Solar Utilization Now Demonstration Act of 2006 or the SUN Act of 2006 - Directs the Secretary of Energy to establish a program of grants to states to demonstrate advanced photovoltaic technology.
[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5594 Introduced in House (IH)]
109th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5594
To direct the Secretary of Energy to establish a photovoltaic
demonstration program, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 13, 2006
Mr. Smith of Texas (for himself, Mr. Udall of Colorado, Mr. Wamp, Mr.
Ehlers, Mr. Boehlert, Mr. Brown of Ohio, Mr. Bachus, Mr. Doggett, Mr.
Simmons, Mr. McCaul of Texas, Mr. Bartlett of Maryland, Mr. Cardin, Mr.
Bass, Mr. Hayworth, and Mr. Butterfield) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Science
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Energy to establish a photovoltaic
demonstration program, 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 ``Solar Utilization Now Demonstration
Act of 2006'' or the ``SUN Act of 2006''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Renewable energy is a growth industry around the world.
However, the United States has not been investing as heavily as
other countries, and is losing market share.
(2) Since 1996, the United States has lost significant
market share in the solar industry, dropping from 44 percent of
the world market to 13 percent in 2003.
(3) In 2003, Japan spent more than $200,000,000 on solar
research, development, demonstration, and commercial
application and other incentives, and Germany provided more
than $750,000,000 in low cost financing for solar photovoltaic
projects. This compares to United States Government spending of
$139,000,000 in 2003 for research, development, demonstration,
and commercial application and other incentives.
(4) Germany and Japan each had domestic photovoltaic
industries that employed more than 10,000 people in 2003, while
in the same year the United States photovoltaics industry
employed only 2,000 people.
(5) The United States is becoming increasingly dependent on
imported energy.
(6) The high cost of fossil fuels is hurting the United
States economy.
(7) Small reductions in peak demand can result in very
large reductions in price, according to energy market experts.
(8) Although the United States has only 2 percent of the
world's oil reserves and 3 percent of the world's natural gas
reserves, our Nation's renewable energy resources are vast and
largely untapped.
(9) Renewable energy can reduce the demand for imported
energy, reducing costs and decreasing the variability of energy
prices.
(10) By using domestic renewable energy resources, the
United States can reduce the amount of money sent into unstable
regions of the world and keep it in the United States.
(11) By supporting renewable energy research and
development, and funding demonstration and commercial
application programs for renewable energy, the United States
can create an export industry and improve the balance of trade.
(12) Renewable energy can significantly reduce the
environmental impacts of energy production.
SEC. 3. PHOTOVOLTAIC DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Energy (in this Act referred to
as the ``Secretary'') shall establish a program of grants to States to
demonstrate advanced photovoltaic technology.
(b) Requirements.--
(1) Ability to meet requirements.--To receive funding under
the program under this section, a State must submit a proposal
that demonstrates, to the satisfaction of the Secretary, that
the State will meet the requirements of subsection (f).
(2) Compliance with requirements.--If a State has received
funding under this section for the preceding year, the State
must demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the Secretary, that it
complied with the requirements of subsection (f) in carrying
out the program during that preceding year, and that it will do
so in the future, before it can receive further funding under
this section.
(3) Funding allocation.--Except as provided in subsection
(c), each State submitting a qualifying proposal shall receive
funding under the program based on the proportion of United
States population in the State according to the 2000 census. In
each fiscal year, the portion of funds attributable under this
paragraph to States that have not submitted qualifying
proposals in the time and manner specified by the Secretary
shall be distributed pro rata to the States that have submitted
qualifying proposals in the specified time and manner.
(c) Competition.--If more than $80,000,000 is available for the
program under this section for any fiscal year, the Secretary shall
allocate 75 percent of the total amount of funds available according to
subsection (b)(3), and shall award the remaining 25 percent on a
competitive basis to the States with the proposals the Secretary
considers most likely to encourage the widespread adoption of
photovoltaic technologies.
(d) Proposals.--Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment
of this Act, and in each subsequent fiscal year for the life of the
program, the Secretary shall solicit proposals from the States to
participate in the program under this section.
(e) Competitive Criteria.--In awarding funds in a competitive
allocation under subsection (c), the Secretary shall consider--
(1) the likelihood of a proposal to encourage the
demonstration of, or lower the costs of, advanced photovoltaic
technologies; and
(2) the extent to which a proposal is likely to--
(A) maximize the amount of photovoltaics
demonstrated;
(B) maximize the proportion of non-Federal cost
share; and
(C) limit State administrative costs.
(f) State Program.--A program operated by a State with funding
under this section shall provide competitive awards for the
demonstration of advanced photovoltaic technologies. Each State program
shall--
(1) require a contribution of at least 60 percent per award
from non-Federal sources, which may include any combination of
State, local, and private funds, except that at least 10
percent of the funding must be supplied by the State;
(2) limit awards for any single project to a maximum of
$1,000,000;
(3) prohibit any nongovernmental recipient from receiving
more than $1,000,000 per year;
(4) endeavor to fund recipients in the commercial,
industrial, institutional, governmental, and residential
sectors;
(5) limit State administrative costs to no more than 10
percent of the grant;
(6) report annually to the Secretary on--
(A) the amount of funds disbursed;
(B) the amount of photovoltaics purchased; and
(C) the results of the monitoring under paragraph
(7);
(7) provide for measurement and verification of the output
of a representative sample of the photovoltaics systems
demonstrated throughout the average working life of the
systems, or at least 20 years; and
(8) require that applicant buildings must have received an
independent energy efficiency audit during the 6-month period
preceding the filing of the application.
(g) Unexpended Funds.--If a State fails to expend any funds
received under subsection (b) or (c) within 3 years of receipt, such
remaining funds shall be returned to the Treasury.
(h) Reports.--The Secretary shall report to Congress 5 years after
funds are first distributed to the States under this section--
(1) the amount of photovoltaics demonstrated;
(2) the number of projects undertaken;
(3) the administrative costs of the program;
(4) the amount of funds that each State has not received
because of a failure to submit a qualifying proposal, as
described in subsection (b)(3);
(5) the results of the monitoring under subsection (f)(7);
and
(6) the total amount of funds distributed, including a
breakdown by State.
(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to the Secretary for the purposes of carrying out this
section--
(1) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2007;
(2) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2008;
(3) $150,000,000 for fiscal year 2009;
(4) $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; and
(5) $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2011.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E1130)
Referred to the House Committee on Science.
For Further Action See H.R.5656.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy.
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H8016)
Llama 3.2 · runs locally in your browser
Ask anything about this bill. The AI reads the full text to answer.
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for new line