I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2715 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to include biomass heating 

appliances for tax credits available for energy-efficient building property 

and energy property. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 17, 2013 

Mr. MICHAUD (for himself and Mr. WELCH) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 

A BILL 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to include 

biomass heating appliances for tax credits available for 

energy-efficient building property and energy property. 

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 ‘‘Biomass Thermal Uti5 lization Act of 2013’’ or the ‘‘BTU Act of 2013’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. RESIDENTIAL ENERGY-EFFICIENT PROPERTY 

2 CREDIT FOR BIOMASS FUEL PROPERTY EX3 PENDITURES. 

4 (a) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT.—Subsection (a) of sec5 tion 25D of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amend6 ed— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 

8 (4), 

9 (2) by striking the period at the end of para10 graph (5) and inserting ‘‘, and’’, and 

11 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

12 paragraph: 

13 ‘‘(6) 30 percent of the qualified biomass fuel 

14 property expenditures made by the taxpayer during 

15 such year.’’. 

16 (b) QUALIFIED BIOMASS FUEL PROPERTY EXPENDI17 TURES.—Subsection (d) of section 25D of the Internal 

18 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end 

19 the following new paragraph: 

20 ‘‘(6) QUALIFIED BIOMASS FUEL PROPERTY EX21 PENDITURE.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified 

23 biomass fuel property expenditure’ means an 

24 expenditure for property— 

25 ‘‘(i) which uses the burning of bio26 mass fuel to heat a dwelling unit located in 


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1 the United States and used as a residence 

2 by the taxpayer, or to heat water for use 

3 in such a dwelling unit, and 

4 ‘‘(ii) which has a thermal efficiency 

5 rating of at least 75 percent (measured by 

6 the higher heating value of the fuel). 

7 ‘‘(B) BIOMASS FUEL.—For purposes of 

8 this section, the term ‘biomass fuel’ means any 

9 plant-derived fuel available on a renewable or 

10 recurring basis, including agricultural crops and 

11 trees, wood and wood waste and residues, 

12 plants (including aquatic plants), grasses, resi13 dues, and fibers. Such term includes densified 

14 biomass fuels such as wood pellets.’’. 

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

16 this section shall apply to expenditures paid or incurred 

17 in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2013. 

18 SEC. 3. INVESTMENT TAX CREDIT FOR BIOMASS HEATING 

19 PROPERTY. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subparagraph (A) of section 

21 48(a)(3) is amended by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of clause 

22 (vi), by inserting ‘‘or’’ at the end of clause (vii), and by 

23 inserting after clause (vii) the following new clause: 

24 ‘‘(viii) open-loop biomass (within the 

25 meaning of section 45(c)(3)) heating propVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:53 Jul 18, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2715.IH H2715

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1 erty, including boilers or furnaces which 

2 operate at thermal output efficiencies of 

3 not less than 65 percent (measured by the 

4 higher heating value of the fuel) and which 

5 provide thermal energy in the form of heat, 

6 hot water, or steam for space heating, air 

7 conditioning, domestic hot water, or indus8 trial process heat, but only with respect to 

9 periods ending before January 1, 2017,’’. 

10 (b) 30 PERCENT AND 15 PERCENT CREDITS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subparagraph (A) of section 

12 48(a)(2) is amended— 

13 (A) by redesignating clause (ii) as clause 

14 (iii), 

15 (B) by inserting after clause (i) the fol16 lowing new clause: 

17 ‘‘(ii) except as provided in clause 

18 (i)(V), 15 percent in the case of energy 

19 property described in paragraph 

20 (3)(A)(viii), and’’, and 

21 (C) by inserting ‘‘or (ii)’’ after ‘‘clause (i)’’ 

22 in clause (iii), as so redesignated. 

23 (2) INCREASED CREDIT FOR GREATER EFFI24 CIENCY.—Clause (i) of section 48(a)(2)(A) is 

25 amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subclause 


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1 (III) and by inserting after subclause (IV) the fol2 lowing new subclause: 

3 ‘‘(V) energy property described in 

4 paragraph (3)(A)(viii) which operates 

5 at a thermal output efficiency of not 

6 less than 80 percent (measured by the 

7 higher heating value of the fuel),’’. 

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

9 this section shall apply to periods after the date of the 

10 enactment of this Act, in taxable years ending after such 

11 date, under rules similar to the rules of section 48(m) of 

12 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as in effect on the 

13 day before the date of the enactment of the Revenue Rec14 onciliation Act of 1990). 

Æ 


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