Smart Energy Act - Amends the National Energy Conservation Policy Act (NECPA) to direct each federal agency to implement requirements for the use of energy and water efficiency measures in federal buildings through private financing instead of appropriations, unless: (1) to do so conflicts with the primary mission of the agency or facility, or (2) if greater cost savings can be generated under a different program
Requires a federal agency, in carrying out energy management requirements, to participate in demand response programs offered by electric utilities, Independent System Operators, Regional Transmission Organizations, and demand response aggregators, where such programs are available, in order to support electric grid reliability and security and reduce energy bills for the agency or facility.
Directs the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to direct the Federal Chief Information Officer to require: (1) agencies, when updating their federal data center inventories in the third quarter of each fiscal year, to state what actions have been taken to verify the inventories; (2) the agencies to complete the missing elements in their respective federal data center consolidation plans and submit them; and (3) the Data Center Consolidation Task Force to assess such plans to ensure they are complete and to monitor their implementation as well.
Directs the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to issue guidelines for federal agencies to employ advanced tools allowing energy savings through the use of computer hardware, energy efficiency software, and power management tools.
Amends NECPA to require federal agencies to create an implementation plan for achieving requirements for advanced metering of energy use in federal facilities, buildings, and equipment.
Requires the energy manager, for each facility meeting certain criteria, to use the web-based tracking system to publish energy and water consumption data on an individual facility basis.
Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to establish a loan program for energy efficiency upgrades to existing buildings.
Directs the Secretary to establish collaborative research and development partnerships with other programs within the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, and the Office of Science that: (1) leverage the research and development expertise of those programs to promote early stage energy efficiency technology development; (2) support the use of innovative manufacturing processes and applied research for development, demonstration, and commercialization of new technologies and processes to improve efficiency, reduce emissions, reduce industrial waste, and improve industrial cost-competitiveness; and (3) apply the knowledge and expertise of the Advanced Manufacturing Office to help achieve the program goals of the other programs.
States that it is the goal of the United States to achieve by the end of 2020 a doubling of the production of electricity from combined heat and power and waste heat recovery in the United States from the current level of approximately 85 to at least 170 gigawatts.
Directs the Secretary to transmit to Congress, make available to the public, and update biennially a strategic plan to achieve this national goal.
[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4017 Introduced in House (IH)]
112th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4017
To promote efficient energy use in the Federal and private sectors, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 14, 2012
Mr. Bass of New Hampshire (for himself, Mr. Matheson, Mr. Dold, Mr.
Welch, Mr. Barrow, and Mr. Fitzpatrick) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in
addition to the Committees on Oversight and Government Reform and
Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To promote efficient energy use in the Federal and private sectors, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Smart Energy
Act''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
TITLE I--FEDERAL ENERGY USE AND GENERATION
Sec. 101. Utilizing energy savings performance contracts.
Sec. 102. Demand response programs.
Sec. 103. Federal data center consolidation.
Sec. 104. Adoption of personal computer power savings techniques by
Federal agencies.
Sec. 105. Best practices for advanced metering.
Sec. 106. Federal energy management and data collection standard.
TITLE II--PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN BUSINESS AND
INDUSTRY
Sec. 201. Loan program for energy efficiency upgrades to existing
buildings.
Sec. 202. Coordination of research and development of energy efficient
technologies for industry.
Sec. 203. Combined heat and power and waste heat recovery.
TITLE I--FEDERAL ENERGY USE AND GENERATION
SEC. 101. UTILIZING ENERGY SAVINGS PERFORMANCE CONTRACTS AND UTILITY
ENERGY SERVICE CONTRACTS.
(a) Implementation of Energy Management Requirements.--Section
543(f)(10) of the National Energy Conservation Policy Act (42 U.S.C.
8253(f)(10)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (B)(i), by striking ``To carry'' and
inserting ``To the extent consistent with subparagraph (C), to
carry'';
(2) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking ``A Federal'' and
inserting ``To the extent consistent with subparagraph (C), a
Federal''; and
(3) by amending subparagraph (C) to read as follows:
``(C) Implementation.--
``(i) General rule.--Except as provided in
clause (i) or (ii) of this subparagraph, each
Federal agency shall implement the requirements
under this subsection through private financing
described in subparagraph (B)(i)(II).
``(ii) Exception.--A Federal agency may
implement the requirements under this
subsection using appropriated funds described
in subparagraph (B)(i)(I) if implementation
pursuant to clause (i) of this subparagraph
conflicts with the primary mission of the
agency or facility, or if greater cost savings
can be generated under a different program. A
Federal agency shall provide a written
justification for any decision to implement
such requirements under this clause, including
an analysis of the impact of such decision on
the taxpayer.
``(iii) Federal administrative costs.--A
Federal agency may implement the requirements
under this subsection using appropriated funds
described in subparagraph (B)(i)(I) to the
extent necessary to cover Federal
administrative costs with respect to
implementation pursuant to clause (i) of this
subparagraph.''.
(b) Termination Clauses.--Section 801(b)(2) of the National Energy
Conservation Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 8287(b)(2)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (B);
(2) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph
(C)(iv) and inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
``(D) require each agency to include in contracts
appropriate termination clauses for facilities that
will or may close before the end of the term of the
contract.''.
(c) ESPCs for Electric Vehicles and Fueling Infrastructure.--
Section 804 of the National Energy Conservation Policy Act (42 U.S.C.
8287c) is amended--
(1) by striking ``or'' at the end of subparagraph (A);
(2) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (B)
and inserting ``; or''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
``(C) a measure to support the use of electric
vehicles or the fueling or charging infrastructure
necessary for electric vehicles.''.
(d) UESCs for Electric Vehicles and Fueling Infrastructure.--
Section 546 of the National Energy Conservation Policy Act (42 U.S.C.
8256) is amended in subsection (c)(1) by inserting ``, including
measures taken to finance the acquisition or use of electric-powered
vehicles or their fueling infrastructure,'' after ``demand''.
SEC. 102. DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAMS.
Section 543 of the National Energy Conservation Policy Act (42
U.S.C. 8253) is amended--
(1) by redesignating the second subsection (f) as
subsection (g); and
(2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(h) Demand Response Programs.--To carry out this section, a
Federal agency shall participate in demand response programs offered by
electric utilities, Independent System Operators, Regional Transmission
Organizations, and demand response aggregators, where such programs are
available, if such participation does not conflict with the primary
mission of the agency or facility, in order to support electric grid
reliability and security and reduce energy bills for the agency or
facility.''.
SEC. 103. FEDERAL DATA CENTER CONSOLIDATION.
(a) Definition.--In this section, the term ``Federal data center''
means a room or space in a Federal building that is used for housing
computer servers, data storage devices, or network equipment, including
server closets.
(b) OMB Requirements.--The Director of the Office of Management and
Budget shall direct the Federal Chief Information Officer to--
(1) require that agencies, when updating their Federal data
center inventories in the third quarter of each fiscal year,
state what actions have been taken to verify the inventories
and to identify any limitations of this information;
(2) require that agencies complete the missing elements in
their respective plans and submit complete Federal data center
consolidation plans, or provide a schedule for when they will
do so, not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of
this Act;
(3) require agencies to consider consolidation challenges
and lessons learned when updating their consolidation plans;
and
(4) utilize the existing accountability infrastructure by
requiring the Data Center Consolidation Task Force to assess
agency consolidation plans to ensure they are complete and to
monitor the agencies' implementation of their plans.
(c) Department and Agency Requirements.--Each of the department
secretaries and agency heads of the 23 departments and agencies
participating in the Office of Management and Budget's Federal data
center consolidation initiative shall--
(1) direct their component agencies and their Federal data
center consolidation program managers to complete the missing
elements in their respective Federal data center consolidation
inventories and plans; and
(2) require their Federal data center consolidation program
managers to consider consolidation challenges and lessons
learned when updating their consolidation plans.
SEC. 104. ADOPTION OF PERSONAL COMPUTER POWER SAVINGS TECHNIQUES BY
FEDERAL AGENCIES.
(a) In General.--Not later than 360 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy, in consultation with
the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and the
Administrator of General Services, shall issue guidance for Federal
agencies to employ advanced tools allowing energy savings through the
use of computer hardware, energy efficiency software, and power
management tools.
(b) Reports on Plans and Savings.--Not later than 180 days after
the date of the issuance of the guidance under subsection (a), each
Federal agency shall submit to the Secretary of Energy a report that
describes--
(1) the plan of the agency for implementing the guidance
within the agency; and
(2) estimated energy and financial savings from employing
the tools described in subsection (a).
SEC. 105. BEST PRACTICES FOR ADVANCED METERING.
Section 543(e) of the National Energy Conservation Policy Act (42
U.S.C. 8253(e)) is amended by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the
following:
``(3) Plan.--
``(A) In general.--Not later than 180 days after
the date on which guidelines are established under
paragraph (2), in a report submitted by the agency
under section 548(a), each agency shall submit to the
Secretary a plan describing the manner in which the
agency will implement the requirements of paragraph
(1), including--
``(i) how the agency will designate
personnel primarily responsible for achieving
the requirements; and
``(ii) a demonstration by the agency,
complete with documentation, of any finding
that advanced meters or advanced metering
devices (as those terms are used in paragraph
(1)), are not practicable.
``(B) Updates.--Reports submitted under
subparagraph (A) shall be updated annually.
``(4) Best practices report.--
``(A) In general.--Not later than 180 days after
the date of enactment of the Smart Energy Act, the
Secretary of Energy, in consultation with the Secretary
of Defense and the Administrator of General Services,
shall develop, and issue a report on, best practices
for the use of advanced metering of energy use in
Federal facilities, buildings, and equipment by Federal
agencies.
``(B) Updating.--The report described under
subparagraph (A) shall be updated annually.
``(C) Components.--The report shall include, at a
minimum--
``(i) summaries and analysis of the reports
by agencies under paragraph (3);
``(ii) recommendations on standard
requirements or guidelines for automated energy
management systems, including--
``(I) potential common
communications standards to allow data
sharing and reporting;
``(II) means of facilitating
continuous commissioning of buildings
and evidence-based maintenance of
buildings and building systems; and
``(III) standards for sufficient
levels of security and protection
against cyber threats to ensure systems
cannot be controlled by unauthorized
persons; and
``(iii) an analysis of--
``(I) the types of advanced
metering and monitoring systems being
piloted, tested, or installed in
Federal buildings; and
``(II) existing techniques used
within the private sector or other non-
Federal government buildings.''.
SEC. 106. FEDERAL ENERGY MANAGEMENT AND DATA COLLECTION STANDARD.
Section 543 of the National Energy Conservation Policy Act (42
U.S.C. 8253) is amended--
(1) by redesignating the second subsection (f) (as added by
section 434(a) of Public Law 110-140 (121 Stat. 1614)) as
subsection (g); and
(2) in subsection (f)(7), by striking subparagraph (A) and
inserting the following:
``(A) In general.--For each facility that meets the
criteria established by the Secretary under paragraph
(2)(B), the energy manager shall use the web-based
tracking system under subparagraph (B)--
``(i) to certify compliance with the
requirements for--
``(I) energy and water evaluations
under paragraph (3);
``(II) implementation of identified
energy and water measures under
paragraph (4); and
``(III) follow-up on implemented
measures under paragraph (5); and
``(ii) to publish energy and water
consumption data on an individual facility
basis.''.
TITLE II--PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN BUSINESS AND
INDUSTRY
SEC. 201. LOAN PROGRAM FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY UPGRADES TO EXISTING
BUILDINGS.
Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16511 et
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 1706. BUILDING RETROFIT FINANCING PROGRAM.
``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Credit support.--The term `credit support' means a
guarantee or commitment to issue a guarantee or other forms of
credit enhancement to ameliorate risks for efficiency
obligations.
``(2) Efficiency obligation.--The term `efficiency
obligation' means a debt or repayment obligation incurred in
connection with financing a project, or a portfolio of such
debt or payment obligations.
``(3) Project.--The term `project' means the installation
and implementation of efficiency, advanced metering,
distributed generation, or renewable energy technologies and
measures in a building (or in multiple buildings on a given
property) that are expected to increase the energy efficiency
of the building (including fixtures) in accordance with
criteria established by the Secretary.
``(b) Eligible Projects.--
``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding sections 1703 and 1705,
the Secretary may provide credit support under this section, in
accordance with section 1702.
``(2) Inclusions.--Buildings eligible for credit support
under this section include commercial, multifamily residential,
industrial, municipal, government, institution of higher
education, school, and hospital facilities that satisfy
criteria established by the Secretary.
``(c) Guidelines.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date
of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall--
``(A) establish guidelines for credit support
provided under this section; and
``(B) publish the guidelines in the Federal
Register; and
``(C) provide for an opportunity for public comment
on the guidelines.
``(2) Requirements.--The guidelines established by the
Secretary under this subsection shall include--
``(A) standards for assessing the energy savings
that could reasonably be expected to result from a
project;
``(B) examples of financing mechanisms (and
portfolios of such financing mechanisms) that qualify
as efficiency obligations;
``(C) the threshold levels of energy savings that a
project, at the time of issuance of credit support,
shall be reasonably expected to achieve to be eligible
for credit support;
``(D) the eligibility criteria the Secretary
determines to be necessary for making credit support
available under this section; and
``(E) notwithstanding subsections (d)(3) and
(g)(2)(B) of section 1702, lien priority and credit
risk protections established by the Secretary, in
consultation with the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget, which shall include--
``(i) requirements to preserve priority
lien status of secured lenders and creditors in
buildings eligible for credit support;
``(ii) remedies available to the Secretary
under chapter 176 of title 28, United States
Code, in the event of default on the efficiency
obligation by the borrower; and
``(iii) measures to limit the exposure of
the Secretary to financial risk in the event of
default, such as--
``(I) the collection of a credit
subsidy fee from the borrower as a loan
loss reserve, taking into account the
limitation on credit support under
subsection (d);
``(II) minimum debt-to-income
levels of the borrower;
``(III) minimum levels of value
relative to outstanding mortgage or
other debt on a building eligible for
credit support;
``(IV) allowable thresholds for the
percent of the efficiency obligation
relative to the amount of any mortgage
or other debt on an eligible building;
``(V) analysis of historic and
anticipated occupancy levels and rental
income of an eligible building;
``(VI) requirements of third-party
contractors to guarantee energy savings
that will result from a retrofit
project, and whether financing on the
efficiency obligation will amortize
from the energy savings;
``(VII) requirements that the
retrofit project incorporate protocols
to measure and verify energy savings;
and
``(VIII) recovery of payments
equally by the Secretary and the
retrofit.
``(3) Efficiency obligations.--The financing mechanisms
qualified by the Secretary under paragraph (2)(B) may include--
``(A) loans, including loans made by the Federal
Financing Bank;
``(B) power purchase agreements, including energy
efficiency power purchase agreements;
``(C) energy services agreements, including energy
performance contracts;
``(D) property assessed clean energy bonds and
other tax assessment-based financing mechanisms;
``(E) aggregate on-meter agreements that finance
retrofit projects; and
``(F) any other efficiency obligations the
Secretary determines to be appropriate.
``(4) Priorities.--In carrying out this section, the
Secretary shall prioritize--
``(A) the maximization of energy savings with the
available credit support funding;
``(B) the establishment of a clear application and
approval process that allows private building owners,
lenders, and investors to reasonably expect to receive
credit support for projects that conform to guidelines;
``(C) the distribution of projects receiving credit
support under this section across States or
geographical regions of the United States; and
``(D) projects designed to achieve whole-building
retrofits.
``(d) Limitation.--Notwithstanding section 1702(c), the Secretary
shall not issue credit support under this section in an amount that
exceeds--
``(1) 90 percent of the principal amount of the efficiency
obligation that is the subject of the credit support; or
``(2) $10,000,000 for any single project.
``(e) Aggregation of Projects.--To the extent provided in the
guidelines developed in accordance with subsection (c), the Secretary
may issue credit support on a portfolio, or pool of projects, that are
not required to be geographically contiguous, if each efficiency
obligation in the pool fulfills the requirements described in this
section.
``(f) Application.--
``(1) In general.--To be eligible to receive credit support
under this section, the applicant shall submit to the Secretary
an application at such time, in such manner, and containing
such information as the Secretary determines to be necessary.
``(2) Contents.--An application submitted under this
section shall include assurances by the applicant that--
``(A) each contractor carrying out the project
meets minimum experience level criteria, including
local retrofit experience, as determined by the
Secretary;
``(B) the project is reasonably expected to achieve
energy savings, as set forth in the application using
any methodology that meets the standards described in
the program guidelines;
``(C) the project meets any technical criteria
described in the program guidelines;
``(D) the recipient of the credit support and the
parties to the efficiency obligation will provide the
Secretary with--
``(i) any information the Secretary
requests to assess the energy savings that
result from the project, including historical
energy usage data, a simulation-based
benchmark, and detailed descriptions of the
building work, as described in the program
guidelines; and
``(ii) permission to access information
relating to building operations and usage for
the period described in the program guidelines;
and
``(E) any other assurances that the Secretary
determines to be necessary.
``(3) Determination.--Not later than 90 days after
receiving an application, the Secretary shall make a final
determination on the application, which may include requests
for additional information.
``(g) Fees.--
``(1) In general.--In addition to the fees required by
section 1702(h)(1), the Secretary may charge reasonable fees
for credit support provided under this section.
``(2) Availability.--Fees collected under this section
shall be subject to section 1702(h)(2).
``(h) Underwriting.--The Secretary may delegate the underwriting
activities under this section to 1 or more entities that the Secretary
determines to be qualified.
``(i) Report.--Not later than 1 year after commencement of the
program, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate committees of
Congress a report that describes in reasonable detail--
``(1) the manner in which this section is being carried
out;
``(2) the number and type of projects supported;
``(3) the types of funding mechanisms used to provide
credit support to projects;
``(4) the energy savings expected to result from projects
supported by this section;
``(5) any tracking efforts the Secretary is using to
calculate the actual energy savings produced by the projects;
and
``(6) any plans to improve the tracking efforts described
in paragraph (5).''.
SEC. 202. COORDINATION OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OF ENERGY EFFICIENT
TECHNOLOGIES FOR INDUSTRY.
(a) In General.--As part of the research and development activities
of the Advanced Manufacturing Office of the Department of Energy, the
Secretary of Energy shall establish, as appropriate, collaborative
research and development partnerships with other programs within the
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (including the
Building Technologies Program), the Office of Electricity Delivery and
Energy Reliability, and the Office of Science that--
(1) leverage the research and development expertise of
those programs to promote early stage energy efficiency
technology development;
(2) support the use of innovative manufacturing processes
and applied research for development, demonstration, and
commercialization of new technologies and processes to improve
efficiency, reduce emissions, reduce industrial waste, and
improve industrial cost-competitiveness; and
(3) apply the knowledge and expertise of the Advanced
Manufacturing Office to help achieve the program goals of the
other programs.
(b) Reports.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of
this Act and biennially thereafter, the Secretary of Energy shall
submit to Congress a report that describes actions taken to carry out
subsection (a) and the results of those actions.
SEC. 203. COMBINED HEAT AND POWER AND WASTE HEAT RECOVERY.
(a) Goal.--It is the goal of the United States to, not later than
December 31, 2020, achieve a doubling of the production of electricity
from combined heat and power and waste heat recovery in the United
States from the current level of approximately 85 to at least 170
gigawatts by 2020 and thereby improve the energy efficiency of the
industrial sector.
(b) Strategic Plan.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, and biennially thereafter, the Secretary
of Energy (referred to in this section as the ``Secretary''),
in cooperation with the heads of other appropriate Federal
agencies, shall transmit to the Congress and make available to
the public a strategic plan, or update thereof, to achieve the
national goal established under subsection (a).
(2) Public input and comment.--The Secretary shall develop
the strategic plan in a manner that provides appropriate
opportunities for public input and comment.
(3) Plan contents.--The strategic plan shall--
(A) establish policy priorities and identify
requirements to ensure compliance with the national
goal established under subsection (a);
(B) include estimates for achievable increases in
combined heat and power and waste heat recovery
production and for energy savings that will be achieved
by those increases; and
(C) include data collection and compilation
methodologies used to establish baselines and document
energy savings data.
(4) Plan updates.--
(A) Inclusion in national energy policy plan.--The
Secretary shall include each updated strategic plan in
the National Energy Policy Plan required by section 801
of the Department of Energy Organization Act (42 U.S.C.
7321).
(B) Contents.--In updating the strategic plan, the
Secretary shall--
(i) report on progress made toward
implementing combined heat and power and waste
heat recovery policies to achieve the national
goal established under subsection (a); and
(ii) verify, to the maximum extent
practicable, energy savings resulting from
those policies.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Oversight and Government Reform, and Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Oversight and Government Reform, and Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Oversight and Government Reform, and Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Environment.
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