II 

Calendar No. 127 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1510 

[Report No. 112–47] 

To promote the domestic development and deployment of clean energy 

technologies, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 30 (legislative day, AUGUST 2), 2011 

Mr. BINGAMAN, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, reported under authority of the order of the Senate of August 2, 2011, the 

following original bill; which was read twice and placed on the calendar 

A BILL 

To promote the domestic development and deployment of 

clean energy technologies, and for other purposes. 

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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Clean Energy Financ5 ing Act of 2011’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

2 The purpose of this Act is to promote the domestic 

3 development and deployment of clean energy technologies 

4 required for the 21st century through the improvement of 

5 existing programs and the establishment of a Clean En6 ergy Deployment Administration that will provide for an 

7 attractive investment environment through partnership 

8 with and support of the private capital market in order 

9 to promote access to affordable financing for accelerated 

10 and widespread deployment of— 

11 (1) clean energy technologies, especially break12 through technologies; 

13 (2) advanced or enabling energy infrastructure 

14 technologies; 

15 (3) energy efficiency and clean distributed en16 ergy technologies in residential, commercial, and in17 dustrial applications, including end-use efficiency in 

18 buildings; and 

19 (4) manufacturing technologies for any of the 

20 technologies or applications described in this section. 

21 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

22 In this Act: 

23 (1) ADMINISTRATION.—The term ‘‘Administra24 tion’’ means the Clean Energy Deployment Adminis25 tration established by section 7. 


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1 (2) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis2 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Administra3 tion. 

4 (3) ADVISORY COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Advisory 

5 Council’’ means the Energy Technology Advisory 

6 Council of the Administration. 

7 (4) BREAKTHROUGH TECHNOLOGY.—The term 

8 ‘‘breakthrough technology’’ means a clean energy 

9 technology or clean distributed energy technology 

10 that— 

11 (A) presents a significant opportunity to 

12 advance the goals developed under section 6, as 

13 assessed under the methodology established by 

14 the Advisory Council; but 

15 (B)(i) has generally not been considered a 

16 commercially ready technology as a result of 

17 high perceived technology risk or other similar 

18 factors; or 

19 (ii) faces market barriers to widespread 

20 adoption in the residential or commercial mar21 kets, including a lack of financing availability to 

22 overcome upfront capital costs despite the op23 portunity for reasonable payback timeframes. 

24 (5) CLEAN DISTRIBUTED ENERGY.—The term 

25 ‘‘clean distributed energy’’ means any electric genVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:09 Aug 30, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1510.PCS S1510

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1 eration or thermal energy production technology 

2 that— 

3 (A) produces less than 10 megawatts or 10 

4 megawatts thermal equivalent; 

5 (B) meets the criteria for clean energy 

6 technology described in paragraph (6); and 

7 (C) is located at a retail customer site and 

8 provides energy directly, at least in part, to a 

9 retail customer. 

10 (6) CLEAN ENERGY TECHNOLOGY.—The term 

11 ‘‘clean energy technology’’ means a technology or 

12 service related to the production, use, transmission, 

13 storage, control, or conservation of energy that 

14 will— 

15 (A) reduce the need for additional energy 

16 supplies by using existing energy supplies with 

17 greater efficiency or by transmitting, distrib18 uting, storing, or transporting energy with 

19 greater effectiveness in or through the infra20 structure of the United States; 

21 (B) diversify the sources of energy supply 

22 of the United States to strengthen energy secu23 rity and to increase supplies with a favorable 

24 balance of environmental effects if the entire 

25 technology system is considered; or 


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1 (C) contribute to a stabilization of atmos2 pheric greenhouse gas concentrations through 

3 reduction, avoidance, or sequestration of en4 ergy-related emissions. 

5 (7) COST.—The term ‘‘cost’’ has the meaning 

6 given the term in section 502 of the Federal Credit 

7 Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661a). 

8 (8) DIRECT LOAN.—The term ‘‘direct loan’’ has 

9 the meaning given the term in section 502 of the 

10 Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661a). 

11 (9) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Clean 

12 Energy Investment Fund established by section 4(a). 

13 (10) LOAN GUARANTEE.—The term ‘‘loan guar14 antee’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

15 502 of the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 

16 U.S.C. 661a). 

17 (11) NATIONAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘‘Na18 tional Laboratory’’ has the meaning given the term 

19 in section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

20 U.S.C. 15801). 

21 (12) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

22 means the Secretary of Energy. 

23 (13) SECURITY.—The term ‘‘security’’ has the 

24 meaning given the term in section 2 of the Securities 

25 Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77b). 


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1 (14) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 

2 (A) a State; 

3 (B) the District of Columbia; 

4 (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 

5 and 

6 (D) any other territory or possession of the 

7 United States. 

8 (15) TECHNOLOGY RISK.—The term ‘‘tech9 nology risk’’ means the risks during construction or 

10 operation associated with the design, development, 

11 and deployment of clean energy technologies (includ12 ing the cost, schedule, performance, reliability and 

13 maintenance, and accounting for the perceived risk), 

14 from the perspective of commercial lenders, that 

15 may be increased as a result of the absence of ade16 quate historical construction, operating, or perform17 ance data from commercial applications of the tech18 nology. 

19 SEC. 4. CLEAN ENERGY INVESTMENT FUND. 

20 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

21 Treasury of the United States a fund, to be known as the 

22 ‘‘Clean Energy Investment Fund’’, consisting of— 

23 (1) such amounts as have been appropriated to 

24 carry out title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 

25 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16511 et seq.); 


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1 (2) such amounts as are deposited in the Fund 

2 under this Act and amendments made by this Act; 

3 and 

4 (3) such sums as may be appropriated to sup5 plement the Fund. 

6 (b) EXPENDITURES FROM FUND.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts in the Fund shall 

8 be available to the Secretary or Administrator for 

9 obligation without fiscal year limitation, to remain 

10 available until expended. 

11 (2) EXPENSES.— 

12 (A) FEES.—Fees collected for expenses 

13 shall be available without limitation to cover ap14 plicable expenses. 

15 (B) FUND.—To the extent that expenses 

16 are not reimbursed through fees, an amount not 

17 to exceed 1.5 percent of the amounts in the 

18 Fund as of the beginning of each fiscal year 

19 shall be available to pay the expenses for the 

20 fiscal year necessary to carry out this Act or 

21 title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

22 U.S.C. 16511 et seq.). 

23 (c) TRANSFERS OF AMOUNTS.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amounts required to be 

25 transferred to the Fund under this section shall be 


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1 transferred at least monthly from the general fund 

2 of the Treasury to the Fund on the basis of esti3 mates made by the Secretary of the Treasury. 

4 (2) CASH FLOWS.—Cash flows associated with 

5 costs of the Fund described in section 502(5)(B) of 

6 the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 

7 661a(5)(B)) shall be transferred to appropriate 

8 credit accounts. 

9 (3) ADJUSTMENTS.—Proper adjustment shall 

10 be made in amounts subsequently transferred to the 

11 extent prior estimates were in excess of or less than 

12 the amounts required to be transferred. 

13 SEC. 5. REVISIONS TO LOAN GUARANTEE PROGRAM AU14 THORITY. 

15 (a) DEFINITION OF COMMERCIAL TECHNOLOGY.— 

16 Section 1701(1) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

17 U.S.C. 16511(1)) is amended by striking subparagraph 

18 (B) and inserting the following: 

19 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘commercial 

20 technology’ does not include a technology if the 

21 sole use of the technology is in connection 

22 with— 

23 ‘‘(i) a demonstration project; or 

24 ‘‘(ii) a project for which the Secretary 

25 approved a loan guarantee.’’. 


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1 (b) SPECIFIC APPROPRIATION OR CONTRIBUTION.— 

2 Section 1702 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 

3 16512) is amended by striking subsection (b) and insert4 ing the following: 

5 ‘‘(b) SPECIFIC APPROPRIATION OR CONTRIBU6 TION.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No guarantee shall be 

8 made unless sufficient amounts to account for the 

9 cost are available— 

10 ‘‘(A) in unobligated balances within the 

11 Clean Energy Investment Fund established by 

12 section 4(a) of the Clean Energy Financing Act 

13 of 2011; 

14 ‘‘(B) as a payment from the borrower and 

15 the payment is deposited in the Clean Energy 

16 Investment Fund; or 

17 ‘‘(C) in any combination of balances and 

18 payments described in subparagraphs (A) and 

19 (B), respectively. 

20 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The source of payments re21 ceived from a borrower under paragraph (1)(B) shall 

22 not be a loan or other debt obligation that is made 

23 or guaranteed by the Federal Government.’’. 


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1 (c) FEES.—Section 1702(h) of the Energy Policy Act 

2 of 2005 (43 U.S.C. 16512(h)) is amended by adding at 

3 the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(3) ADJUSTMENT.—The Secretary may adjust 

5 the amount or manner of collection of fees under 

6 this title as the Secretary determines is necessary to 

7 promote, to the maximum extent practicable, eligible 

8 projects under this title. 

9 ‘‘(4) CREDIT REPORT.—The Secretary may 

10 waive any otherwise applicable requirement (includ11 ing any requirement described in part 609 of title 

12 10, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regu13 lations)) to provide a third-party credit report if— 

14 ‘‘(A) the Secretary determines that a 

15 third-party credit rating of the applicant or 

16 project is not relevant to the determination of 

17 the credit risk of a project; 

18 ‘‘(B) the project costs are not projected to 

19 exceed $100,000,000; and 

20 ‘‘(C) the applicant agrees to accept the 

21 credit rating assigned to the applicant by the 

22 Secretary.’’. 

23 (d) PROCESSING.—Section 1702 of the Energy Policy 

24 Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16512) is amended by adding at 

25 the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(k) ACCELERATED REVIEWS.—To the maximum ex2 tent practicable and consistent with sound business prac3 tices, the Secretary shall seek to consolidate internal and 

4 interagency reviews of projects under this title such that 

5 final decisions on applications can generally be issued not 

6 later than 180 days after the date of submission of a com7 pleted application. 

8 ‘‘(l) PROFESSIONAL ADVISORS.—The Secretary 

9 may— 

10 ‘‘(1) retain agents and legal and other profes11 sional advisors in connection with guarantees and re12 lated activities authorized under this title; 

13 ‘‘(2) require applicants for and recipients of 

14 loan guarantees to pay all fees and expenses of the 

15 agents and advisors; and 

16 ‘‘(3) notwithstanding any other provision of 

17 law, select such advisors in such manner and using 

18 such procedures as the Secretary determines to be 

19 appropriate to protect the interests of the United 

20 States and achieve the purposes of this title. 

21 ‘‘(m) MULTIPLE SITES.—Notwithstanding any other 

22 provision of law (including section 609.12 of title 10, Code 

23 of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations)), an eli24 gible project may be located on 2 or more noncontiguous 

25 sites in the United States.’’. 


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1 (e) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—Section 1702 of the 

2 Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16512) (as amend3 ed by subsection (d)) is amended at the end by adding 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘(n) COST OF OBLIGATION.—If the borrower is pro6 viding a payment for the cost of a proposed loan guarantee 

7 and the guarantee amount is greater than 

8 $1,000,000,000, the Secretary shall determine the cost of 

9 the obligation on the basis of a project-specific financial 

10 risk assessment that— 

11 ‘‘(1) includes a written explanation of any dif12 ferences between— 

13 ‘‘(A) the estimated probability of default, 

14 as determined by the Secretary; and 

15 ‘‘(B) the estimated probability of default 

16 contained in any credit assessment performed 

17 by an independent rating agency; 

18 ‘‘(2) includes a written explanation of any dif19 ferences between— 

20 ‘‘(A) the estimated value of the recovery in 

21 the event of default, as determined by the Sec22 retary; and 

23 ‘‘(B) the estimated value of the recovery in 

24 the event of default contained in any recovery 

25 plan submitted by the borrower; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) is made available to the borrower for re2 view and comment prior to a final determination.’’. 

3 (f) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—Section 1703(b)(4) of the 

4 Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16513(b)(4)) is 

5 amended by inserting ‘‘(including nuclear power parts, 

6 services, and fuel suppliers, and small modular reactors, 

7 if additional loan volume authority is provided for a 

8 project described in this parenthetical in an appropriation 

9 Act enacted after July 1, 2011)’’ after ‘‘energy facilities’’. 

10 (g) WAGE RATES.—Section 1705(c) of the Energy 

11 Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16516(c)) is amended by 

12 striking ‘‘support under this section’’ and inserting ‘‘sup13 port under this title’’. 

14 SEC. 6. ENERGY TECHNOLOGY DEPLOYMENT GOALS. 

15 (a) GOALS.—Not later than 1 year after the date of 

16 enactment of this Act, the Secretary, after consultation 

17 with the Advisory Council, shall develop and publish for 

18 review and comment in the Federal Register near-, me19 dium-, and long-term goals (including numerical perform20 ance targets at appropriate intervals to measure progress 

21 toward those goals) for the deployment of clean energy 

22 technologies through the credit support programs estab23 lished by this Act (including an amendment made by this 

24 Act) to promote— 


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1 (1) sufficient electric generating capacity using 

2 clean energy technologies to meet the energy needs 

3 of the United States; 

4 (2) clean energy technologies in vehicles and 

5 fuels that will substantially reduce the reliance of 

6 the United States on foreign sources of energy and 

7 insulate consumers from the volatility of world en8 ergy markets; 

9 (3) a domestic commercialization and manufac10 turing capacity that will establish the United States 

11 as a world leader in clean energy technologies across 

12 multiple sectors, including the production of ad13 vanced materials used in clean energy technologies; 

14 (4) installation of sufficient infrastructure to 

15 allow for the cost-effective deployment of clean en16 ergy technologies appropriate to each region of the 

17 United States; 

18 (5) the transformation of the building stock of 

19 the United States to zero net energy consumption, 

20 including through energy efficiency and the use of 

21 clean distributed energy; 

22 (6) the recovery, use, and prevention of waste 

23 energy; 


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1 (7) domestic manufacturing of clean energy 

2 technologies on a scale that is sufficient to achieve 

3 price parity with conventional energy sources; 

4 (8) domestic production of commodities, indus5 trial bio-products, and materials (such as steel, 

6 chemicals, polymers, biopolymers, and cement) using 

7 clean energy technologies so that the United States 

8 will become a world leader in environmentally sus9 tainable production of the commodities and mate10 rials; 

11 (9) a robust, efficient, and interactive electricity 

12 transmission grid that will allow for the incorpora13 tion of clean energy technologies, distributed genera14 tion, clean distributed energy, smart grid functions, 

15 and demand-response in each regional electric grid; 

16 (10) to overcome market barriers (including 

17 lack of financing as the result of upfront cost de18 spite the possibility of reasonable payback time19 frames) and promote energy efficiency and clean dis20 tributed energy technologies, ensure sufficient avail21 ability of financial products to allow owners and 

22 users of residential, retail, commercial, multifamily 

23 residence, municipal, institution of higher education, 

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1 tributed generation and clean distributed energy 

2 technology investments with reasonable payback pe3 riods, including enabling municipalities, cooperatives, 

4 tribes, and other tax-exempt entities to deploy com5 munity-owned energy generation and energy effi6 ciency projects; and 

7 (11) such other goals as the Secretary, in con8 sultation with the Advisory Council, determines to be 

9 consistent with the purposes of this Act. 

10 (b) REVISIONS.—The Secretary shall revise the goals 

11 established under subsection (a), from time to time as ap12 propriate, to account for advances in technology and 

13 changes in energy policy. 

14 SEC. 7. CLEAN ENERGY DEPLOYMENT ADMINISTRATION. 

15 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the 

17 Department of Energy an administration to be 

18 known as the Clean Energy Deployment Administra19 tion, under the direction of the Administrator and 

20 the Board of Directors. 

21 (2) STATUS.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Administration 

23 (including officers, employees, and agents of the 

24 Administration) shall not be responsible to, or 

25 subject to the authority, direction, or control of, 


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1 any other officer, employee, or agent of the De2 partment of Energy other than the Secretary, 

3 acting through the Administrator. 

4 (B) EXEMPTION FROM REORGANIZA5 TION.—The Administration shall be exempt 

6 from the reorganization authority provided 

7 under section 643 of the Department of Energy 

8 Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7253). 

9 (C) INSPECTOR GENERAL.—Section 12 of 

10 the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 

11 App.) is amended— 

12 (i) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘the 

13 Administrator of the Clean Energy Deploy14 ment Administration;’’ after ‘‘Export-Im15 port Bank;’’; and 

16 (ii) in paragraph (2), by inserting 

17 ‘‘the Clean Energy Deployment Adminis18 tration,’’ after ‘‘Export-Import Bank,’’. 

19 (3) OFFICES.— 

20 (A) PRINCIPAL OFFICE.—The Administra21 tion shall— 

22 (i) maintain the principal office of the 

23 Administration in the District of Columbia; 

24 and 


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1 (ii) for purposes of venue in civil ac2 tions, be considered to be a resident of the 

3 District of Columbia. 

4 (B) OTHER OFFICES.—The Administration 

5 may establish other offices in such other places 

6 as the Administration considers necessary or 

7 appropriate for the conduct of the business of 

8 the Administration. 

9 (b) ADMINISTRATOR.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 

11 be— 

12 (A) appointed by the President, by and 

13 with the advice and consent of the Senate, for 

14 a 5-year term; and 

15 (B) compensated at the annual rate of 

16 basic pay prescribed for level II of the Execu17 tive Schedule under section 5313 of title 5, 

18 United States Code. 

19 (2) DUTIES.—The Administrator shall— 

20 (A) serve as the Chief Executive Officer of 

21 the Administration and Chairman of the Board; 

22 (B) ensure that— 

23 (i) the Administration operates in a 

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1 trols (consistent with section 404 of the 

2 Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (15 U.S.C. 

3 7262)); 

4 (ii) the operations and activities of the 

5 Administration foster liquid, efficient, com6 petitive, and resilient energy and energy ef7 ficiency finance markets; 

8 (iii) the Administration carries out the 

9 purposes of this Act only through activities 

10 that are authorized under and consistent 

11 with this Act; 

12 (iv) the activities of the Administra13 tion and the manner in which the Adminis14 tration is operated are consistent with the 

15 public interest; and 

16 (v) no project exceeds the net green17 house gas emissions (measured on a ton 

18 per unit of output basis, expressed in, car19 bon dioxide equivalency terms) resulting 

20 from the operation of existing and com21 mercially-deployed technologies or facilities 

22 that are producing comparable commod23 ities or products within the United States 

24 as of the date of enactment of this Act; 


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1 (C) develop policies and procedures for the 

2 Administration that will— 

3 (i) promote a portfolio of investments 

4 that will maximize the value of investments 

5 to effectively promote clean energy tech6 nologies; 

7 (ii) promote transparency and open8 ness in Administration operations; 

9 (iii) afford the Administration with 

10 sufficient flexibility to meet the purposes of 

11 this Act; 

12 (iv) provide for the efficient proc13 essing of applications; 

14 (v) promote, consistent with the pur15 poses of this Act, the participation of pri16 vate financial institutions and other 

17 sources of private capital, on commercially 

18 reasonable terms, if and to the extent the 

19 capital is available; 

20 (vi) promote the availability of finan21 cial products to small business through 

22 working with entities that have appropriate 

23 expertise extending credit or other relevant 

24 financial services to small companies devel25 oping clean energy technologies; and 


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1 (vii) promote the availability of finan2 cial products to municipalities, coopera3 tives, tribes, and other tax-exempt entities 

4 to develop community-owned clean energy 

5 generation and energy efficiency projects; 

6 (D) develop, in consultation with the Advi7 sory Council, and publish for comment in the 

8 Federal Register a methodology for the relative 

9 assessment of clean energy technologies that 

10 will allow for the evaluation of projects based 

11 on progress likely to be achieved per-dollar in12 vested toward maximizing the attributes of 

13 clean energy technologies, taking into account 

14 the extent to which support provided under this 

15 Act is likely to accrue subsequent benefits at16 tributable to commercial-scale deployment ear17 lier than would have otherwise occurred; and 

18 (E) with the concurrence of the Board, set 

19 expected loss reserves for the support provided 

20 by the Administration consistent with section 

21 8(a)(1)(C). 

22 (c) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board of Directors of 

24 the Administration shall consist of— 


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1 (A) the Secretary or the designee of the 

2 Secretary, who shall serve as an ex-officio vot3 ing member of the Board of Directors; 

4 (B) the Administrator, who shall serve as 

5 the Chairman of the Board of Directors; and 

6 (C) 7 additional members who shall— 

7 (i) be appointed, by the President, by 

8 and with the advice and consent of the 

9 Senate, for staggered 5-year terms; and 

10 (ii) to the maximum extent prac11 ticable, have experience in banking or fi12 nancial services relevant to the operations 

13 of the Administration, including individuals 

14 with substantial experience in the develop15 ment of energy projects, the electricity 

16 generation sector, the transportation sec17 tor, the manufacturing sector, and the en18 ergy efficiency sector (including building 

19 retrofits). 

20 (2) DUTIES.—The Board of Directors shall— 

21 (A) oversee the operations of the Adminis22 tration and ensure industry best practices are 

23 followed in all financial transactions involving 

24 the Administration; 


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1 (B) consult with the Administrator on the 

2 general policies and procedures of the Adminis3 tration to ensure the interests of the taxpayers 

4 are protected; 

5 (C) ensure the portfolio of investments are 

6 consistent with purposes of this Act and with 

7 the long-term financial stability of the Adminis8 tration; 

9 (D) ensure that the operations and activi10 ties of the Administration are consistent with 

11 the development of a robust private sector that 

12 can provide commercial loans or financing prod13 ucts; and 

14 (E) not serve on a full-time basis, except 

15 that the Board of Directors shall meet at least 

16 quarterly to review, as appropriate, applications 

17 for credit support and set policies and proce18 dures as necessary. 

19 (3) REMOVAL.—An appointed member of the 

20 Board of Directors may be removed from office by 

21 the President for good cause. 

22 (4) VACANCIES.—An appointed seat on the 

23 Board of Directors that becomes vacant shall be 

24 filled by appointment by the President, but only for 


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1 the unexpired portion of the term of the vacating 

2 member. 

3 (5) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—An ap4 pointed member of the Board of Directors shall be 

5 compensated at a rate equal to the daily equivalent 

6 of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level 

7 III of the Executive Schedule under section 5314 of 

8 title 5, United States Code, for each day (including 

9 travel time) during which the member is engaged in 

10 the performance of the duties of the Board of Direc11 tors. 

12 (d) ENERGY TECHNOLOGY ADVISORY COUNCIL.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administration shall 

14 have an Energy Technology Advisory Council con15 sisting of— 

16 (A) 5 members selected by the Secretary; 

17 and 

18 (B) 3 members selected by the Board of 

19 Directors of the Administration. 

20 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—The members of the Ad21 visory Council shall— 

22 (A) have relevant scientific expertise; and 

23 (B) in the case of the members selected by 

24 the Secretary under paragraph (1)(A), include 

25 representatives of— 


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1 (i) the academic community; 

2 (ii) the private research community; 

3 (iii) National Laboratories; 

4 (iv) the technology or project develop5 ment community; and 

6 (v) the commercial energy financing 

7 and operations sector. 

8 (3) DUTIES.—The Advisory Council shall— 

9 (A) advise on the methodology developed 

10 under subsection (b)(2)(D); and 

11 (B) advise on the technological approaches 

12 that should be supported by the Administration 

13 to meet the technology deployment goals estab14 lished by the Secretary pursuant to section 6. 

15 (4) TERM.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—Members of the Advi17 sory Council shall have 5-year staggered terms, 

18 as determined by the Secretary and the Admin19 istrator. 

20 (B) REAPPOINTMENT.—A member of the 

21 Advisory Council may be reappointed. 

22 (5) COMPENSATION.—A member of the Advi23 sory Council, who is not otherwise compensated as 

24 a Federal employee, shall be compensated at a rate 

25 equal to the daily equivalent of the annual rate of 


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1 basic pay prescribed for level IV of the Executive 

2 Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United 

3 States Code, for each day (including travel time) 

4 during which the member is engaged in the perform5 ance of the duties of the Advisory Council. 

6 (e) STAFF.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in con8 sultation with the Board of Directors, may— 

9 (A) appoint and terminate such officers, 

10 attorneys, employees, and agents as are nec11 essary to carry out this Act; and 

12 (B) vest those personnel with such powers 

13 and duties as the Administrator may determine. 

14 (2) DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sec16 tion 3304 and sections 3309 through 3318 of 

17 title 5, United States Code, the Administrator 

18 may, on a determination that there is a severe 

19 shortage of candidates or a critical hiring need 

20 for particular positions, recruit and directly ap21 point highly qualified critical personnel with 

22 specialized knowledge important to the function 

23 of the Administration into the competitive serv24 ice. 


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1 (B) EXCEPTION.—The authority granted 

2 under subparagraph (A) shall not apply to posi3 tions in the excepted service or the Senior Exec4 utive Service. 

5 (C) REQUIREMENTS.—In exercising the 

6 authority granted under subparagraph (A), the 

7 Administrator shall ensure that any action 

8 taken by the Administrator— 

9 (i) is consistent with the merit prin10 ciples of section 2301 of title 5, United 

11 States Code; and 

12 (ii) complies with the public notice re13 quirements of section 3327 of title 5, 

14 United States Code. 

15 (D) TERMINATION OF EFFECTIVENESS.— 

16 The authority provided by this paragraph ter17 minates effective on the date that is 2 years 

18 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

19 (3) CRITICAL PAY AUTHORITY.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sec21 tion 5377 of title 5, United States Code, and 

22 without regard to the provisions of that title 

23 governing appointments in the competitive serv24 ice or the Senior Executive Service and chap25 ters 51 and 53 of that title (relating to classiVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:09 Aug 30, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1510.PCS S1510

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1 fication and pay rates), the Administrator may 

2 establish, fix the compensation of, and appoint 

3 individuals to critical positions needed to carry 

4 out the functions of the Administration, if the 

5 Administrator certifies that— 

6 (i) the positions require expertise of 

7 an extremely high level in a financial, tech8 nical, or scientific field; 

9 (ii) the Administration would not suc10 cessfully accomplish an important mission 

11 without such an individual; and 

12 (iii) exercise of the authority is nec13 essary to recruit an individual who is ex14 ceptionally well qualified for the position. 

15 (B) LIMITATIONS.—The authority granted 

16 under subparagraph (A) shall be subject to the 

17 following conditions: 

18 (i) The number of critical positions 

19 authorized by subparagraph (A) may not 

20 exceed 20 at any 1 time in the Administra21 tion. 

22 (ii) The term of an appointment 

23 under subparagraph (A) may not exceed 4 

24 years. 


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1 (iii) An individual appointed under 

2 subparagraph (A) may not have been an 

3 Administration employee at any time dur4 ing the 2-year period preceding the date of 

5 appointment. 

6 (iv) Total annual compensation for 

7 any individual appointed under subpara8 graph (A) may not exceed the highest total 

9 annual compensation payable at the rate 

10 determined under section 104 of title 3, 

11 United States Code. 

12 (v) An individual appointed under 

13 subparagraph (A) may not be considered 

14 to be an employee for purposes of sub15 chapter II of chapter 75 of title 5, United 

16 States Code. 

17 (C) NOTIFICATION.—Each year, the Ad18 ministrator shall submit to Congress a notifica19 tion that lists each individual appointed under 

20 this paragraph. 

21 SEC. 8. ADMINISTRATION FUNCTIONS. 

22 (a) OPERATIONAL UNITS.— 

23 (1) DIRECT SUPPORT.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Administration 

25 may issue direct loans, letters of credit, loan 


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1 guarantees, insurance products, or such other 

2 credit enhancements (including through partici3 pation as a co-lender or a lending member of a 

4 syndication) as the Administrator considers ap5 propriate to manufacture or deploy clean energy 

6 technologies and clean distributed energy tech7 nologies or associated advanced materials if the 

8 Administrator has determined that deployment 

9 of the technologies would benefit or be acceler10 ated by the support. 

11 (B) ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA.—In carrying 

12 out this paragraph and awarding credit support 

13 to projects, the Administrator shall account 

14 for— 

15 (i) how the technology rates based on 

16 an evaluation methodology established by 

17 the Advisory Council; 

18 (ii) how the project fits with the goals 

19 established under section 6; and 

20 (iii) the potential for the applicant to 

21 successfully complete the project. 

22 (C) RISK.— 

23 (i) EXPECTED LOSS RESERVE.—The 

24 Administrator shall establish an expected 

25 loss reserve to account for estimated losses 


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1 attributable to activities under this section 

2 that is consistent with the purposes of— 

3 (I) developing breakthrough tech4 nologies to the point at which tech5 nology risk is largely mitigated; 

6 (II) achieving widespread deploy7 ment and advancing the commercial 

8 viability of clean energy technologies 

9 and clean distributed energy tech10 nologies; and 

11 (III) advancing the goals estab12 lished under section 6. 

13 (ii) INITIAL EXPECTED LOSS RE14 SERVE.—Until such time as the Adminis15 trator determines sufficient data exist to 

16 establish an expected loss reserve that is 

17 appropriate, the Administrator shall con18 sider establishing an initial rate of 10 per19 cent for the portfolio of investments under 

20 this Act. 

21 (iii) PORTFOLIO INVESTMENT AP22 PROACH.—The Administration shall— 

23 (I) use a portfolio investment ap24 proach to mitigate risk and diversify 

25 investments across technologies; 


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1 (II) to the maximum extent prac2 ticable and consistent with promoting 

3 the continued viability of the Adminis4 tration and robust private financing 

5 markets for clean energy technologies, 

6 weigh the portfolio of investments in 

7 projects to advance the goals estab8 lished under section 6; and 

9 (III) consistent with the expected 

10 loss reserve established under this 

11 subparagraph, the purposes of this 

12 Act, and section 7(b)(2)(B), provide 

13 the maximum practicable percentage 

14 of support to promote breakthrough 

15 technologies. 

16 (iv) LOSS RATE REVIEW.— 

17 (I) IN GENERAL.—The Board of 

18 Directors shall review on an annual 

19 basis the loss rates of the portfolio to 

20 determine the adequacy of the re21 serves. 

22 (II) REPORT.—Not later than 90 

23 days after the date of the initiation of 

24 the review, the Administrator shall 

25 submit to the Committee on Energy 


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1 and Natural Resources of the Senate 

2 and the Committee on Energy and 

3 Commerce of the House of Represent4 atives a report describing the results 

5 of the review and any recommended 

6 policy changes. 

7 (D) APPLICATION REVIEW.— 

8 (i) IN GENERAL.—To the maximum 

9 extent practicable and consistent with 

10 sound business practices, the Administra11 tion shall seek to consolidate internal and 

12 interagency reviews of projects under this 

13 Act such that final decisions on applica14 tions can generally be issued not later than 

15 180 days after the date of submission of a 

16 completed application. 

17 (ii) ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW.—In 

18 carrying out this Act, the Administration 

19 shall, to the maximum extent practicable— 

20 (I) avoid duplicating efforts that 

21 have already been undertaken by 

22 other agencies (including State agen23 cies acting under Federal programs); 

24 and 


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1 (II) with the advice of the Coun2 cil on Environmental Quality and any 

3 other applicable agencies, use the ad4 ministrative records of similar reviews 

5 conducted throughout the executive 

6 branch to develop the most expedi7 tious review process practicable. 

8 (E) WAGE RATE REQUIREMENTS.— 

9 (i) IN GENERAL.—No credit support 

10 shall be issued under this section unless 

11 the borrower has provided to the Adminis12 trator reasonable assurances that all labor13 ers and mechanics employed by contractors 

14 and subcontractors in the performance of 

15 construction work financed in whole or in 

16 part by the Administration will be paid 

17 wages at rates not less than those pre18 vailing on projects of a character similar to 

19 the contract work in the civil subdivision of 

20 the State in which the contract work is to 

21 be performed as determined by the Sec22 retary of Labor in accordance with sub23 chapter IV of chapter 31 of part A of sub24 title II of title 40, United States Code. 


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1 (ii) LABOR STANDARDS.—With re2 spect to the labor standards specified in 

3 this section, the Secretary of Labor shall 

4 have the authority and functions set forth 

5 in Reorganization Plan Numbered 14 of 

6 1950 (64 Stat. 1267; 5 U.S.C. App.) and 

7 section 3145 of title 40, United States 

8 Code. 

9 (2) INDIRECT SUPPORT.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Administration 

11 shall work to develop financial products and ar12 rangements to both promote the widespread de13 ployment of, and mobilize private sector support 

14 of credit and investment institutions for, clean 

15 energy technologies, clean distributed energy 

16 technologies, and related manufacturing by fa17 cilitating aggregation of small projects and by 

18 providing indirect credit support, including 

19 credit enhancement. 

20 (B) FINANCIAL PRODUCTS.—The Adminis21 tration— 

22 (i) in cooperation with Federal, State, 

23 local, and private sector entities, shall de24 velop debt instruments that provide for the 

25 aggregation of, or directly aggregate, 


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1 projects for clean energy technology and 

2 clean distributed energy technology deploy3 ments on a scale appropriate for residen4 tial or commercial applications; 

5 (ii) may insure, purchase, and make 

6 commitments to purchase, any debt instru7 ment associated with the deployment of 

8 clean energy technologies and clean distrib9 uted energy technologies (including instru10 ments secured by liens or other collateral 

11 related to the funding of clean energy tech12 nology and clean distributed energy tech13 nology) for the purposes of enhancing the 

14 availability of private financing for clean 

15 energy technology and clean distributed en16 ergy technology deployments; and 

17 (iii) may develop appropriate credit 

18 support mechanisms (including insurance, 

19 support for energy services agreements or 

20 property-assessed clean energy bonds, ag21 gregate on-meter agreements, and other 

22 similar mechanisms) to promote financing 

23 of commercial, industrial, multifamily resi24 dence, municipal, institution of higher edu25 cation, school, and hospital building energy 


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1 efficiency retrofit projects, or pools of 

2 projects, including such criteria, standards, 

3 and guidelines as are necessary to foster 

4 widespread private sector adoption, includ5 ing measurement and verification of energy 

6 savings. 

7 (C) DISPOSITION OF DEBT OR INTER8 EST.—The Administration may acquire, hold, 

9 and sell or otherwise dispose of, pursuant to 

10 commitments or otherwise, any debt associated 

11 with the deployment of clean energy tech12 nologies or interest in the debt. 

13 (D) PRICING.— 

14 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

15 may establish requirements, and impose 

16 charges or fees, which may be regarded as 

17 elements of pricing, for different classes of 

18 sellers, servicers, or services. 

19 (ii) CLASSIFICATION OF SELLERS AND

20 SERVICERS.—For the purpose of clause (i), 

21 the Administrator may classify sellers and 

22 servicers as necessary to promote trans23 parency and liquidity and properly charac24 terize the risk of default. 


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1 (E) ELIGIBILITY.—The Administrator 

2 shall establish— 

3 (i) eligibility criteria for loan origina4 tors, sellers, and servicers seeking support 

5 for portfolios of financial obligations relat6 ing to clean energy technologies so as to 

7 ensure the capability of the loan origina8 tors, sellers, and servicers to perform the 

9 functions required to maintain the ex10 pected performance of the portfolios; and 

11 (ii) such criteria, standards, guide12 lines, and mechanisms such that, to the 

13 maximum extent practicable, loan origina14 tors and sellers will be able to determine 

15 the eligibility of loans for resale at the time 

16 of initial lending. 

17 (F) SECONDARY MARKET SUPPORT.— 

18 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Administration 

19 may lend on the security of, and make 

20 commitments to lend on the security of, 

21 any debt that the Administration has 

22 issued or is authorized to purchase under 

23 this section. 

24 (ii) AUTHORIZED ACTIONS.—On such 

25 terms and conditions as the Administrator 


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1 may prescribe, the Administration may, 

2 based on the debt and with the concur3 rence of the Board of Directors— 

4 (I) give security or guarantee; 

5 (II) pay interest or other return; 

6 and 

7 (III) issue notes, debentures, 

8 bonds, or other obligations or securi9 ties. 

10 (G) LENDING ACTIVITIES.— 

11 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

12 shall determine— 

13 (I) the volume of the lending ac14 tivities of the Administration; and 

15 (II) the types of loan ratios, risk 

16 profiles, interest rates, maturities, and 

17 charges or fees in the secondary mar18 ket operations of the Administration. 

19 (ii) OBJECTIVES.—Determinations 

20 under clause (i) shall be consistent with 

21 the objectives of— 

22 (I) providing an attractive invest23 ment environment for clean energy 

24 technologies; 


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1 (II) making the operations of the 

2 Administration self-supporting over 

3 the long term; and 

4 (III) advancing the goals estab5 lished under section 6. 

6 (H) EXEMPT SECURITIES.—All securities 

7 issued or guaranteed by the Administration 

8 shall, to the same extent as securities that are 

9 direct obligations of or obligations guaranteed 

10 as to principal or interest by the United States, 

11 be considered to be exempt securities within the 

12 meaning of the laws administered by the Secu13 rities and Exchange Commission. 

14 (b) OTHER AUTHORIZED PROGRAMS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may delegate 

16 to the Administration the provision of financial serv17 ices and program management for grant, loan, and 

18 other credit enhancement programs authorized 

19 under any other provision of law. 

20 (2) ADMINISTRATION.—In administering any 

21 other program delegated by the Secretary, the Ad22 ministration shall, to the maximum extent prac23 ticable (as determined by the Administrator)— 


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1 (A) administer the program in a manner 

2 that is consistent with the terms and conditions 

3 of this Act; and 

4 (B) minimize the administrative costs to 

5 the Federal Government. 

6 (3) LOANS FOR QUALIFIED ENERGY EFFI7 CIENCY PROJECTS.— 

8 (A) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 

9 (i) ELECTRIC UTILITY.—The term 

10 ‘‘electric utility’’ has the meaning given the 

11 term in section 3 of the Public Utility Reg12 ulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 

13 2602). 

14 (ii) NATURAL GAS UTILITY.—The 

15 term ‘‘natural gas utility’’ has the meaning 

16 given the term ‘‘gas utility’’ in section 302 

17 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies 

18 Act of 1978 (15 U.S.C. 3202). 

19 (iii) QUALIFIED ENERGY EFFICIENCY

20 PROJECT.—The term ‘‘qualified energy ef21 ficiency project’’ means, as determined by 

22 the Administrator, a project, technology, 

23 function, or measure— 

24 (I) that results in the reduction 

25 of energy use required to achieve the 


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1 same level of service or output prior 

2 to the application of the project, tech3 nology, function, or measure; 

4 (II) that is carried out domesti5 cally within the territorial borders of 

6 the United States; and 

7 (III) the payback period of which 

8 does not exceed 10 years. 

9 (B) LOANS FOR ELECTRIC UTILITIES AND

10 NATURAL GAS UTILITIES.— 

11 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

12 may make loans available to an electric 

13 utility or natural gas utility to carry out 

14 qualified energy efficiency projects. 

15 (ii) TERM, INTEREST RATE, AND RE16 PAYMENT.—A loan made by the Adminis17 trator to an electric utility or natural gas 

18 utility under this paragraph shall— 

19 (I) be for a term of 30 years or 

20 less; 

21 (II) bear an annual interest rate 

22 that is 50 basis points more than the 

23 Federal funds rate established by the 

24 Board of Governors of the Federal 


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1 Reserve System at the time of loan 

2 approval; and 

3 (III) provide for any additional 

4 revenue, generated after the payback 

5 period from foregone energy costs at6 tributable to the qualified energy effi7 ciency project funded by the loan to 

8 be divided equally between the appli9 cant and the Fund. 

10 (C) DISAPPROVAL.—The Administrator 

11 may disapprove an application for a loan for a 

12 qualified energy efficiency project under this 

13 paragraph if the Administrator determines 

14 that— 

15 (i) the qualified energy efficiency 

16 project would not— 

17 (I) result in a significant reduc18 tion in energy consumption; or 

19 (II) benefit a significant number 

20 of energy consumers; or 

21 (ii) the project applicant— 

22 (I) has not successfully completed 

23 the qualified energy efficiency project 

24 in a timely manner; or 


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1 (II) may not be able to repay the 

2 loan over the life of the loan. 

3 SEC. 9. FEDERAL CREDIT AUTHORITY. 

4 (a) TRANSFER OF AUTHORITY.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), on 

6 a finding by the Secretary and the Administrator 

7 that the Administration is sufficiently ready to as8 sume the functions and that applicants to those pro9 grams will not be unduly adversely affected but in 

10 no case later than 18 months after the date of en11 actment of this Act, all of the authority of the Sec12 retary under title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 

13 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16511 et seq.) and authorities es14 tablished by this Act shall be transferred to the Ad15 ministration to carry out this Act. 

16 (2) FAILURE TO TRANSFER AUTHORITIES.—If 

17 the authorities are not transferred to the Adminis18 tration in accordance with paragraph (1), the Sec19 retary and the Administrator shall submit to Con20 gress a report on the reasons for delay and an ex21 pected timetable for transfer of the authorities to 

22 the Administration. 

23 (3) EFFECT ON EXISTING RIGHTS AND OBLIGA24 TIONS.—The transfer of authority under this sub25 section shall not affect the rights and obligations of 


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1 any party that arise under a predecessor program or 

2 authority prior to the transfer under this subsection. 

3 (4) TRANSFER OF FUND AUTHORITY.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—On transfer of author5 ity pursuant to paragraph (1), the Administra6 tion shall have all authorities to make use of 

7 the Fund reserved for the Secretary before the 

8 transfer. 

9 (B) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Effec10 tive beginning on the date of enactment of this 

11 Act, the Administrator may make use of up to 

12 1.5 percent of the amounts in the Fund as of 

13 the beginning of each fiscal year to pay admin14 istrative expenses for that fiscal year to carry 

15 out the purposes of this Act. 

16 (5) USE.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—Amounts in the Fund 

18 shall be available for discharge of liabilities and 

19 all other expenses of the Administration, includ20 ing subsequent transfer to the respective credit 

21 accounts. 

22 (B) LIABILITY.—All activities of the Ad23 ministration that could result in a liability for 

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1 counted for and no obligation or liability may 

2 be incurred unless— 

3 (i) the appropriate amounts are trans4 ferred to credit accounts for activities pur5 suant to the Federal Credit Reform Act of 

6 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661a); or 

7 (ii) sufficient amounts are reserved 

8 within the Fund to account for such liabil9 ities. 

10 (6) INITIAL INVESTMENT.—It is the sense of 

11 the Senate that the Fund should include 

12 $10,000,000,000 in initial capitalization, with such 

13 funds offset to ensure no net increase in the national 

14 debt. 

15 (b) PAYMENTS OF LIABILITIES.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any payment to discharge li17 abilities arising from agreements under this Act 

18 shall be made exclusively out of the Fund or the as19 sociated credit account, as appropriate. 

20 (2) SECURITY.—Subject to paragraph (1), the 

21 full faith and credit of the United States is pledged 

22 to the payment of all obligations entered into by the 

23 Administration pursuant to this Act. 

24 (c) FEES.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Consistent with achieving 

2 the purposes of this Act, the Administrator shall 

3 charge fees or collect compensation generally in ac4 cordance with commercial rates. 

5 (2) AVAILABILITY OF FEES.—All fees collected 

6 by the Administration may be retained by the Ad7 ministration and placed in the Fund and may re8 main available to the Administration, without fur9 ther appropriation or fiscal year limitation, for use 

10 in carrying out the purposes of this Act. 

11 (3) BREAKTHROUGH TECHNOLOGIES.—To the 

12 extent practicable, the Administration shall use al13 ternative fee arrangements and charge the minimum 

14 amount in upfront fees or compensation for break15 through technologies, consistent with the long-term 

16 viability of the Administration, unless the Adminis17 tration first determines that a higher initial charge 

18 will not impede the development of the technology. 

19 (4) ALTERNATIVE FEE ARRANGEMENTS.—The 

20 Administration may use such alternative arrange21 ments (such as profit participation, contingent fees, 

22 warrants, and other valuable contingent interests) as 

23 the Administration considers appropriate to com24 pensate the Administration for the expenses of the 


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1 Administration (including amounts used from the 

2 Fund) and the inherent risk of the support. 

3 (d) COST TRANSFER AUTHORITY.—Amounts col4 lected from applicants by the Administration or otherwise 

5 designated from the Fund for the cost of a loan or loan 

6 guarantee shall be transferred by the Administration to 

7 the respective credit program accounts. 

8 SEC. 10. GENERAL PROVISIONS. 

9 (a) IMMUNITY FROM IMPAIRMENT, LIMITATION, OR

10 RESTRICTION.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—All rights and remedies of 

12 the Administration (including any rights and rem13 edies of the Administration on, under, or with re14 spect to any mortgage or any obligation secured by 

15 a mortgage) shall be immune from impairment, limi16 tation, or restriction by or under— 

17 (A) any law (other than a law enacted by 

18 Congress expressly in limitation of this para19 graph) that becomes effective after the acquisi20 tion by the Administration of the subject or 

21 property on, under, or with respect to which the 

22 right or remedy arises or exists or would so 

23 arise or exist in the absence of the law; or 

24 (B) any administrative or other action that 

25 becomes effective after the acquisition. 


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1 (2) STATE LAW.—The Administrator may con2 duct the business of the Administration without re3 gard to any qualification or law of any State relating 

4 to incorporation. 

5 (b) USE OF OTHER AGENCIES.—With the consent of 

6 a department, establishment, or instrumentality (including 

7 any field office), the Administration may— 

8 (1) use and act through any department, estab9 lishment, or instrumentality; or 

10 (2) use, and pay compensation for, information, 

11 services, facilities, and personnel of the department, 

12 establishment, or instrumentality. 

13 (c) PROCUREMENT.—The Administrator shall be the 

14 senior procurement officer for the Administration for pur15 poses of section 16(a) of the Office of Federal Procure16 ment Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 414(a)). 

17 (d) FINANCIAL MATTERS.— 

18 (1) INVESTMENTS.—Funds of the Administra19 tion may be invested in such investments as the 

20 Board of Directors may prescribe. 

21 (2) INTEREST.—Interest earnings from funds 

22 described in paragraph (1) (other than fees collected 

23 under section 9(c)) may be spent by the Administra24 tion only to such extent, or in such amounts, as are 

25 provided in advance by appropriation Acts. 


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1 (3) FISCAL AGENTS.—Any Federal Reserve 

2 bank or any bank as to which at the time of the des3 ignation of the bank by the Administrator there is 

4 outstanding a designation by the Secretary of the 

5 Treasury as a general or other depository of public 

6 money, may be designated by the Administrator as 

7 a depositary or custodian or as a fiscal or other 

8 agent of the Administration. 

9 (e) JURISDICTION.—Notwithstanding section 1349 of 

10 title 28, United States Code, or any other provision of 

11 law— 

12 (1) the Administration shall be considered a 

13 corporation covered by sections 1345 and 1442 of 

14 title 28, United States Code; 

15 (2) all civil actions to which the Administration 

16 is a party shall be considered to arise under the laws 

17 of the United States, and the district courts of the 

18 United States shall have original jurisdiction of all 

19 such actions, without regard to amount or value; 

20 and 

21 (3) any civil or other action, case or controversy 

22 in a court of a State, or in any court other than a 

23 district court of the United States, to which the Ad24 ministration is a party may at any time before trial 

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1 ing of any bond or security and by following any 

2 procedure for removal of causes in effect at the time 

3 of the removal— 

4 (A) to the district court of the United 

5 States for the district and division embracing 

6 the place in which the same is pending; or 

7 (B) if there is no such district court, to the 

8 district court of the United States for the dis9 trict in which the principal office of the Admin10 istration is located. 

11 (f) PERIODIC REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after 

12 commencement of operation of the Administration and at 

13 least biannually thereafter, the Administrator shall submit 

14 to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of 

15 the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

16 of the House of Representatives a report that includes a 

17 description of— 

18 (1) the technologies supported by activities of 

19 the Administration and how the activities advance 

20 the purposes of this Act; and 

21 (2) the performance of the Administration on 

22 meeting the goals established under section 6. 

23 (g) AUDITS BY THE COMPTROLLER GENERAL.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The programs, activities, re25 ceipts, expenditures, and financial transactions of 


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1 the Administration shall be subject to audit by the 

2 Comptroller General of the United States under 

3 such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by 

4 the Comptroller General. 

5 (2) ACCESS.—The representatives of the Gov6 ernment Accountability Office shall— 

7 (A) have access to the personnel and to all 

8 books, accounts, documents, records (including 

9 electronic records), reports, files, and all other 

10 papers, automated data, things, or property be11 longing to, under the control of, or in use by 

12 the Administration, or any agent, representa13 tive, attorney, advisor, or consultant retained by 

14 the Administration, and necessary to facilitate 

15 the audit; 

16 (B) be afforded full facilities for verifying 

17 transactions with the balances or securities held 

18 by depositories, fiscal agents, and custodians; 

19 (C) be authorized to obtain and duplicate 

20 any such books, accounts, documents, records, 

21 working papers, automated data and files, or 

22 other information relevant to the audit without 

23 cost to the Comptroller General; and 


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1 (D) have the right of access of the Comp2 troller General to such information pursuant to 

3 section 716(c) of title 31, United States Code. 

4 (3) ASSISTANCE AND COST.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of con6 ducting an audit under this subsection, the 

7 Comptroller General may, in the discretion of 

8 the Comptroller General, employ by contract, 

9 without regard to section 3709 of the Revised 

10 Statutes (41 U.S.C. 5), professional services of 

11 firms and organizations of certified public ac12 countants for temporary periods or for special 

13 purposes. 

14 (B) REIMBURSEMENT.— 

15 (i) IN GENERAL.—On the request of 

16 the Comptroller General, the Administra17 tion shall reimburse the General Account18 ability Office for the full cost of any audit 

19 conducted by the Comptroller General 

20 under this subsection. 

21 (ii) CREDITING.—Such reimburse22 ments shall— 

23 (I) be credited to the appropria24 tion account entitled ‘‘Salaries and 

25 Expenses, Government Accountability 


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1 Office’’ at the time at which the pay2 ment is received; and 

3 (II) remain available until ex4 pended. 

5 (h) ANNUAL INDEPENDENT AUDITS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall— 

7 (A) have an annual independent audit 

8 made of the financial statements of the Admin9 istration by an independent public accountant 

10 in accordance with generally accepted auditing 

11 standards; and 

12 (B) submit to the Secretary the results of 

13 the audit. 

14 (2) CONTENT.—In conducting an audit under 

15 this subsection, the independent public accountant 

16 shall determine and report on whether the financial 

17 statements of the Administration— 

18 (A) are presented fairly in accordance with 

19 generally accepted accounting principles; and 

20 (B) comply with any disclosure require21 ments imposed under this Act. 

22 (i) FINANCIAL REPORTS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 

24 submit to the Secretary annual and quarterly re25 ports of the financial condition and operations of the 


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1 Administration, which shall be in such form, contain 

2 such information, and be submitted on such dates as 

3 the Secretary shall require. 

4 (2) CONTENTS OF ANNUAL REPORTS.—Each 

5 annual report shall include— 

6 (A) financial statements prepared in ac7 cordance with generally accepted accounting 

8 principles; 

9 (B) any supplemental information or alter10 native presentation that the Secretary may re11 quire; and 

12 (C) an assessment (as of the end of the 

13 most recent fiscal year of the Administration), 

14 signed by the chief executive officer and chief 

15 accounting or financial officer of the Adminis16 tration, of— 

17 (i) the effectiveness of the internal 

18 control structure and procedures of the 

19 Administration; and 

20 (ii) the compliance of the Administra21 tion with applicable safety and soundness 

22 laws. 

23 (3) SPECIAL REPORTS.—The Secretary may re24 quire the Administrator to submit other reports on 

25 the condition (including financial condition), manVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:09 Aug 30, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00055 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1510.PCS S1510

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1 agement, activities, or operations of the Administra2 tion, as the Secretary considers appropriate. 

3 (4) ACCURACY.—Each report of financial condi4 tion shall contain a declaration by the Administrator 

5 or any other officer designated by the Board of Di6 rectors of the Administration to make the declara7 tion, that the report is true and correct to the best 

8 of the knowledge and belief of the officer. 

9 (5) AVAILABILITY OF REPORTS.—Reports re10 quired under this section shall be published and 

11 made publicly available as soon as is practicable 

12 after receipt by the Secretary. 

13 (j) SCOPE AND TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.— 

14 (1) NEW OBLIGATIONS.—The Administrator 

15 shall not initiate any new obligations under this Act 

16 on or after January 1, 2031. 

17 (2) REVERSION TO SECRETARY.—The authori18 ties and obligations of the Administration shall re19 vert to the Secretary on January 1, 2031. 

20 SEC. 11. TRANSPARENCY FOR DELAYED LOAN GUARANTEE 

21 APPLICATIONS. 

22 Section 1702 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

23 U.S.C. 16512) (as amended by section 5(e)) is amended 

24 by adding at the end the following: 

25 ‘‘(o) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary fails to 

2 make a final decision by the date that is 270 days 

3 after the date on which the Secretary selects an ap4 plication to proceed to negotiations of terms and 

5 conditions for issuance of a conditional commitment 

6 for a loan guarantee application under this title, not 

7 later than 7 days after that date, and for every 90- 

8 day period thereafter, the Secretary shall— 

9 ‘‘(A) prepare a status report for the period 

10 covered by the report; and 

11 ‘‘(B) submit the status report to— 

12 ‘‘(i) the Committee on Energy and 

13 Natural Resources of the Senate; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) the Committee on Energy and 

15 Commerce of the House of Representa16 tives. 

17 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The status report described 

18 in paragraph (1) shall contain— 

19 ‘‘(A) a description of each reason for the 

20 delay of the application; 

21 ‘‘(B) the specific office within the loan 

22 guarantee program, the Office of Management 

23 and Budget, or other office within the Adminis24 tration that, for the period covering the status 

25 report, has reviewed the application; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) a detailed schedule for completion of 

2 the application review.’’. 

3 SEC. 12. LOAN GUARANTEES. 

4 Section 1703(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 

5 (42 U.S.C. 16513(b)) is amended by adding at the end 

6 the following: 

7 ‘‘(11) Substitute natural gas production facili8 ties, if the gas is produced— 

9 ‘‘(A) from a solid feedstock through a gas10 ification process; and 

11 ‘‘(B) in a manner that captures, for stor12 age or beneficial use, at least 90 percent of the 

13 carbon produced through the gasification proc14 ess.’’. 


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Calendar No. 127 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1510 

[Report No. 112–47] 

A BILL 

To promote the domestic development and deploypurposes. ment of clean energy technologies, and for other 

AUGUST 30 (legislative day, AUGUST 2), 2011 

Read twice and placed on the calendar 


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