I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4597 

To increase the quantity of solar photovoltaic electricity by providing rebates 

for the purchase and installation of an additional 10,000,000 solar roofs 

and additional solar water heating systems with a cumulative capacity 

of 10,000,000 gallons by 2019. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 4, 2010 

Mr. COHEN (for himself, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. HALL of New 

York, Ms. KAPTUR, Ms. RICHARDSON, Mr. ROTHMAN of New Jersey, Mr. 

SIRES, Mr. WELCH, and Mr. YARMUTH) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To increase the quantity of solar photovoltaic electricity by 

providing rebates for the purchase and installation of 

an additional 10,000,000 solar roofs and additional solar 

water heating systems with a cumulative capacity of 

10,000,000 gallons by 2019. 

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 ‘‘10 Million Solar Roofs 

5 and 10 Million Gallons of Solar Water Heating Act of 

6 2010’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds that— 

3 (1)(A) there is huge potential for increasing the 

4 quantity of electricity produced in the United States 

5 from distributed solar photovoltaics and solar water 

6 heating systems; 

7 (B) the use of solar photovoltaics on the roofs 

8 of 10 percent of existing buildings could meet 70 

9 percent of peak electric demand; 

10 (C) a key barrier to increased deployment of 

11 solar photovoltaic and hot water heating systems is 

12 the upfront cost of capital, even though over time 

13 the systems are cost-effective; 

14 (2) investment in solar photovoltaics technology 

15 will create economies of scale that will allow the 

16 technology to deliver electricity at prices that are 

17 competitive with electricity from fossil fuels; 

18 (3) electricity produced from distributed solar 

19 photovoltaics helps to reduce greenhouse gas emis20 sions, does not emit harmful air pollutants, such as 

21 mercury, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides, uses 

22 existing rooftop space, and does not require addi23 tional land for generation, thereby conserving nat24 ural resources and wildlife habitat; 

25 (4) electricity produced from distributed solar 

26 photovoltaics enhances national energy security and 


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1 helps to meet peak power demand without requiring 

2 the construction and siting of new transmission in3 frastructure; 

4 (5) investments in renewable energy stimulate 

5 the development of green jobs in the United States 

6 that provide substantial economic benefits; 

7 (6)(A) rebate programs in several States have 

8 been successful in increasing the quantity of solar 

9 energy from distributed solar photovoltaics and solar 

10 water heating systems; 

11 (B) the State of California leads the United 

12 States in installed solar photovoltaic systems and 

13 has used rebate programs to promote the installation 

14 of more than 500 megawatts of grid-connected solar 

15 photovoltaics, with 226 megawatts installed during 

16 the 3-year period ending on the date of enactment 

17 of this Act due to the Solar Initiative of the State; 

18 (C) the State of New Jersey is second in the 

19 United States in installed solar photovoltaic systems 

20 and has used incentive programs to achieve 90 

21 megawatts of installed solar capacity; 

22 (D) the State of Hawaii leads the United States 

23 in solar water heating systems installed, and will re24 quire all new homes to have solar water heating sys25 tems starting in 2010, which is projected to save the 


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1 average household $600 annually and reduce the oil 

2 consumption of the State by 30,000 barrels in 2010 

3 alone; and 

4 (E) the State of Florida has used consumer and 

5 business rebate programs for solar photovoltaic and 

6 solar water heating systems and is second in the 

7 United States in installed solar hot water systems; 

8 (7) despite inventing solar technology, the 

9 United States has fallen behind nations with less 

10 solar resources because those nations have set in 

11 place policies to promote solar energy, and the 

12 United States now ranks fourth in installed solar be13 hind Germany, Spain, and Japan; 

14 (8) there are more than 1,500,000 solar water 

15 heating systems in the United States that rely on a 

16 free fuel source, the sun, to provide hot water, and 

17 there is enormous potential for additional solar hot 

18 water systems to displace fossil fuel use in water 

19 heating; and 

20 (9) homes in the United States spend more 

21 than $13,000,000,000 on energy for water heating, 

22 which is equivalent to 11.4 barrels of oil per home 

23 and accounts for approximately 30 percent of the 

24 carbon dioxide emissions of an average home, but 

25 solar water heating systems can reduce the cost of 


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1 water heating and reduce residential carbon dioxide 

2 emissions. 

3 SEC. 3. REBATES FOR PURCHASE AND INSTALLATION OF 

4 PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEMS AND SOLAR WATER 

5 HEATING SYSTEMS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy (referred 

7 to in this Act as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall establish a pro8 gram under which the Secretary shall provide rebates to 

9 eligible individuals or entities for the purchase and instal10 lation of solar photovoltaic systems and solar water heat11 ing systems for residential and commercial properties in 

12 order to install, over the 10-year period beginning on the 

13 date of enactment of this Act, at least— 

14 (1) an additional 10,000,000 solar systems in 

15 the United States (as compared to the number of 

16 solar systems installed in the United States as of the 

17 date of enactment of this Act) with a cumulative ca18 pacity of at least 30,000 megawatts; and 

19 (2) an additional 200,000 solar water heating 

20 systems in the United States (as compared to the 

21 number of solar water heating systems installed in 

22 the United States as of the date of enactment of this 

23 Act) with a cumulative capacity of 10,000,000 gal24 lons. 

25 (b) ELIGIBILITY.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible for a rebate 

2 under this section— 

3 (A) the recipient of the rebate shall be a 

4 homeowner, business, nonprofit entity, or State 

5 or local government that purchased and in6 stalled a solar photovoltaic system or solar 

7 water heating system for a property located in 

8 the United States; and 

9 (B) the total capacity of the solar photo10 voltaic system for the property shall not exceed 

11 2 megawatts. 

12 (2) OTHER INCENTIVES.—The Secretary shall 

13 issue guidance to participating solar installers and 

14 contractors to ensure that information is made avail15 able to rebate recipients on all available Federal, 

16 State, local, and other incentives for energy effi17 ciency improvements that can be made in the build18 ings on the property at which the solar photovoltaic 

19 or hot water heating system is being installed. 

20 (3) OTHER ENTITIES.—After public review and 

21 comment, the Secretary may identify other individ22 uals or entities located in the United States that 

23 qualify for a rebate under this section. 

24 (c) AMOUNTS.— 

25 (1) SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEMS.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara2 graph (B) and paragraph (3), the amount of a 

3 rebate provided to an eligible individual or enti4 ty for the purchase and installation of a solar 

5 photovoltaic system for a property under this 

6 section shall be a rebate per watt of installed 

7 capacity not to exceed the following amounts: 

Calendar year Dollar per watt 

2010 ....................................................................... 1.75 

2011 ....................................................................... 1.75 

2012 ....................................................................... 1.5 

2013 ....................................................................... 1.25 

2014 ....................................................................... 1 

2015 ....................................................................... 1 

2016 ....................................................................... 0.75 

2017 ....................................................................... 0.75 

2018 ....................................................................... 0.5 

2019 ....................................................................... 0.5. 

8 (B) ADJUSTMENTS.—The Secretary may 

9 adjust the maximum amounts described in sub10 paragraph (A)— 

11 (i) to ensure deployment consistent 

12 with the purposes of this Act; and 

13 (ii) to respond to projected and actual 

14 market conditions. 

15 (2) SOLAR WATER HEATING SYSTEMS.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara17 graph (B) and paragraph (3), the amount of a 

18 rebate provided to an eligible individual or enti19 ty for the purchase and installation of a solar 

20 water heating system under this section shall be 


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1 not more than $1 for each watt thermal-equiva2 lent of installed capacity during calendar year 

3 2010. 

4 (B) ADJUSTMENTS.—The Secretary shall 

5 ensure that the maximum amount described in 

6 subparagraph (A) decreases over time at a rate 

7 that is similar to the schedule described in 

8 paragraph (1)(A), and consistent with projected 

9 and actual market conditions and the purposes 

10 of this Act, for each watt thermal-equivalent of 

11 installed capacity. 

12 (3) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The total amount of a 

13 rebate provided to an eligible individual or entity for 

14 the purchase and installation of a solar photovoltaic 

15 system or solar water heating system for a property 

16 under this section shall not exceed 50 percent of the 

17 remaining cost to the purchaser for the purchase 

18 and installation of the system (after consideration of 

19 all applicable Federal, State, and local incentives 

20 and tax credits). 

21 (d) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAW.—The authority 

22 provided under this section shall be in addition to any 

23 other authority under which credits or other types of fi24 nancial assistance are provided for installation of a solar 

25 photovoltaic or solar water heating system for a property. 


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1 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec3 essary to carry out this section. 

Æ 


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