II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1713 

To require the Secretary of Energy to provide loans and grants for solar 

installations in low-income and underserved areas. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 7, 2015 

Mr. SANDERS (for himself and Mr. MERKLEY) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Energy to provide loans and 

grants for solar installations in low-income and underserved areas. 

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 ‘‘Low-Income Solar 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. LOAN AND GRANT PROGRAM FOR SOLAR INSTALLA7 TIONS IN LOW-INCOME AND UNDERSERVED 

8 AREAS. 

9 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—The term 

2 ‘‘administrative expenses’’ has such meaning as may 

3 be established by the Secretary. 

4 (2) COMMUNITY SOLAR FACILITY.—The term 

5 ‘‘community solar facility’’ means a community6 based distributed photovoltaic solar electricity gener7 ating facility that, as determined by the Secretary— 

8 (A) is owned by a subscriber organization; 

9 (B) has a nameplate rating of 2 megawatts 

10 or less; 

11 (C) is located in or near a community of 

12 subscribers to whom the beneficial use of the 

13 electricity generated by the facility belongs; and 

14 (D) reserves not less than 25 percent of 

15 the quantity of electricity generated by the fa16 cility for low-income households that are sub17 scribers to the facility. 

18 (3) GRANT-ELIGIBLE HOUSEHOLD.—The term 

19 ‘‘grant-eligible household’’ means a household the 

20 members of which— 

21 (A) earn an income equal to 80 percent or 

22 less of the applicable area median income, as 

23 defined for the applicable year by the Secretary 

24 of Housing and Urban Development; and 

25 (B) reside in an owner-occupied home. 


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1 (4) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

2 means any Indian tribe, band, nation, or other orga3 nized group or community, including any Alaskan 

4 Native village or regional or village corporation (as 

5 defined in, or established pursuant to, the Alaska 

6 Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et 

7 seq.)), that is recognized as eligible for the special 

8 programs and services provided by the United States 

9 to Indians because of their status as Indians. 

10 (5) LOAN-ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘loan11 eligible entity’’ means— 

12 (A) a nonprofit entity; 

13 (B) a unit of State, territorial, or local 

14 government; 

15 (C) an Indian tribe; 

16 (D) a rural community (as defined in sec17 tion 343(a) of the Consolidated Farm and 

18 Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1991(a)); 

19 and 

20 (E) any other national or regional entity 

21 that— 

22 (i) deploys a safe, high-quality photo23 voltaic solar electricity generating facility 

24 for consumers under a model that maxiVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:05 Jul 08, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1713.IS S1713

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1 mizes energy savings to those consumers; 

2 and 

3 (ii) has experience, as determined by 

4 the Secretary, installing solar systems 

5 using a job training or community volun6 teer-based installation model. 

7 (6) LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLD.—The term 

8 ‘‘low-income household’’ means a household with an 

9 income equal to 80 percent or less of the applicable 

10 area median income, as defined for the applicable 

11 year by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Devel12 opment. 

13 (7) MULTI-FAMILY AFFORDABLE HOUSING.— 

14 The term ‘‘multi-family affordable housing’’ means 

15 any federally subsidized affordable housing complex 

16 in which at least 50 percent of the units are reserved 

17 for low-income households. 

18 (8) PHOTOVOLTAIC SOLAR ELECTRICITY GEN19 ERATING FACILITY.—The term ‘‘photovoltaic solar 

20 electricity generating facility’’ means— 

21 (A) a generator that creates electricity 

22 from light photons; and 

23 (B) the accompanying hardware enabling 

24 that electricity to flow— 

25 (i) onto the electric grid; or 


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1 (ii) into an energy storage device. 

2 (9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

3 the Secretary of Energy. 

4 (10) SUBSCRIBER.—The term ‘‘subscriber’’ 

5 means an electricity consumer who— 

6 (A) owns a subscription, or an equivalent 

7 unit or share of the capacity or generation, of 

8 a community solar facility; 

9 (B) has identified 1 or more physical loca10 tions— 

11 (i) to which the subscription will be 

12 attributed; 

13 (ii) within the same electric utility 

14 service territory, or within the same geo15 graphical area, as the community solar fa16 cility, in accordance with applicable State 

17 and local law; and 

18 (iii) that may change from time to 

19 time, subject to the condition that the 

20 physical location shall be within the geo21 graphical limits allowed for a subscriber of 

22 the applicable community solar facility; 

23 and 


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1 (C) confirms the status of the consumer as 

2 a grant-eligible household for each applicable 

3 fiscal year. 

4 (11) SUBSCRIPTION.—The term ‘‘subscription’’ 

5 means a share in the capacity, or a proportional in6 terest in the solar electricity generation, of a com7 munity solar facility. 

8 (12) UNDERSERVED AREA.—The term ‘‘under9 served area’’ means a geographical area with low or 

10 no photovoltaic solar deployment, as determined by 

11 the Secretary. 

12 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF LOAN AND GRANT PRO13 GRAM.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

15 a program under which the Secretary shall provide 

16 loans and grants to grant-eligible households and 

17 loan-eligible entities for use in accordance with this 

18 section. 

19 (2) FUNDING.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the avail21 ability of appropriations, the Secretary shall 

22 make grants and issue loans in accordance with 

23 this subsection. 

24 (B) LOANS.—Subject to subparagraph 

25 (D), not more than 50 percent of funds made 


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1 available under subparagraph (A) for a fiscal 

2 year shall be used to provide loans to loan-eligi3 ble entities for— 

4 (i) community solar facilities; or 

5 (ii) multi-family affordable housing 

6 solar installations. 

7 (C) GRANTS.—After allocating amounts to 

8 carry out subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall 

9 use the remaining funds made available under 

10 subparagraph (A) for a fiscal year to provide 

11 grants to grant-eligible households— 

12 (i) to pay the upfront costs of photo13 voltaic solar electricity generating facilities; 

14 or 

15 (ii) for any other eligible use described 

16 in subsection (e). 

17 (D) INCREASE IN GRANT AMOUNT.—Not18 withstanding subparagraph (A), if the Secretary 

19 determines that more than 50 percent of the 

20 amounts described in that subparagraph are 

21 necessary during any of fiscal years 2016 

22 through 2030 to provide grants to encourage 

23 innovative financing and installation models to 

24 reach underserved markets, the Secretary may 


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1 use more than 50 percent of those amounts to 

2 provide those grants. 

3 (3) GOALS AND ACCOUNTABILITY.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—In providing loans and 

5 grants under this subsection, the Secretary 

6 shall take such actions as may be necessary to 

7 ensure that— 

8 (i) the assistance provided under this 

9 subsection is used to facilitate and encour10 age innovative solar installation and fi11 nancing models, under which the recipients 

12 develop and install photovoltaic solar elec13 tricity generating facilities that provide sig14 nificant savings to low-income households 

15 while providing job training or community 

16 engagement opportunities with respect to 

17 each solar system installed; 

18 (ii) loan and grant recipients shall— 

19 (I) have installed not less than 

20 600 kilowatts of photovoltaic solar en21 ergy during the 2-year period pre22 ceding the date on which the loan or 

23 grant is provided to ensure consumer 

24 protection; or 


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1 (II) until the goal described in 

2 subclause (I) is achieved, enter into 

3 partnership with an entity that— 

4 (aa) has not less than 2 

5 years of experience deploying 

6 solar photovoltaic systems for 

7 low-income households in a man8 ner that maximizes the savings 

9 benefits of solar access; and 

10 (bb) was primarily respon11 sible for the installation of at 

12 least 2 megawatts of solar energy 

13 during the 2-year period pre14 ceding the date on which the loan 

15 or grant is provided; 

16 (iii) the photovoltaic solar electricity 

17 generating facilities installed using assist18 ance provided under this subsection are 

19 safe, high-quality systems that comply with 

20 local building and safety codes and stand21 ards; 

22 (iv) the provision of assistance under 

23 this subsection establishes and fosters a 

24 partnership between the Federal Govern25 ment and grant-eligible households and 


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1 loan-eligible entities, resulting in efficient 

2 development of solar installations with— 

3 (I) minimal governmental inter4 vention; 

5 (II) limited governmental regula6 tion; and 

7 (III) significant involvement by 

8 nonprofit and private entities; 

9 (v) solar projects installed using as10 sistance provided under this subsection— 

11 (I) shall include job training; and 

12 (II) may include community par13 ticipation in which job trainees and 

14 volunteers assist in the development of 

15 solar projects; 

16 (vi) assistance provided under this 

17 subsection prioritizes development in— 

18 (I) areas with low photovoltaic 

19 penetration; 

20 (II) rural areas; 

21 (III) Indian tribal areas; and 

22 (IV) other underserved areas, in23 cluding Alaskan Native and Appa24 lachian communities; 


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1 (vii) solar systems are developed using 

2 assistance provided under this subsection 

3 on a geographically diverse basis among 

4 the grant-eligible households and loan-eligi5 ble entities; and 

6 (viii) to the maximum extent prac7 ticable, solar installation activities for 

8 which assistance is provided under this 

9 section leverage, or connect grant-eligible 

10 households to, federally or locally sub11 sidized weatherization and energy effi12 ciency efforts that meet or exceed local en13 ergy efficiency standards. 

14 (B) DETERMINATION.—If, at any time, the 

15 Secretary determines that the goals described in 

16 this paragraph cannot be met by providing as17 sistance in accordance with this subsection, the 

18 Secretary shall immediately submit to the ap19 propriate committees of Congress a written no20 tice of that determination, including any pro21 posed changes necessary to achieve the goals 

22 under this paragraph. 

23 (4) COMMUNITY SOLAR FACILITIES.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—A community solar fa25 cility may use a loan provided under this subVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:05 Jul 08, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1713.IS S1713

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1 section only to offset the costs of generation 

2 and provision of solar energy to low-income 

3 households that are subscribers of the commu4 nity solar facility. 

5 (B) TRANSFER AND ASSIGNMENT OF SUB6 SCRIPTIONS.—A subscription to a community 

7 solar facility that receives assistance under this 

8 subsection may be transferred or assigned by 

9 the subscriber to— 

10 (i) any subscriber organization; or 

11 (ii) any individual or entity who quali12 fies to be a subscriber to that community 

13 solar facility. 

14 (C) TREATMENT.— 

15 (i) IN GENERAL.—No owner, oper16 ator, or subscriber of a community solar 

17 facility that receives assistance under this 

18 subsection shall be subject to regulation by 

19 the Federal Energy Regulatory Commis20 sion solely as a result of an interest in the 

21 community solar facility. 

22 (ii) PRICE OF SUBSCRIPTION.—The 

23 price paid for any subscription to a com24 munity solar facility shall not be subject to 


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1 the regulation of any Federal department, 

2 agency, or commission. 

3 (c) NATIONAL COMPETITION.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall select 

5 grant-eligible households and loan-eligible entities to 

6 receive loans or grants under this section through a 

7 nationwide competitive process, to be established by 

8 the Secretary. 

9 (2) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible to receive a 

10 loan or grant under this section, a grant-eligible 

11 household or loan-eligible entity shall submit to the 

12 Secretary an application at such time, in such man13 ner, and containing such information as the Sec14 retary may require. 

15 (3) REQUIREMENTS.—In selecting grant-eligible 

16 households and loan-eligible entities to receive loans 

17 or grants under this section, the Secretary shall, at 

18 a minimum— 

19 (A) require that the grant-eligible house20 hold or loan-eligible entity— 

21 (i) enter into a grant or loan agree22 ment, as applicable, under subsection (d); 

23 and 

24 (ii) has obtained financial commit25 ments (or has demonstrated the capacity 


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1 to obtain financial commitments) necessary 

2 to comply with that agreement; 

3 (B) ensure that loans and grants are pro4 vided, and amounts are used, in a manner that 

5 results in geographical diversity throughout the 

6 United States and within States, territories, 

7 and Indian tribal land among photovoltaic solar 

8 electricity generating facilities installed using 

9 the assistance provided under this section; 

10 (C) to the maximum extent practicable, ex11 pand photovoltaic solar energy availability to— 

12 (i) geographical areas, throughout the 

13 United States and within States, terri14 tories, and Indian tribal land, with— 

15 (I) low photovoltaic solar pene16 tration; or 

17 (II) areas with a higher cost bur18 den with respect to the deployment or 

19 installation of photovoltaic solar elec20 tricity generating facilities; 

21 (ii) rural communities; 

22 (iii) Indian tribes; and 

23 (iv) other underserved areas, including 

24 Appalachian and Alaska Native commu25 nities; 


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1 (D) take into account the warranty period 

2 and quality of the applicable photovoltaic solar 

3 electricity generating facility equipment and any 

4 necessary interconnecting equipment; and 

5 (E) ensure all calculations for estimated 

6 household energy savings are based solely on 

7 electricity offsets from the photovoltaic solar 

8 electricity generating facilities. 

9 (d) LOAN AND GRANT AGREEMENTS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of receiving a 

11 loan or grant under this section, a grant-eligible 

12 household or loan-eligible entity shall enter into a 

13 loan or grant agreement, as applicable, with the Sec14 retary. 

15 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—A loan or grant agree16 ment under this subsection shall— 

17 (A) require the grant-eligible household or 

18 loan-eligible entity— 

19 (i) to use the assistance provided 

20 under this section only in accordance with 

21 this section; 

22 (ii) to install such number of solar 

23 systems with such defined capacity target 

24 (expressed in megawatts) as may be estab25 lished by the Secretary, taking into considVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:05 Jul 08, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1713.IS S1713

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1 eration the costs associated with carrying 

2 out loan or grant obligations in the areas 

3 in which the solar systems will be devel4 oped; 

5 (iii) to use the assistance in a manner 

6 that leverages other sources of funding 

7 (other than loans or grants under this sec8 tion), including private or public funds, in 

9 developing the solar projects; and 

10 (iv) to establish loan terms, if applica11 ble, that maximize the benefit to the low12 income households receiving solar energy 

13 from the loan-eligible entity; 

14 (B) require the Secretary to rescind any 

15 amounts provided to the grant-eligible house16 hold or loan-eligible entity that are not used 

17 during the 2-year period beginning on the date 

18 on which the amounts are initially distributed 

19 to the grant-eligible household or loan-eligible 

20 entity, except in any case in which the grant21 eligible household or loan-eligible entity has 

22 demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Sec23 retary that a longer period, not to exceed 3 

24 years after the date of initial distribution, is 

25 necessary to deliver proposed services; 


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1 (C) for a loan provided under this section, 

2 establish— 

3 (i) an interest rate equal to the then4 current cost of funds to the Department of 

5 the Treasury for obligations of comparable 

6 maturity to the loan; and 

7 (ii) a payout time that maximizes the 

8 savings to customers during the effective 

9 period of the agreement; and 

10 (D) contain such other terms as the Sec11 retary may require to ensure compliance with 

12 the requirements of this section. 

13 (e) USE.—A grant-eligible household or loan-eligible 

14 entity shall use a loan or grant provided under this section 

15 only for the following activities, for the purpose of devel16 oping new photovoltaic solar projects in the United States 

17 for low-income households and individuals who otherwise 

18 would likely be unable to afford or purchase photovoltaic 

19 solar systems: 

20 (1) PHOTOVOLTAIC SOLAR EQUIPMENT AND IN21 STALLATION.—To pay the costs of— 

22 (A) solar equipment, including only photo23 voltaic solar equipment and storage and all 

24 hardware or software components relating to 

25 safely producing, monitoring, and connecting 


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1 the system to the electric grid or onsite storage; 

2 and 

3 (B) installation, including all direct labor 

4 associated with installing the photovoltaic solar 

5 equipment. 

6 (2) JOB TRAINING.—To fund onsite job train7 ing and community or volunteer engagement, includ8 ing— 

9 (A) only job training costs directly associ10 ated with the solar projects funded under this 

11 section; and 

12 (B) job training opportunities that may 

13 cover the full range of the solar value chain, 

14 such as marketing and outreach, customer ac15 quisition, system design, and installation posi16 tions. 

17 (3) DEPLOYMENT SUPPORT.—To fund entities 

18 that have a demonstrated ability, as determined by 

19 the Secretary— 

20 (A) to advise State and local entities re21 garding low-income solar policy, regulatory, and 

22 program design to continue and expand the 

23 work of the entities; 

24 (B) to foster community outreach and edu25 cation regarding the benefits of photovoltaic 


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1 solar energy for low-income and disadvantaged 

2 communities; or 

3 (C) to provide apprenticeship program op4 portunities registered and approved by— 

5 (i) the Office of Apprenticeship of the 

6 Department of Labor pursuant to part 29 

7 of title 29, Code of Federal Regulations (or 

8 successor regulations); or 

9 (ii) a State Apprenticeship Agency 

10 recognized by that Office. 

11 (4) ADMINISTRATION.—To pay the administra12 tive expenses of the grant-eligible household or loan13 eligible entity, including preproject feasibility efforts, 

14 in carrying out the duties of the Secretary associ15 ated with delivering proposed services, subject to the 

16 requirement that not more than 15 percent of the 

17 total amount of the assistance provided to the grant18 eligible household or loan-eligible entity under this 

19 section may be used for administrative expenses. 

20 (f) COMPLIANCE.— 

21 (1) RECORDS AND AUDITS.—During the period 

22 beginning on the date of initial distribution to a 

23 grant-eligible household or loan-eligible entity of a 

24 loan or grant under this section and ending on the 

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1 section (g), the grant-eligible household or loan-eligi2 ble entity shall maintain such records and adopt 

3 such administrative practices as the Secretary may 

4 require to ensure compliance with the requirements 

5 of this section and the applicable loan or grant 

6 agreement. 

7 (2) DETERMINATION BY SECRETARY.—If the 

8 Secretary determines that a grant-eligible household 

9 or loan-eligible entity that receives a grant or loan 

10 under this section has not, during the 2-year period 

11 beginning on the date of initial distribution to the 

12 grant-eligible household or loan-eligible entity of the 

13 assistance (or such longer period as is established 

14 under subsection (d)(2)(B)), substantially fulfilled 

15 the obligations of the grant-eligible household or 

16 loan-eligible entity under the applicable loan or 

17 grant agreement, the Secretary shall— 

18 (A) rescind the balance of any funds dis19 tributed to, but not used by, the grant-eligible 

20 household or loan-eligible entity under this sec21 tion; and 

22 (B) use those amounts to provide other 

23 loans or grants in accordance with this section. 

24 (g) TERMINATION.—The Secretary shall terminate a 

25 loan or grant provided under this section on a determinaVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:05 Jul 08, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1713.IS S1713

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1 tion that the total amount of the loan or grant (excluding 

2 any interest, fees, and other earnings of the loan or grant) 

3 has been— 

4 (1) fully expended by the grant-eligible house5 hold or loan-eligible entity; or 

6 (2) returned to the Secretary. 

7 (h) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 90 days after the 

8 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall promul9 gate such regulations as the Secretary determines to be 

10 necessary to carry out this section, to take effect on the 

11 date of promulgation. 

12 (i) FUNDING.—There is authorized to be appro13 priated to the Secretary to carry out this section 

14 $200,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2030, 

15 to remain available until expended. 

Æ 


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