69–010 

Calendar No. 475 

110TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 1st Session 110–224 

TO DIRECT THE ADMINISTRATOR OF GENERAL SERVICES TO INSTALL A 

PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEM FOR HEADQUARTERS BUILDINGS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

NOVEMBER 7, 2007.—Ordered to be printed 

Mrs. BOXER, from the Committee on Environment and Public 

Works, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 798] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Environment and Public Works, to which was 

referred the bill (H.R. 798) to direct the Administrator of General 

Services to install a photovoltaic system for the headquarters building of the Department of Energy, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment, and recommends that 

the bill do pass. 

BACKGROUND

The photovoltaic system called for in this legislation is known as 

the Solar Net. It was the winning design produced by a competition 

sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE), National Renewable Energy Laboratory, in cooperation with The American Institute of Architects, and the Architectural Engineering Institute. 

The DoE competition included submissions from 151 teams. 

The competition required that a minimum of 100 kilowatts be 

generated by the design. The winning design will produce 460,000 

kWh. 

The winning design is 300 feet long and 130 feet high. It incorporates 24,750 square feet of power generating panels. This innovative design uses solar skin to create both exterior planes and interior spaces. The clean energy produced by the wall is channeled 

back into the building in the form of electricity, hot water, and convected heat. 

The steel structure itself is a series of curved primary cable 

trusses spanning between the vertical concrete wall and the reconVerDate Aug 31 2005 05:06 Nov 08, 2007 Jkt 069010 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR224.XXX SR224

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figured ground plane. Steel brackets will serve as mastheads for 

the trusses. 

The sun wall will be the largest solar installation in a Federal 

building. 

SUMMARY OF THE LEGISLATION

H.R. 798 directs the Administrator of General Services to install 

a photovoltaic system for the headquarters building of the Department of Energy, as set forth in the Sun Wall Design Project. The 

Department of Energy Building is located at 1000 Independence 

Avenue, Southwest, Washington D.C., which is commonly known as 

the Forrestal Building. Funding for the photovoltaic system would 

be authorized from the Federal Buildings Fund. 

CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

For purposes of rule XLIV of the Standing Rules of the Senate, 

H.R. 798 does not contain any congressionally directed spending. 

HEARINGS

There have been no hearings on H.R. 798 by the Committee. 

ROLLCALL VOTES

There were no rollcall votes during the consideration of H.R. 798 

by the Committee. 

MANDATES ASSESSMENT

In compliance with the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 

(Public Law 104–4), the committee finds that this bill would impose 

no Federal intergovernmental unfunded mandates on State, local 

or tribal governments. All of its governmental directives are imposed on Federal agencies. The bill does not directly impose any 

private sector mandates. 

EVALUATION OF REGULATORY IMPACT

Section 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate 

requires publication in the report the committee’s estimate of the 

regulatory impact made by the bill as reported. No regulatory impact is expected by the passage of the bill. The bill will not affect 

the personal privacy of individuals. 

COST OF LEGISLATION

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that implementing this project would cost $6 million in 2008 and $30 million over the 

2008–2012 period. The Congressional Budget office also estimates 

that this project would not affect net Federal outlays over the 

2008–2012 period because spending on this project would be offset 

by decreased spending later in that period. The estimate of the 

Congressional Budget Office is attached. 

H.R. 798—An act to direct the Administrator of General Services to 

install a photovoltaic system for the headquarters building of 

the Department of Energy 

H.R. 798 would require the General Services Administration to 

install a solar energy (photovoltaic) system on the side of the headVerDate Aug 31 2005 05:06 Nov 08, 2007 Jkt 069010 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR224.XXX SR224

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quarters building of the Department of Energy (DOE) located in 

Washington, DC. Photovoltaic systems use solar-power technology 

to convert energy from the sun into electricity. The project would 

consist of a ‘‘sun wall’’ of almost 25,000 solar panels that would 

provide some electricity and hot water to the building. The legislation would direct the use of $30 million in unobligated balances in 

the Federal Buildings Fund beginning in fiscal year 2008 to install 

the system. 

Currently, the Federal Buildings Fund has unobligated balances of over $2 billion available for construction, repair, and alteration 

of federal buildings. Legislation that modifies the expected spending pattern of those balances would be considered a change in direct spending but would not increase budget authority. Based on 

information from DOE, CBO estimates that implementing this 

project would cost $6 million in 2008 and $30 million over the 

2008–2012 period. However, we also estimate that this project 

would not affect net federal outlays over the 2008–2012 period because spending on this project would be offset by decreased spending later in that period. 

H.R. 798 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would 

not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments. 

On February 12, 2007, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 

798 as ordered reported by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on February 7, 2007. The versions of the 

legislation are identical, as are the CBO cost estimates. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew Pickford. The 

estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

Section 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate requires the committee to publish changes in existing law made by 

the bill as reported. Passage of this bill will make no changes to 

existing law. 

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