I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5821 

To require the Secretary of Energy to provide competitive grants to States, 

Indian tribes, and local governments for rebates, loans, and other incentives to eligible individuals or entities for the purchase and installation 

of solar energy systems for properties located in the United States, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 22, 2010 

Mr. COHEN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Energy to provide competitive 

grants to States, Indian tribes, and local governments 

for rebates, loans, and other incentives to eligible individuals or entities for the purchase and installation of solar 

energy systems for properties located in the United 

States, 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 ‘‘10 Million Solar Roofs 

5 Act of 2010’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANT.—The term ‘‘eligi4 ble participant’’ means— 

5 (A) an owner of a home; 

6 (B) a business entity; 

7 (C) a local educational agency; and 

8 (D) any other individual or entity that the 

9 Secretary determines to be appropriate. 

10 (2) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

11 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 

12 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

13 Act (25 U.S.C. 450b). 

14 (3) INSTALLED NAMEPLATE CAPACITY.—The 

15 term ‘‘installed nameplate capacity’’ means the max16 imum output of a solar electric system under specific 

17 conditions designated by the manufacturer of the 

18 solar electric system. 

19 (4) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 

20 ‘‘local educational agency’’ has the meaning given 

21 the term in section 9101 of the Elementary and Sec22 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

23 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

24 the Secretary of Energy. 


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1 (6) SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘solar 

2 energy system’’ means rooftop- or ground-mounted 

3 solar equipment— 

4 (A) that is used to generate electricity or 

5 heat water; and 

6 (B) with an installed nameplate capacity 

7 not exceeding 1 megawatt or the thermal equiv8 alent of 1 megawatt. 

9 SEC. 3. REBATES, LOANS, AND OTHER INCENTIVES FOR 

10 PURCHASE AND INSTALLATION OF SOLAR 

11 ENERGY SYSTEMS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after the 

13 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish 

14 a program under which the Secretary shall provide com15 petitive grants to States, Indian tribes, and local govern16 ments to provide rebates, loans, or other incentives to eli17 gible participants for the purchase and installation of solar 

18 energy systems for properties located in the United States. 

19 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.— 

20 (1) COMPETITIVE GRANTS.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—For each fiscal year, 

22 the Secretary shall provide competitive grants 

23 to States, Indian tribes, and local governments 

24 to be used in accordance with this section. 


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1 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary shall 

2 adopt and implement criteria for awarding com3 petitive grants under subparagraph (A) to 

4 States, Indian tribes, and local governments 

5 that would— 

6 (i) provide the maximum leverage of 

7 Federal funds; 

8 (ii) provide for the maximum deploy9 ment of solar energy; 

10 (iii) ensure that grants are awarded to 

11 a diversity of geographic locations and re12 cipients with different population sizes; 

13 (iv) provide not less than 2 percent of 

14 the funds available to Indian tribes and 

15 consortia of Indian tribes; and 

16 (v) provide a preference for grant re17 cipients that have established and main18 tained, or agree to commit to establish and 

19 maintain, standards and policies to over20 come barriers to distributed generation (in21 cluding interconnection and net metering) 

22 in a manner consistent with the legal au23 thorities of the grant recipient. 

24 (2) AUTHORIZED USE OF FUNDS.—Subject to 

25 subsection (c), competitive grants provided under 


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1 this section may be used to expand an existing, or 

2 establish and fund a new— 

3 (A) solar rebate program; 

4 (B) solar loan program; 

5 (C) solar performance-based incentive pro6 gram; or 

7 (D) solar incentive program, solar deploy8 ment program or project, or innovative solar fi9 nancing program not described in subpara10 graphs (A) through (C), as determined by the 

11 Secretary. 

12 (3) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—For each fiscal 

13 year during which a grant recipient uses funds pro14 vided under this section, the grant recipient shall— 

15 (A) certify to the Secretary that the funds 

16 will be used— 

17 (i) to supplement, expand, or create 

18 new programs or projects and will not sup19 plant existing programs as to maximize 

20 program participation; and 

21 (ii) to deploy an increased quantity of 

22 solar energy systems; and 

23 (B) submit to the Secretary an implemen24 tation plan that contains— 


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1 (i) projections for solar energy sys2 tems deployment; 

3 (ii) data regarding the number of eli4 gible participants that are assisted under 

5 existing applicable State and local pro6 grams; and 

7 (iii) projections for— 

8 (I) additional solar energy system 

9 deployment; and 

10 (II) the number of additional eli11 gible participants who will be covered 

12 by the annual implementation plan. 

13 (c) SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEM.—With respect to grant 

14 awards in any fiscal year under this section, the Secretary 

15 may specify the type and capacity of the solar energy sys16 tem and type of deployment or incentive program for 

17 which the grant funds are made available. 

18 (d) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—Each eligible entity that 

19 receives funds under this section shall be responsible for 

20 an amount equal to 20 percent of the amount of the pro21 vided funds. 

22 (e) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not more than 5 percent of 

24 the amounts made available for each fiscal year 

25 under this section may be used to pay the adminisVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:28 Jul 24, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5821.IH H5821

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1 trative expenses of the Department of Energy that 

2 the Secretary determines to be necessary to carry 

3 out this Act (including expenses arising from moni4 toring and evaluation). 

5 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES; OTHER GRANT RECIPI6 ENTS.—Grant recipients may use amounts made 

7 available for each fiscal year under this section to 

8 pay for administrative expenses in accordance with 

9 section 545(b)(3)(A) of the Energy Independence 

10 and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 

11 17155(b)(3)(A)). 

12 (f) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAW.—An eligible par13 ticipant that receives a rebate under this section shall not 

14 be eligible for a rebate under section 206(c) of the Energy 

15 Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15853). 

16 (g) COORDINATION; CONSULTATION.—To the max17 imum extent practicable, the Secretary shall consult with 

18 the Secretary of the Treasury and the Chief Executive of 

19 each grant recipient that receives funds under this section 

20 to ensure that each program carried out by each grant 

21 recipient through the use of the funds is coordinated with 

22 each other applicable incentive or financing program of the 

23 Federal Government or any other applicable program. 

24 (h) MAXIMUM INCENTIVE.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to each rebate, 

2 grant, and tax credit provided to an eligible partici3 pant under this section, the aggregate value of the 

4 grants, rebates, and tax credits may not exceed 50 

5 percent of the cost to the purchaser of the purchase 

6 and installation of the solar energy system. 

7 (2) EFFECT.—Nothing in this subsection af8 fects any solar loan or financing program under this 

9 section or any other law (including regulations). 

10 (i) GOAL.—It is the goal of the United States, 

11 through this Act and any appropriate incentive or research 

12 and development program, to install distributed solar en13 ergy systems on not less than 10,000,000 properties lo14 cated in the United States by December 31, 2021. 

15 (j) REPORT REGARDING ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDA16 TIONS.—Not later than 270 days after the date of enact17 ment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Com18 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate 

19 and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 

20 House of Representatives a report that contains additional 

21 recommendations that the Secretary determines to be nec22 essary to achieve the goal described in subsection (i), in23 cluding any modification to the program established under 

24 subsection (a). 


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1 (k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

3 out this section— 

4 (1) for fiscal year 2012, $250,000,000; and 

5 (2) for each of fiscal years 2013 through 2021, 

6 such sums as are necessary. 

Æ 


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