I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4162 

To promote the domestic development and deployment of clean energy 

technologies required for the 21st century. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 2, 2015 

Ms. LOFGREN (for herself and Ms. MATSUI) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, 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 the domestic development and deployment of 

clean energy technologies required for the 21st century. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Clean Energy Victory Bond Act of 2015’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

TITLE I—CLEAN ENERGY VICTORY BONDS 


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Sec. 101. Clean Energy Victory Bonds. 

TITLE II—REVENUE PROVISIONS 

Sec. 201. Extension and modification of energy investment tax credit. 

Sec. 202. Extension of residential energy efficient property credit. 

Sec. 203. Extension and modification of credit for electricity produced from 

certain renewable resources. 

Sec. 204. Extension of credit for nonbusiness energy property. 

Sec. 205. Performance based home energy improvements. 

Sec. 206. Extension of new energy efficient home credit. 

Sec. 207. Extension and modification of energy efficient commercial buildings 

deduction. 

Sec. 208. Plug-in electric vehicle grants in lieu of tax credits. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) There is enormous potential for increasing 

4 renewable energy production and energy efficiency 

5 installation in the United States. 

6 (2) A major barrier to rapid expansion of re7 newable energy and energy efficiency is upfront cap8 ital costs. Government tax incentives and other as9 sistance programs have proven beneficial in encour10 aging private sector development, manufacturing 

11 and installation of renewable energy and energy effi12 ciency projects nationwide. However, these govern13 ment incentives are not currently meeting demand 

14 from the private sector, and we are not taking full 

15 advantage of the potential for clean energy and 

16 transportation, as well as energy efficiency in the 

17 United States. 

18 (3) Other nations, including China and Ger19 many are ahead of the United States in manufacVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:53 Dec 04, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4162.IH H4162

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1 turing and deploying various clean energy tech2 nologies, even though the United States invented 

3 many of these technologies. 

4 (4) Investments in renewable energy and energy 

5 efficiency projects in the United States create green 

6 jobs for United States citizens across the United 

7 States. Hundreds of thousands of jobs could be cre8 ated through expanded government support for clean 

9 energy and energy efficiency. 

10 (5) As Americans choose energy efficiency and 

11 clean energy and transportation, it reduces our de12 pendence on foreign oil and improves our energy se13 curity. 

14 (6) Bonds are a low-cost method for encour15 aging clean energy, not requiring direct budget allo16 cations or expenditures. The projects supported 

17 through Clean Energy Victory Bonds will create jobs 

18 and business revenues that will increase Federal tax 

19 revenues, while simultaneously reducing health and 

20 environmental costs incurred by the Federal Govern21 ment nationwide. 

22 (7) In World War II, over 80 percent of Amer23 ican households purchased Victory Bonds to support 

24 the war effort, raising over $185 billion, or over $2 

25 trillion in today’s dollars. 


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1 TITLE I—CLEAN ENERGY 

2 VICTORY BONDS 

3 SEC. 101. CLEAN ENERGY VICTORY BONDS. 

4 (a) INITIAL CAPITALIZATION.—The Secretary of the 

5 Treasury shall issue Clean Energy Victory Bonds in an 

6 amount not to exceed $7,500,000,000 on the credit of the 

7 United States for purposes of raising revenue for the ex8 tension of certain energy-related tax benefits extended by 

9 this Act. 

10 (b) DENOMINATIONS AND MATURITY.—Clean Energy 

11 Victory Bonds shall be in the form of United States Sav12 ings Bonds of Series EE or as administered by the Bureau 

13 of the Public Debt of the Department of the Treasury in 

14 denominations of $25, and shall mature within such peri15 ods as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury. 

16 (c) INTEREST.—Clean Energy Victory Bonds shall 

17 bear interest at the rate the Secretary of the Treasury 

18 sets for Savings Bonds of Series EE and Series I, plus 

19 a rate of return determined by the Secretary of the Treas20 ury which is based on the valuation of carbon mitigated 

21 or energy saved through funded projects funded from the 

22 proceeds of such bonds. 

23 (d) PROMOTION.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treas25 ury shall take such actions, independently and in 


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1 conjunction with financial institutions offering Clean 

2 Energy Victory Bonds, to promote the purchase of 

3 Clean Energy Victory Bonds, including campaigns 

4 describing the financial and social benefits of pur5 chasing Clean Energy Victory Bonds. 

6 (2) PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITIES.—Such pro7 motional activities may include advertisements, pam8 phlets, or other promotional materials— 

9 (A) in periodicals; 

10 (B) on billboards and other outdoor 

11 venues; 

12 (C) on television; 

13 (D) on radio; 

14 (E) on the Internet; 

15 (F) within financial institutions that offer 

16 Clean Energy Victory Bonds; or 

17 (G) any other venues or outlets the Sec18 retary of the Treasury may identify. 

19 (3) LIMITATION.—There are authorized to be 

20 appropriated for such promotional activities not 

21 more than— 

22 (A) $10,000,000 in the first year after the 

23 date of the enactment of this Act, and 

24 (B) $2,000,000 in each year thereafter. 

25 (e) FUTURE CAPITALIZATION.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—After the initial capitaliza2 tion limit is reached under subsection (a), the Sec3 retary of the Treasury may issue additional Clean 

4 Energy Victory Bonds on the credit of the United 

5 States. 

6 (2) SINGLE ISSUE LIMITATION.—No such addi7 tional issue may exceed $7,500,000,000. 

8 (3) AGGREGATE LIMITATIONS.—The aggregate 

9 of any such additional issues during the 4-year pe10 riod beginning on the day after the initial capitaliza11 tion limit is reached under subsection (a) may not 

12 exceed $50,000,000,000. The aggregate of any such 

13 additional issues after the expiration of such 4-year 

14 period may not exceed $50,000,000,000. 

15 (f) LAWFUL INVESTMENTS.—Clean Energy Victory 

16 Bonds shall be lawful investments, and may be accepted 

17 as security for all fiduciary, trust, and public funds, the 

18 investment or deposit of which shall be under the author19 ity or control of the United States or any officer or officers 

20 thereof. 

21 TITLE II—REVENUE PROVISIONS 

22 SEC. 201. EXTENSION AND MODIFICATION OF ENERGY IN23 VESTMENT TAX CREDIT. 

24 (a) EXTENSION.— 


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1 (1) SOLAR ENERGY.—Paragraphs (2)(A)(i)(II) 

2 and (3)(A)(ii) of section 48(a) of the Internal Rev3 enue Code of 1986 are each amended by striking 

4 ‘‘January 1, 2017’’ and inserting ‘‘January 1, 

5 2024’’. 

6 (2) GEOTHERMAL HEAT PUMPS.—Section 

7 48(a)(3)(A)(vii) of such Code is amended by striking 

8 ‘‘January 1, 2017’’ and inserting ‘‘January 1, 

9 2024’’. 

10 (3) FUEL CELL PROPERTY.—Section 

11 48(c)(1)(D) of such Code is amended by striking 

12 ‘‘December 31, 2016’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 

13 2023’’. 

14 (4) MICROTURBINE PROPERTY.—Section 

15 48(c)(2)(D) of such Code is amended by striking 

16 ‘‘December 31, 2016’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 

17 2023’’. 

18 (5) COMBINED HEAT AND POWER.—Section 

19 48(c)(3)(iv) of such Code is amended by striking 

20 ‘‘January 1, 2017’’ and inserting ‘‘January 1, 

21 2024’’. 

22 (6) SMALL WIND.—Section 48(c)(4)(C) of such 

23 Code is amended by striking ‘‘December 31, 2016’’ 

24 and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2023’’. 

25 (7) OFFSHORE WIND.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 48(a)(5)(C)(ii) 

2 of such Code is amended— 

3 (i) by striking ‘‘is placed in service in’’ 

4 and inserting the following: ‘‘is— 

5 ‘‘(I) except as provided in sub6 clause (II), placed in service in’’, 

7 (ii) by adding at the end the following 

8 new subclause: 

9 ‘‘(II) in the case of an offshore 

10 wind facility, placed in service after 

11 December 31, 2008, and before Janu12 ary 1, 2022, and’’. 

13 (B) OFFSHORE WIND FACILITY.—Section 

14 48(a)(5) of such Code is amended by adding at 

15 the end the following new subparagraph: 

16 ‘‘(E) OFFSHORE WIND FACILITY.—The 

17 term ‘offshore wind facility’ means any quali18 fied facility described in section 45(d)(1) and 

19 located in the inland navigable waters of the 

20 United States, including the Great Lakes, or in 

21 the coastal waters of the United States, includ22 ing the territorial seas of the United States, the 

23 exclusive economic zone of the United States, 

24 and the outer Continental Shelf of the United 

25 States.’’. 


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1 (b) MODIFICATION OF FUEL CELL PROPERTY.—Sec2 tion 48(c)(1) of such Code, as amended by this Act, is 

3 amended by redesignating subparagraph (D) as subpara4 graph (E) and by inserting after subparagraph (C) the 

5 following new subparagraph: 

6 ‘‘(D) EXCEPTION FOR FUEL DERIVED

7 FROM FOSSIL FUELS.—The term ‘qualified fuel 

8 cell powerplant’ shall not include any fuel cell 

9 powerplant the fuel of which is derived from, or 

10 is produced by using, any fossil fuel.’’. 

11 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

12 this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 

13 of this Act. 

14 SEC. 202. EXTENSION OF RESIDENTIAL ENERGY EFFICIENT 

15 PROPERTY CREDIT. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 25D(g) of the Internal 

17 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘December 

18 31, 2016’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2024’’. 

19 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

20 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

21 December 31, 2016. 


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1 SEC. 203. EXTENSION AND MODIFICATION OF CREDIT FOR 

2 ELECTRICITY PRODUCED FROM CERTAIN RE3 NEWABLE RESOURCES. 

4 (a) EXTENSION.—Section 45(d) of the Internal Rev5 enue Code of 1986 is amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘January 1, 2015’’ in paragraph 

7 (1) and inserting ‘‘January 1, 2024’’, 

8 (2) by striking ‘‘January 1, 2015’’ each place 

9 it appears in paragraphs (2), (3), (4), (9), and (11) 

10 and inserting ‘‘January 1, 2024’’, and 

11 (3) by striking ‘‘January 1, 2006’’ in paragraph 

12 (4) and inserting ‘‘before January 1, 2006, or after 

13 the date of the enactment of the Clean Energy Vic14 tory Bond Act of 2015 and before January 1, 

15 2024’’. 

16 (b) MODIFICATIONS WITH RESPECT TO CLOSED17 LOOP BIOMASS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 45(c)(2) of such 

19 Code is amended to read as follows: 

20 ‘‘(2) CLOSED-LOOP BIOMASS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘closed-loop 

22 biomass’ means any organic matter from a 

23 plant which— 

24 ‘‘(i) is planted exclusively for purposes 

25 of being used at a qualified facility to 

26 produce electricity, or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) is a byproduct from harvesting 

2 timber (including tops, branches, crooks) 

3 or is invasive woody vegetation that inter4 feres with regeneration or the natural 

5 growth of the forest from which timber is 

6 harvested. 

7 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—For purposes of sub8 paragraph (A)(ii), byproduct from harvesting 

9 timber shall not be treated as closed-loop bio10 mass unless— 

11 ‘‘(i) such byproduct does not exceed 

12 30 percent (by weight) of the harvested 

13 timber to which it relates, and 

14 ‘‘(ii) the percentage byproduct re15 moved (by weight) does not exceed— 

16 ‘‘(I) 25 percent in the case of 

17 timber harvested from good soil, and 

18 ‘‘(II) 0 percent in the case of 

19 timber harvested from poor soil. 

20 For purposes of the preceding sentence, soil 

21 quality shall be determined by reference to soil 

22 classifications by the Natural Resources Con23 servation Service.’’. 


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1 (2) QUALIFIED FACILITY.—Section 45(d)(2) of 

2 such Code is amended by adding at the end the fol3 lowing new subparagraph: 

4 ‘‘(D) GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS.—In 

5 the case of a facility placed in service after De6 cember 31, 2015, such term shall not include 

7 any facility unless, with respect to the facility, 

8 the taxpayer annually during the 10-year period 

9 described in subsection (a) demonstrates to the 

10 satisfaction of the Secretary that such facility’s 

11 use of closed-loop biomass will result in a 50- 

12 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions 

13 compared to a similar facility using natural gas 

14 combined-cycle generation.’’. 

15 (c) MODIFICATION OF OPEN-LOOP BIOMASS DEFINI16 TION.—The second sentence of section 45(c)(3)(A) of such 

17 Code is amended— 

18 (1) by striking ‘‘or biomass’’ and inserting ‘‘, 

19 biomass’’, and 

20 (2) by inserting before the period at the end the 

21 following: ‘‘, any biomass which is primarily a food 

22 crop, or biomass derived from any crop that dis23 places any forest existing on the date of the enact24 ment of the Clean Energy Victory Bond Act of 

25 2015’’. 


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1 (d) MODIFICATION OF BIOFUEL AS QUALIFIED EN2 ERGY RESOURCE.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 45(c)(1) of such 

4 Code is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of 

5 subparagraph (H), by striking the period at the end 

6 of subparagraph (I) and inserting ‘‘, and’’, and by 

7 adding at the end the following new subparagraph: 

8 ‘‘(J) second generation biomass.’’. 

9 (2) SECOND GENERATION BIOMASS DEFINED.— 

10 Section 45(c) of such Code is amended by adding at 

11 the end the following new paragraph: 

12 ‘‘(11) SECOND GENERATION BIOMASS.—The 

13 term ‘second generation biomass’ means any bio14 mass which is composed of lignocellulosic or 

15 hemicellulosic matter that is available on a renew16 able or recurring basis and that does not replace for17 ested land (other than any fuel described in section 

18 40(b)(6)(E)(iii)).’’. 

19 (3) QUALIFIED FACILITY.—Section 45(d) of 

20 such Code is amended by adding at the end the fol21 lowing new paragraph: 

22 ‘‘(12) SECOND GENERATION BIOMASS.—In the 

23 case of a facility producing electricity from second 

24 generation biomass, the term ‘qualified facility’ 

25 means any facility owned by the taxpayer which is 


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1 originally placed in service on or after the date of 

2 the enactment of this paragraph and before January 

3 1, 2024.’’. 

4 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

5 this section shall apply to property placed in service after 

6 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

7 SEC. 204. EXTENSION OF CREDIT FOR NONBUSINESS EN8 ERGY PROPERTY. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 25C(g)(2) of the Internal 

10 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘December 

11 31, 2014’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2023’’. 

12 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

13 this section shall apply to property placed in service after 

14 December 31, 2014. 

15 SEC. 205. PERFORMANCE BASED HOME ENERGY IMPROVE16 MENTS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart A of part IV of sub18 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

19 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new 

20 section: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 25E. PERFORMANCE BASED ENERGY IMPROVE22 MENTS. 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an individual, 

24 there shall be allowed as a credit against the tax imposed 

25 by this chapter for the taxable year for a qualified whole 


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1 home energy efficiency retrofit an amount determined 

2 under subsection (b). 

3 ‘‘(b) AMOUNT DETERMINED.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (4), 

5 the amount determined under this subsection is 

6 equal to— 

7 ‘‘(A) the base amount under paragraph 

8 (2), increased by 

9 ‘‘(B) the amount determined under para10 graph (3). 

11 ‘‘(2) BASE AMOUNT.—For purposes of para12 graph (1)(A), the base amount is $2,000, but only 

13 if the energy use for the residence is reduced by at 

14 least 20 percent below the baseline energy use for 

15 such residence as calculated according to paragraph 

16 (5). 

17 ‘‘(3) INCREASE AMOUNT.—For purposes of 

18 paragraph (1)(B), the amount determined under this 

19 paragraph is $500 for each additional 5 percentage 

20 point reduction in energy use. 

21 ‘‘(4) LIMITATION.—In no event shall the 

22 amount determined under this subsection exceed the 

23 lesser of— 

24 ‘‘(A) $5,000 with respect to any residence, 

25 or 


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1 ‘‘(B) 30 percent of the qualified home en2 ergy efficiency expenditures paid or incurred by 

3 the taxpayer under subsection (c) with respect 

4 to such residence. 

5 ‘‘(5) DETERMINATION OF ENERGY USE REDUC6 TION.—For purposes of this subsection— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The reduction in en8 ergy use for any residence shall be determined 

9 by modeling the annual predicted percentage re10 duction in total energy costs for heating, cool11 ing, hot water, and permanent lighting. It shall 

12 be modeled using computer modeling software 

13 approved under subsection (d)(2) and a baseline 

14 energy use calculated according to subsection 

15 (d)(1)(C). 

16 ‘‘(B) ENERGY COSTS.—For purposes of 

17 subparagraph (A), the energy cost per unit of 

18 fuel for each fuel type shall be determined by 

19 dividing the total actual energy bill for the resi20 dence for that fuel type for the most recent 

21 available 12-month period by the total energy 

22 units of that fuel type used over the same pe23 riod. 


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1 ‘‘(c) QUALIFIED HOME ENERGY EFFICIENCY EX2 PENDITURES.—For purposes of this section, the term 

3 ‘qualified home energy efficiency expenditures’— 

4 ‘‘(1) means any amount paid or incurred by the 

5 taxpayer during the taxable year for a qualified 

6 whole home energy efficiency retrofit, including the 

7 cost of diagnostic procedures, labor, and modeling, 

8 ‘‘(2) includes only measures that have an aver9 age estimated life of 5 years or more as determined 

10 by the Secretary, after consultation with the Sec11 retary of Energy, 

12 ‘‘(3) does not include any amount which is paid 

13 or incurred in connection with any expansion of the 

14 building envelope of the residence, and 

15 ‘‘(4) does not include improvements to swim16 ming pools or hot tubs or any other expenditure spe17 cifically excluded by the Secretary, after consultation 

18 with the Secretary of Energy. 

19 ‘‘(d) QUALIFIED WHOLE HOME ENERGY EFFI20 CIENCY RETROFIT.—For purposes of this section— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified whole 

22 home energy efficiency retrofit’ means the implemen23 tation of measures placed in service during the tax24 able year intended to reduce the energy use of the 

25 principal residence of the taxpayer which is located 


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1 in the United States. A qualified whole home energy 

2 efficiency retrofit shall— 

3 ‘‘(A) be designed, implemented, and in4 stalled by a contractor which is— 

5 ‘‘(i) accredited by the Building Per6 formance Institute (hereafter in this sec7 tion referred to as ‘BPI’) or a preexisting 

8 BPI accreditation-based State certification 

9 program with enhancements to achieve 

10 State energy policy, 

11 ‘‘(ii) a Residential Energy Services 

12 Network (hereafter in this section referred 

13 to as ‘RESNET’) accredited Energy Smart 

14 Home Performance Team, or 

15 ‘‘(iii) accredited by an equivalent cer16 tification program approved by the Sec17 retary, after consultation with the Sec18 retary of Energy, for this purpose, 

19 ‘‘(B) install a set of measures modeled to 

20 achieve a reduction in energy use of at least 20 

21 percent below the baseline energy use estab22 lished in subparagraph (C), using computer 

23 modeling software approved under paragraph 

24 (2), 


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1 ‘‘(C) establish the baseline energy use by 

2 calibrating the model using sections 3 and 4 

3 and Annex D of BPI Standard BPI–2400–S– 

4 2011: Standardized Qualification of Whole 

5 House Energy Savings Estimates, or an equiva6 lent standard approved by the Secretary, after 

7 consultation with the Secretary of Energy, for 

8 this purpose, 

9 ‘‘(D) document the measures implemented 

10 in the residence through photographs taken be11 fore and after the retrofit, including photo12 graphs of its visible energy systems and enve13 lope as relevant, and 

14 ‘‘(E) implement a test-out procedure, fol15 lowing guidelines of the applicable certification 

16 program specified under clause (i) or (ii) of 

17 subparagraph (A), or equivalent guidelines ap18 proved by the Secretary, after consultation with 

19 the Secretary of Energy, for this purpose, to 

20 ensure— 

21 ‘‘(i) the safe operation of all systems 

22 post retrofit, and 

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1 cation program specified under clause (i) 

2 or (ii) of subparagraph (A), or equivalent 

3 standards approved by the Secretary, after 

4 consultation with the Secretary of Energy, 

5 for this purpose. 

6 For purposes of subparagraph (A)(iii), an orga7 nization or State may submit an equivalent cer8 tification program for approval by the Sec9 retary, in consultation with the Secretary of 

10 Energy. The Secretary shall approve or deny 

11 such submission not later than 180 days after 

12 receipt, and, if the Secretary fails to respond in 

13 that time period, the submitted equivalent cer14 tification program shall be considered approved. 

15 ‘‘(2) APPROVED MODELING SOFTWARE.—For 

16 purposes of paragraph (1)(B), the contractor shall 

17 use modeling software certified by RESNET as fol18 lowing the software verification test suites in section 

19 4.2.1 of RESNET Publication No. 06–001 or cer20 tified by an alternative organization as following an 

21 equivalent standard, as approved by the Secretary, 

22 after consultation with the Secretary of Energy, for 

23 this purpose. 

24 ‘‘(3) DOCUMENTATION.—The Secretary, after 

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1 scribe regulations directing what specific documenta2 tion is required to be retained or submitted by the 

3 taxpayer in order to claim the credit under this sec4 tion, which shall include, in addition to the photo5 graphs under paragraph (1)(D), a form approved by 

6 the Secretary that is completed and signed by the 

7 qualified whole home energy efficiency retrofit con8 tractor under penalties of perjury. Such form shall 

9 include— 

10 ‘‘(A) a statement that the contractor fol11 lowed the specified procedures for establishing 

12 baseline energy use and estimating reduction in 

13 energy use, 

14 ‘‘(B) the name of the software used for 

15 calculating the baseline energy use and reduc16 tion in energy use, the percentage reduction in 

17 projected energy savings achieved, and a state18 ment that such software was certified for this 

19 program by the Secretary, after consultation 

20 with the Secretary of Energy, 

21 ‘‘(C) a statement that the contractor will 

22 retain the details of the calculations and under23 lying energy bills for 5 years and will make 

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1 retary or the Secretary of Energy, if so re2 quested, 

3 ‘‘(D) a list of measures installed and a 

4 statement that all measures included in the re5 duction in energy use estimate are included in, 

6 and installed according to, standards of the ap7 plicable certification program specified under 

8 clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (A), or equiv9 alent standards approved by the Secretary, 

10 after consultation with the Secretary of Energy, 

11 ‘‘(E) a statement that the contractor meets 

12 the requirements of paragraph (1)(A), and 

13 ‘‘(F) documentation of the total cost of the 

14 project in order to comply with the limitation 

15 under subsection (b)(4)(B). 

16 ‘‘(e) ADDITIONAL RULES.—For purposes of this sec17 tion— 

18 ‘‘(1) NO DOUBLE BENEFIT.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to any 

20 residence, no credit shall be allowed under this 

21 section for any taxable year in which the tax22 payer claims a credit under section 25C. 

23 ‘‘(B) RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS AND

24 APPLIANCES.—In the case of a renewable en25 ergy system or appliance that qualifies for anVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:53 Dec 04, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4162.IH H4162

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1 other credit under this chapter, the resulting re2 duction in energy use shall not be taken into 

3 account in determining the percentage energy 

4 use reductions under subsection (b). 

5 ‘‘(C) NO DOUBLE BENEFIT FOR CERTAIN

6 EXPENDITURES.—The term ‘qualified home en7 ergy efficiency expenditures’ shall not include 

8 any expenditure for which a deduction or credit 

9 is claimed by the taxpayer under this chapter 

10 for the taxable year or with respect to which 

11 the taxpayer receives any Federal energy effi12 ciency rebate. 

13 ‘‘(2) PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE.—The term ‘prin14 cipal residence’ has the same meaning as when used 

15 in section 121. 

16 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULES.—Rules similar to the 

17 rules under paragraphs (4), (5), (6), (7), and (8) of 

18 section 25D(e) and section 25C(e)(2) shall apply, as 

19 determined by the Secretary, after consultation with 

20 the Secretary of Energy. 

21 ‘‘(4) BASIS ADJUSTMENTS.—For purposes of 

22 this subtitle, if a credit is allowed under this section 

23 with respect to any expenditure with respect to any 

24 property, the increase in the basis of such property 

25 which would (but for this paragraph) result from 


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1 such expenditure shall be reduced by the amount of 

2 the credit so allowed. 

3 ‘‘(5) ELECTION NOT TO CLAIM CREDIT.—No 

4 credit shall be determined under subsection (a) for 

5 the taxable year if the taxpayer elects not to have 

6 subsection (a) apply to such taxable year. 

7 ‘‘(6) MULTIPLE YEAR RETROFITS.—If the tax8 payer has claimed a credit under this section in a 

9 previous taxable year, the baseline energy use for the 

10 calculation of reduced energy use must be estab11 lished after the previous retrofit has been placed in 

12 service. 

13 ‘‘(f) TERMINATION.—This section shall not apply 

14 with respect to any costs paid or incurred after December 

15 31, 2024. 

16 ‘‘(g) SECRETARY REVIEW.—The Secretary, after con17 sultation with the Secretary of Energy, shall establish a 

18 review process for the retrofits performed, including an es19 timate of the usage of the credit and a statistically valid 

20 analysis of the average actual energy use reductions, uti21 lizing utility bill data collected on a voluntary basis, and 

22 report to Congress not later than June 30, 2017, any find23 ings and recommendations for— 

24 ‘‘(1) improvements to the effectiveness of the 

25 credit under this section, and 


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1 ‘‘(2) expansion of the credit under this section 

2 to rental units.’’. 

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

4 (1) Section 1016(a) of such Code is amended— 

5 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para6 graph (36), 

7 (B) by striking the period at the end of 

8 paragraph (37) and inserting ‘‘, and’’, and 

9 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

10 paragraph: 

11 ‘‘(38) to the extent provided in section 

12 25E(e)(4), in the case of amounts with respect to 

13 which a credit has been allowed under section 

14 25E.’’. 

15 (2) Section 6501(m) is amended by inserting 

16 ‘‘25E(e)(5),’’ after ‘‘section’’. 

17 (3) The table of sections for subpart A of part 

18 IV of subchapter A chapter 1 is amended by insert19 ing after the item relating to section 25D the fol20 lowing new item: 

‘‘Sec. 25E. Performance based energy improvements.’’. 

21 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

22 this section shall apply to amounts paid or incurred for 

23 a qualified whole home energy efficiency retrofit placed in 

24 service after December 31, 2015. 


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1 SEC. 206. EXTENSION OF NEW ENERGY EFFICIENT HOME 

2 CREDIT. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 45L(g) of the Internal 

4 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘December 

5 31, 2014’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2023’’. 

6 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

7 this section shall apply to homes acquired after December 

8 31, 2014. 

9 SEC. 207. EXTENSION AND MODIFICATION OF ENERGY EF10 FICIENT COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS DEDUC11 TION. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 179D(h) of the Internal 

13 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘December 

14 31, 2014’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2023’’. 

15 (b) INCREASE IN DEDUCTION LIMITATIONS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 179D(b)(1)(A) of 

17 such Code is amended by striking ‘‘$1.80’’ and in18 serting ‘‘$3.00’’. 

19 (2) PARTIAL PAY.—Section 179D(d)(1)(A) is 

20 amended by striking ‘‘substituting ‘$.60’ for 

21 ‘$1.80’.’’ and inserting ‘‘substituting ‘$1.00’ for 

22 ‘$3.00’.’’. 

23 (3) REDUCED AMOUNT FOR LOWER EFFICIENCY

24 PROPERTY.—Section 179D(d) of such Code is 

25 amended by adding at the end the following new 

26 paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(1) 30 TO 50 PERCENT PROPERTY.—In the 

2 case of property which would be energy efficient 

3 commercial building property were subsection 

4 (c)(1)(D) applied by substituting ‘more than 30 per5 cent and less than 50 percent’ for ‘50 percent or 

6 more’, subsection (b) shall be applied to such prop7 erty by substituting ‘$1.80’ for ‘$3.00’.’’. 

8 (c) UPDATING PARTIAL ALLOWANCE REGULA9 TIONS.—Section 179D(d)(1)(B) of such Code is amended 

10 by adding at the end the following: ‘‘Not later than 1 year 

11 after the date of the enactment of the Clean Energy Vic12 tory Bond Act of 2015, and every three years thereafter, 

13 the Secretary shall, after consultation with the Secretary 

14 of Energy, update the targets for such systems in such 

15 a manner as the Secretary determines will encourage inno16 vation in commercial building energy efficiency.’’. 

17 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

18 this section shall apply to property placed in service after 

19 December 31, 2014. 

20 SEC. 208. PLUG-IN ELECTRIC VEHICLE GRANTS IN LIEU OF 

21 TAX CREDITS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy, in con23 sultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, shall estab24 lish a voluntary program through which the Secretary of 

25 Energy shall— 


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1 (1) authorize the issuance of an electronic 

2 voucher to offset the purchase price of a qualified 

3 plug-in electric vehicle or a new qualified plug-in 

4 electric drive motor vehicle purchased from a dealer 

5 participating in the program; 

6 (2) register dealers for participation in the pro7 gram and require that all dealers so registered ac8 cept such vouchers as partial payment or down pay9 ment for the purchase of any such vehicle offered for 

10 sale by such dealer; 

11 (3) make electronic payments to dealers for eli12 gible transactions by such dealers; and 

13 (4) in consultation with the Inspector General 

14 of the Department of Transportation establish and 

15 provide for the enforcement of measures to prevent 

16 and penalize fraud under the program. 

17 (b) VOUCHER LIMITATIONS.—A voucher issued 

18 under the program shall have a value that may be applied 

19 to offset the purchase price of a vehicle by— 

20 (1) in the case of a qualified plug-in electric ve21 hicle, $2,500; or 

22 (2) in the case of a new qualified plug-in elec23 tric drive motor vehicle, $2,500 plus an amount de24 termined with respect to the vehicle under section 

25 30D(b)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 


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1 (c) TREATED AS ADVANCE PAYMENT OF CREDIT.— 

2 Use of a voucher under the program to offset the purchase 

3 price of a vehicle shall, for purposes of the Internal Rev4 enue Code of 1986, be treated as advance payment of the 

5 credit allowed under section 30 or 30D of such Code, as 

6 the case may be, and the amount of credit which would 

7 (but for this paragraph) be allowable with respect to such 

8 vehicle under either such section shall be reduced (but not 

9 below zero) by the amount of the voucher so used. 

10 (d) DEFINITIONS AND SPECIAL RULES.—For pur11 poses of this section— 

12 (1) QUALIFIED PLUG-IN ELECTRIC VEHICLE.— 

13 The term ‘‘qualified plug-in electric vehicle’’ shall 

14 have the meaning given such term by section 30(d) 

15 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

16 (2) NEW QUALIFIED PLUG-IN ELECTRIC DRIVE

17 MOTOR VEHICLE.—The term ‘‘new qualified plug-in 

18 electric drive motor vehicle’’ shall have the meaning 

19 given such term by section 30D(d) of such Code. 

20 (3) NO COMBINATION OF VOUCHERS.—Only 1 

21 voucher issued under the program may be applied 

22 toward the purchase of a single vehicle. 

23 (4) COMBINATION WITH OTHER INCENTIVES

24 PERMITTED.—The availability or use of a Federal, 

25 State, or local incentive or a State-issued voucher 


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1 for the purchase of any vehicle shall not limit the 

2 value or issuance of a voucher under the program to 

3 any person otherwise eligible to receive such a 

4 voucher. 

5 (5) NO ADDITIONAL FEES.—A dealer partici6 pating in the program may not charge a person pur7 chasing a vehicle any additional fees associated with 

8 the use of a voucher under the program. 

9 (6) APPLICATION OF CERTAIN RULES.—Rules 

10 similar to the rules of paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (4), 

11 and (5) of section 30(e) of such Code shall apply for 

12 purposes of this section. 

13 (e) TERMINATION AND PHASEOUT.— 

14 (1) TERMINATION FOR QUALIFIED PLUG-IN

15 ELECTRIC VEHICLES.—This section shall not apply 

16 to any qualified plug-in electric vehicle acquired 

17 after December 31, 2018. 

18 (2) PHASEOUT FOR NEW QUALIFIED PLUG-IN

19 ELECTRIC DRIVE MOTOR VEHICLE.—The amount of 

20 any voucher with respect to any new qualified plug 

21 in electric drive motor vehicle shall be reduced as 

22 provided in section 30D(e) of the Internal Revenue 

23 Code of 1986. 

24 (f) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Energy, in con25 sultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, shall preVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:53 Dec 04, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4162.IH H4162

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1 scribe such regulations as may be necessary or appropriate 

2 to carry out the purposes of this section. 

Æ 


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