize administrative bur- 4 dens and costs to r [Text truncated for display. 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