I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5883 

To spur rapid and sustainable growth in renewable electricity generation 

in the United States through priority interconnection and renewable 

energy payments, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 27, 2010 

Mr. INSLEE (for himself, Mr. DELAHUNT, Mr. HONDA, Ms. MCCOLLUM, and 

Mr. GRIJALVA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees 

on Science and Technology and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of 

such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To spur rapid and sustainable growth in renewable electricity 

generation in the United States through priority interconnection and renewable energy payments, 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 ‘‘Renewable Energy 

5 Jobs and Security Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 The Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Electric energy produced from renewable re4 sources helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, 

5 limits emissions of other pollutants regulated pursu6 ant to the Clean Air Act, enhances national energy 

7 security, and provides substantial economic benefits. 

8 (2) The need exists for the rapid expansion of 

9 low and zero carbon-emitting electric energy genera10 tion at a far greater pace than current levels. 

11 (3) Distributed electric energy generation is en12 ergy efficient, promotes electric grid stability, and 

13 reduces transmission system congestion during peri14 ods of peak demand. 

15 (4) A transition toward electric energy genera16 tion from renewable energy sources brings economic 

17 benefit to consumers by reducing their exposure to 

18 increasingly volatile fossil fuel markets. 

19 (5) Renewable energy payments, also known as 

20 ‘‘feed-in tariffs’’, are a proven mechanism for accel21 erating the development of renewable energy in grid22 connected areas. Feed-in-tariff programs are also 

23 complementary to Renewable Energy Standards. A 

24 renewable energy payment policy is intended to 

25 make it easier for a State to meet its applicable Re26 newable Energy Standard. 


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1 (6) By guaranteeing access to the electric grid 

2 and setting a favorable price per unit of power, feed3 in tariffs ensure that renewable energy is a sound 

4 long-term investment for companies, for industry, 

5 and for individuals, and thereby creates a strong 

6 economic incentive for investing in renewable energy 

7 technologies. 

8 (7) The International Energy Agency, the Eu9 ropean Commission, and the United Kingdom’s 

10 Stern Review have determined that feed-in tariff 

11 policies in Germany, Spain, France, and other Euro12 pean Union countries have achieved larger renewable 

13 energy deployment compared to policies in other Eu14 ropean Union countries. 

15 (8) A renewable energy payment may capture 

16 cost reduction due to technology efficiencies and in17 novation (degression). 

18 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

19 The purposes of this Act are to— 

20 (1) enable the rapid and sustainable develop21 ment of distributed renewable electric energy genera22 tion in the United States, where the quality of a re23 newable energy resource may be naturally variable; 

24 (2) stimulate the development of new jobs and 

25 industry in the United States; 


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1 (3) create a stable and secure market for cap2 ital investments in renewable energy technologies; 

3 (4) reduce air and water pollution and related 

4 health problems and health-care expenditures; 

5 (5) help prevent greenhouse gas concentrations 

6 in the atmosphere from reaching levels that would 

7 cause dangerous global temperature increases of 

8 more than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial lev9 els; 

10 (6) protect natural resources in the United 

11 States; 

12 (7) allow all citizens to participate in renewable 

13 electric energy generation; 

14 (8) reduce the price volatility and long-term 

15 costs of electric energy; 

16 (9) place the United States at the forefront of 

17 the global renewable energy revolution; 

18 (10) reduce the dependence of the United 

19 States on foreign sources of energy; 

20 (11) achieve these purposes using a financing 

21 mechanism that protects consumers from excessive 

22 or volatile electric bills; and 

23 (12) develop renewable energy sources to sup24 port new electric transportation options. 


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1 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

2 Section 3 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 796) 

3 is amended by adding the following new paragraphs at the 

4 end: 

5 ‘‘(30) RENEWABLE ENERGY.—The term ‘renew6 able energy’ means energy generated from— 

7 ‘‘(A) solar thermal, solar photovoltaic, 

8 wind, geothermal or marine and hydrokinetic 

9 renewable energy; 

10 ‘‘(B) renewable biomass (as defined in sec11 tion 9001 of the Farm Security and Rural In12 vestment Act of 2002); 

13 ‘‘(C) landfill gas; 

14 ‘‘(D) biogas derived from farm waste; or 

15 ‘‘(E) qualified hydropower. 

16 ‘‘(31) SOLAR THERMAL.—The term ‘solar ther17 mal’ means energy derived by concentrating solar 

18 energy onto a collector which then transfers that en19 ergy to a working fluid to use, directly or indirectly, 

20 to operate a steam turbine system or Stirling engine 

21 that generates electric energy. 

22 ‘‘(32) GEOTHERMAL ENERGY.—The term ‘geo23 thermal energy’ means energy derived from a geo24 thermal deposit (within the meaning of section 

25 613(e)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986). 


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1 ‘‘(33) MARINE AND HYDROKINETIC RENEW2 ABLE ENERGY.—The term ‘marine and hydrokinetic 

3 renewable energy’ means energy derived from— 

4 ‘‘(A) waves, tides, and currents in oceans, 

5 estuaries, and tidal areas; 

6 ‘‘(B) free flowing water in rivers, lakes, 

7 and streams; 

8 ‘‘(C) free flowing water in an irrigation 

9 system, canal, or other man-made channel, in10 cluding projects that utilize nonmechanical 

11 structures to accelerate the flow of water for 

12 electric power production purposes; or 

13 ‘‘(D) differentials in ocean temperature 

14 (ocean thermal energy conversion). 

15 ‘‘(34) RENEWABLE ENERGY FACILITY.—The 

16 term ‘renewable energy facility’ means an electric 

17 energy generation unit owned and operated by any 

18 person (including a utility) that— 

19 ‘‘(A) is placed in service after December 

20 31, 2008; 

21 ‘‘(B) provides electric energy directly to 

22 the electric power grid; 

23 ‘‘(C) uses renewable energy as its primary 

24 energy source; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) has a nameplate capacity of not more 

2 than 20 megawatts. 

3 ‘‘(35) NETWORK UPGRADES.—The term ‘net4 work upgrades’ means additions or modifications to 

5 any system for the transmission or distribution of 

6 electric energy to accommodate renewable energy 

7 generated by a renewable energy facility and deliv8 ered to the system. 

9 ‘‘(36) QUALIFIED HYDROPOWER.—(A) The 

10 term ‘qualified hydropower’ means— 

11 ‘‘(i) incremental hydropower genera12 tion that is achieved from increased effi13 ciency or additions of capacity made on or 

14 after January 1, 2009, at a hydroelectric 

15 facility that was placed in service before 

16 that date; or 

17 ‘‘(ii) additions of capacity made on or 

18 after January 1, 2009, at an existing non19 hydroelectric dam, if— 

20 ‘‘(I) the hydroelectric project in21 stalled on the nonhydroelectric dam is 

22 licensed by the Commission and meets 

23 all other applicable environmental, li24 censing, and regulatory requirements, 


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1 including applicable fish passage re2 quirements; 

3 ‘‘(II) the nonhydroelectric dam 

4 was placed in service before the date 

5 of the enactment of this paragraph 

6 and operated for flood control, naviga7 tion, or water supply purposes and did 

8 not produce hydroelectric power be9 fore the date of the enactment of this 

10 paragraph; and 

11 ‘‘(III) the hydroelectric project is 

12 operated so that the water surface ele13 vation at any given location and time 

14 that would have occurred in the ab15 sence of the hydroelectric project is 

16 maintained, subject to any license re17 quirements imposed under applicable 

18 law that change the water surface ele19 vation for the purpose of improving 

20 the environmental quality of the af21 fected waterway. 

22 ‘‘(B) The Commission shall certify if a hydro23 electric project licensed at a nonhydroelectric dam 

24 meets the criteria described in subparagraph 

25 (A)(ii)(III). 


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1 ‘‘(C) Nothing in this paragraph shall affect the 

2 standards under which the Commission issues li3 censes for and regulates hydropower projects under 

4 this Part. 

5 ‘‘(37) ELECTRIC ENERGY INTENSIVE FACIL6 ITY.—The term ‘electric energy intensive facility’ 

7 means— 

8 ‘‘(A) any entity that has a annual electric 

9 energy usage greater than 10 gigawatt-hours; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(B) has an electric energy intensity great12 er than 8 percent. 

13 ‘‘(38) ELECTRIC ENERGY INTENSITY.—The 

14 term ‘electric energy intensity’ means the ratio of 

15 the total costs associated with purchasing electric 

16 energy from a utility to the total value of shipments. 

17 ‘‘(39) TOTAL VALUE OF SHIPMENTS.—The 

18 term ‘total value of shipments’ has the meaning 

19 given such term by the United States Census Bu20 reau in its Annual Survey of Manufacturers.’’. 


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1 TITLE I—INTERCONNECTION 

2 SEC. 101. FEDERAL INTERCONNECTION STANDARDS FOR 

3 RENEWABLE ENERGY FACILITIES. 

4 Part II of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824 et 

5 seq.) is amended by adding the following new section after 

6 section 210: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 210A. EXPEDITED FEDERAL INTERCONNECTION 

8 STANDARDS FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY FA9 CILITIES. 

10 ‘‘(a) FEDERAL STANDARDS.—In order to encourage 

11 the use of renewable energy facilities and to ensure the 

12 safety and reliability of renewable energy facilities and 

13 transmission systems interconnected with such facilities, 

14 not later than one year after the date of enactment of this 

15 section, the Commission shall propose rules establishing 

16 standards for the physical connection between— 

17 ‘‘(1) renewable energy facilities; and 

18 ‘‘(2) transmission facilities of transmitting utili19 ties subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission 

20 under this Part. 

21 ‘‘(b) EXPEDITED PROCEDURES.—The standards 

22 under this section shall include a separate expedited proce23 dure, consisting of an interconnection request, simplified 

24 procedures, and applicable terms and conditions, for re25 newable energy facilities up to 10 kilowatts that use an 


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1 inverter to interconnect to transmission facilities. The 

2 standards under this section shall also include a separate 

3 procedure that expedites interconnection for renewable en4 ergy facilities up to 2000 kilowatts. The Commission shall 

5 review its current Small Generator Interconnection Proce6 dure with an objective of further expediting and simpli7 fying the procedures. In designing such expedited proce8 dures, the Commission shall use best available Federal, 

9 State, and local standards. 

10 ‘‘(c) FINAL RULE.—Not later than 90 days after the 

11 date of enactment of this section, and after notice and op12 portunity for comment, the Commission shall promulgate, 

13 and from time-to-time thereafter revise, final standards 

14 under this section. Such revisions shall take into account 

15 changes in the underlying standards and technologies. 

16 Such revisions shall be made available to State regulatory 

17 authorities to consider prior to final promulgation. 

18 ‘‘(d) SAFETY, RELIABILITY, PERFORMANCE, AND

19 COST.—The standards under this section shall establish 

20 measures for the safety and reliability of affected equip21 ment and transmission systems as may be appropriate. 

22 Such standards shall be consistent with the reliability 

23 standards under section 215 and all applicable safety and 

24 performance standards established by the national elec25 trical code, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics EnVerDate Mar 15 2010 05:23 Jul 28, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5883.IH H5883

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1 gineers, Underwriters Laboratories, or the American Na2 tional Standards Institute, and the North American Elec3 tric Reliability Council, yet constitute the minimum cost 

4 and technical burdens to the interconnecting renewable en5 ergy facility as the Commission shall, by rule, prescribe. 

6 Standards for the purchase of electric energy from a re7 newable energy facility shall also ensure that such pur8 chases do not affect the reliability of any person pur9 chasing electric energy from the renewable energy facility. 

10 ‘‘(e) ADDITIONAL CHARGES.—The standards under 

11 this section shall prohibit the imposition of additional 

12 charges by the owners or operators of transmission sys13 tems for equipment or services for interconnection that are 

14 additional to those necessary to achieve the safety and per15 formance standards under subsection (d). 

16 ‘‘(f) GRID INTERCONNECTION-RELATED NETWORK

17 UPGRADES.—The standards under this section shall pro18 vide the following: 

19 ‘‘(1) The obligation to provide priority inter20 connection for renewable energy facilities (as re21 quired under subsection (g)) shall apply to: 

22 ‘‘(A) Any transmitting utility providing 

23 transmission service subject to the jurisdiction 

24 of the Commission to electric utilities in a retail 


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1 service territory that includes the renewable en2 ergy facility if— 

3 ‘‘(i) such transmitting utility is in 

4 possession of transmission facilities tech5 nically suitable to receive electric energy 

6 from the renewable energy facility; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) there is no other transmission or 

8 distribution facility with a technically and 

9 economically more suitable connection 

10 point. 

11 ‘‘(B) Transmission facilities shall be 

12 deemed to be technically suitable under sub13 paragraph (A) even if feeding in the electric en14 ergy requires the transmitting utility to up15 grade its transmission facilities at a reasonable 

16 economic expense and without risk to grid sta17 bility, as determined by the Commission. In 

18 such a case, the transmitting utility shall up19 grade its transmission facilities without undue 

20 delay, if so requested by the owner or operator 

21 of an interconnecting renewable energy facility. 

22 ‘‘(C) The obligation to upgrade the trans23 mission facilities shall apply to all technical fa24 cilities required for operating the transmission 


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1 system and to all connecting installations which 

2 are owned by the transmitting utility. 

3 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—The standards under this 

4 section shall not require any transmitting utility to 

5 interconnect with renewable energy facilities or to 

6 provide priority access to available transfer capa7 bility on the transmission system if the transmitting 

8 utility is already committed through long-term con9 tracts to full capacity of its load and such utility has 

10 no ability to transmit any new generation from re11 newable energy facilities to any other electric utility. 

12 ‘‘(3) COSTS OF NETWORK UPGRADES.—The 

13 standards under this section shall provide that all 

14 prudently incurred costs associated with network up15 grades to accommodate new renewable energy facili16 ties for the purchase and transmission of electric en17 ergy produced from renewable energy facilities shall 

18 be initially borne by the electric utility or transmit19 ting utility. The electric utility or transmitting util20 ity shall be reimbursed for such costs through the 

21 regional cost sharing mechanism under section 224. 

22 ‘‘(g) PRIORITY OF ORDERS.—Any renewable energy 

23 facility may apply to the Commission for an order requir24 ing the interconnection of such facility with the trans25 mission system of any transmitting utility in accordance 


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1 with the standards under this section, and the Commission 

2 shall issue such an order after notice and opportunity for 

3 hearing in accordance with section 210(b). The Commis4 sion shall give priority to the consideration of applications 

5 from renewable energy facilities under this section over ap6 plications for orders under section 210 and shall ensure 

7 that applications by renewable energy facilities are given 

8 priority interconnection and priority access to available 

9 transfer capability on the transmission system over appli10 cations from facilities that are not renewable energy facili11 ties. 

12 ‘‘(h) INTERCONNECTION CLUSTERING.—To facilitate 

13 the objectives of subsection (g) relating to interconnection 

14 and to reduce backlogs in the interconnection queue, the 

15 Commission may consider a clustering approach to the 

16 interconnection of electric generation facilities with a 

17 nameplate capacity greater than 2 megawatts. Under such 

18 interconnection clustering procedures, requests for inter19 connection that are placed within a 6-month period may 

20 be eligible for concurrent review and interconnection. 

21 ‘‘(i) RELATIONSHIP TO EXISTING LAW REGARDING

22 INTERCONNECTION.—Except as otherwise provided in this 

23 section, nothing in this section affects the application of 

24 section 210 of this Part or section 111(d)(15) (relating 

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1 cies Act of 1978. Nothing in this section shall be inter2 preted as an expansion of the jurisdiction of the Commis3 sion with respect to the facilities subject to the jurisdiction 

4 of the Commission. 

5 ‘‘(j) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take ef6 fect with respect to applications submitted to the Commis7 sion under subsection (g) after the effective date of regula8 tions promulgated under this section.’’. 

9 SEC. 102. ADOPTION OF CERTAIN STANDARDS. 

10 (a) INTERCONNECTION NOT SUBJECT TO FEDERAL

11 POWER ACT JURISDICTION.—Section 113(b) of the Public 

12 Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 

13 2623(b)) is amended by adding the following at the end 

14 thereof: 

15 ‘‘(6) INTERCONNECTION STANDARDS.—Each 

16 electric utility shall adopt such standards for the 

17 interconnection with renewable energy facilities as 

18 are necessary as to ensure that renewable energy fa19 cilities are given priority interconnection and priority 

20 access to available capacity on the transmission and 

21 distribution system of such utility over electric en22 ergy from facilities that do not generate electric en23 ergy from renewable energy and permit any renew24 able energy facility to apply to the State regulatory 

25 authority for an order requiring the interconnection 


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1 of such facility with the system of the electric utility. 

2 Such standards shall be based on the standards pro3 mulgated by the Commission under section 210A of 

4 the Federal Power Act. Such standards shall not af5 fect the application of section 111(d)(15).’’. 

6 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 113 of 

7 such Act is amended by adding the following at the end 

8 of subsection (a): 

9 ‘‘For purposes of applying this section with respect to the 

10 standard under paragraph (6) of subsection (b), in lieu 

11 of the 2-year period referred to in this subsection there 

12 shall be substituted a period of one year after the date 

13 on which a rule is prescribed or revised by the Commission 

14 under section 210A of the Federal Power Act.’’. 

15 TITLE II—RENEWABLE ENERGY 

16 PAYMENTS 

17 SEC. 201. RENEWABLE ENERGY PAYMENT STUDY AND RE18 PORT. 

19 (a) DEFINITIONS.— 

20 (1) The term ‘‘renewable energy facility’’ has 

21 the meaning given such term in section 3 of the 

22 Federal Power Act, as amended by section 4 of this 

23 Act. 

24 (2) The term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Federal 

25 Energy Regulatory Commission. 


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1 (b) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

2 date of enactment of this Act, and every 2 years there3 after, the Secretary of Energy, acting through the Na4 tional Renewable Energy Laboratory, shall transmit to 

5 Congress and to the Commission a report that outlines 

6 details of the investment market, as it relates to renewable 

7 energy project financing, including identification of re8 maining barriers to investment and potential policy solu9 tions to address such barriers. Additionally, such a report 

10 shall include maps of national renewable energy resources 

11 and cost assessments for renewable energy facility devel12 opment with respect to all available technologies. Such a 

13 report may draw from reviews and assessments conducted 

14 pursuant to section 201 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 

15 (42 U.S.C. 15851). Such a report shall include each of 

16 the following: 

17 (1) Maps of renewable energy resource avail18 ability based on the best available data and at the 

19 highest spatial resolution necessary to help identify 

20 the best sites for the development of renewable en21 ergy facilities. 

22 (2) Recommendations for minimum tariff rates 

23 that should be paid during each of the following 2 

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1 cility owners (with consideration to development 

2 costs, including costs of manufacturing, installation, 

3 operation, maintenance, taxes, financing, and legal 

4 expenses) adjusted by an appropriate annual tariff 

5 degression, with consideration of the following: 

6 (A) The maps described in paragraph (1). 

7 (B) The goal to provide for the profitable 

8 development of renewable energy facilities that 

9 use available commercialized technologies and 

10 operate within regions that, on average, experi11 ence the top 30th percentile of renewable en12 ergy resource potential in the United States. 

13 (C) The best available scientific and elec14 tric energy market data, including data made 

15 available in the development of the reports 

16 under this section. 

17 (D) The renewable energy technology mar18 ket, including advancements in research, devel19 opment, deployment, and innovation. 

20 (E) The percentage of renewable power 

21 generation for each technology that can be reli22 ably accommodated on the electric grid. 

23 (3) A description of the system benefits (includ24 ing distributed generation risk, avoidance benefits, 

25 and reduced distribution and transmission costs) exVerDate Mar 15 2010 05:23 Jul 28, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5883.IH H5883

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1 perienced by utilities as a result of entering into a 

2 standard contract pursuant to section 210B(e) of 

3 the Federal Power Act (as added by section 202 of 

4 this Act) or 113(b)(7) of the Public Utilities Regu5 latory Policies Act of 1978 (as added by section 202 

6 of this Act). 

7 (4) Recommendations to the Commission re8 garding new renewable energy technologies that may 

9 be considered eligible for future power purchase 

10 agreements under the rules under section 210B of 

11 the Federal Power Act, as added by section 202 of 

12 this Act. 

13 (5) Other recommendations to the Commission 

14 and to State regulatory authorities regarding electric 

15 energy reliability, supporting infrastructure (includ16 ing smart grid technologies and electric energy stor17 age options) technical, economic, legal, or safety con18 siderations that may be acted upon in order to bet19 ter achieve the purposes of this Act. 

20 (6) Any other information that renewable en21 ergy facility operators shall, upon request, provide to 

22 the Commission, the State regulatory authorities, 

23 and the Secretary of Energy (acting through the 

24 National Renewable Energy Laboratory) that may 

25 be relevant in performing duties under this Act. 


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1 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of En3 ergy such sums as may be necessary to carry out this sec4 tion. 

5 SEC. 202. GUARANTEED POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENTS. 

6 (a) PUBLIC UTILITIES REGULATED UNDER THE

7 FEDERAL POWER ACT.—Part II of the Federal Power Act 

8 is amended by adding the following new section after sec9 tion 210A (as added by this Act): 

10 ‘‘SEC. 210B. RENEWABLE ENERGY PAYMENTS. 

11 ‘‘(a) RENEWABLE ENERGY PAYMENT RULES.—Not 

12 later than 2 years after the date of enactment of the Re13 newable Energy Jobs and Security Act, the Commission 

14 shall prescribe, and from time-to-time thereafter revise, 

15 such rules as it determines necessary to encourage the 

16 purchase of electric energy by public utilities from renew17 able energy facilities. The rules shall require public utili18 ties to offer to purchase electric energy from renewable 

19 energy facilities in accordance with this section at uniform 

20 national rates established pursuant to this section. Each 

21 such public utility shall purchase electric energy from re22 newable energy facilities on a priority basis, and each 

23 transmitting utility shall transmit such energy to the ex24 tent practicable on a priority basis. Such rules shall be 

25 prescribed, after consideration of recommendations made 


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1 in reports under section 201 of the Renewable Energy 

2 Jobs and Security Act, after consultation with representa3 tives of State regulatory agencies having ratemaking au4 thority for electric utilities, and after public notice and a 

5 reasonable opportunity for interested persons (and State 

6 agencies) to submit data, views, and arguments. Such 

7 rules may not authorize a renewable energy facility to 

8 make any sale for purposes other than resale. 

9 ‘‘(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The rules under this sec10 tion shall apply only to contracts for the purchase and sale 

11 of electric energy from renewable energy facilities entered 

12 into after the effective date of such rules and before the 

13 date that is 20 years after such effective date. 

14 ‘‘(c) RENEWABLE ENERGY PAYMENT RATES FOR

15 PURCHASE OF POWER.— 

16 ‘‘(1) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this sub17 section are to— 

18 ‘‘(A) provide for the development of renew19 able energy facilities that use available commer20 cialized technologies; and 

21 ‘‘(B) set rates at a level that will— 

22 ‘‘(i) provide reasonable rates of return 

23 to the owners or operators of renewable en24 ergy facilities sited within regions that, on 

25 average, experience the top 30th percentile 


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1 of a renewable energy resource potential in 

2 the United States; 

3 ‘‘(ii) prevent excessive profits for re4 newable energy facility owners and opera5 tors; 

6 ‘‘(iii) minimize upward pressure on re7 newable energy market prices; and 

8 ‘‘(iv) prevent unnecessary costs to 

9 ratepayers. 

10 ‘‘(2) UNIFORM NATIONAL RATES.—Except as 

11 otherwise specified in this section, the rates paid for 

12 the purchase of electric energy from renewable en13 ergy facilities under contracts entered into under 

14 this section shall be established on a uniform na15 tional basis by the Commission by rule. Such rates 

16 shall be— 

17 ‘‘(A) fixed throughout the duration of a 

18 contract extending for a period of at least 20 

19 years; 

20 ‘‘(B) no less than the amount needed for 

21 development plus a reasonable profit, with con22 sideration to— 

23 ‘‘(i) the renewable energy technology 

24 used; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the year the installation is placed 

2 into service; and 

3 ‘‘(iii) the size of the renewable energy 

4 facility. 

5 ‘‘(3) REASONABLE RATES OF RETURN.—Such 

6 rates shall be set to provide a nominal, post-tax 

7 project internal rate of return of not less than 8 per8 cent after recovery of all operating and maintenance 

9 costs consistent with the purposes of this subsection. 

10 ‘‘(4) BONUS TARIFFS.—Bonus rates may be 

11 paid to provide additional incentives for each of the 

12 following purposes: 

13 ‘‘(A) Renewable energy facility develop14 ment in areas where distributed generation re15 duces grid congestion and improves overall grid 

16 efficiency. 

17 ‘‘(B) For energy delivered from renewable 

18 energy facilities on peak. 

19 ‘‘(C) To renewable energy facilities with 

20 onsite energy storage capability that signifi21 cantly increases the capacity factor or avail22 ability. 

23 ‘‘(D) To renewable energy facilities that 

24 deliver electric energy combined with usable 

25 heating, cooling, or a combination of both. 


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1 ‘‘(E) To renewable energy facilities owned 

2 and operated by American Indian, Alaskan Na3 tive, or other tribal communities. 

4 ‘‘(5) PERIODIC ADJUSTMENT.—The Commis5 sion shall review the rates under this subsection 

6 every 2 years and adjust such rates applicable to 

7 prospective contracts in accordance with paragraph 

8 (2) and in a manner that is consistent with the pur9 poses of this subsection. Such rates shall be pub10 lished not later than 8 months prior to the date at 

11 which they become applicable. 

12 ‘‘(6) DEGRESSION RATES.—For new facilities 

13 commencing construction in each year after the first 

14 year for which tariffs under this section applied to 

15 any facility, the tariffs rates paid under the rules 

16 under this subsection may be reduced relative to the 

17 previous year in accordance with annual tariff de18 gression rates. Such degression rate shall be specific 

19 to each technology. Degression rates shall be pre20 determined and shall not apply with respect to facili21 ties already subject to a contract for a renewable en22 ergy payment. 

23 ‘‘(7) PRIORITY.—The rules under this section 

24 shall require each public utility to purchase and each 

25 transmitting utility to transmit renewable energy 


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1 from renewable energy facilities to the extent prac2 ticable on a priority basis. Such requirement shall 

3 not apply if the public utility or transmitting utility 

4 is already committed through long-term contracts to 

5 full capacity of its load and such utility has no abil6 ity to transmit any new generation from renewable 

7 energy facilities to a neighboring utility. A public 

8 utility shall not place priority on the purchase of 

9 electric energy from renewable energy facilities that 

10 are owned and operated by such utility over electric 

11 energy from renewable energy facilities owned and 

12 operated by customers. 

13 ‘‘(d) RELIABILITY.—The rules under this section 

14 shall include provisions respecting minimum reliability of 

15 renewable energy facilities (including reliability of such fa16 cilities during emergencies) and rules respecting reliability 

17 of electric energy service to be available to such facilities 

18 from public utilities during emergencies. The rules shall 

19 also insure that such purchases do not affect the reliability 

20 of the purchasing public utility. 

21 ‘‘(e) STANDARD CONTRACTS.—The Commission shall 

22 approve a standard contract to be used in all power pur23 chase agreements under this section. Such contract shall 

24 include the prices paid for each kilowatt-hour generated, 

25 including bonus tariffs, and the duration of the contract. 


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1 In creating such contract, the Commission shall consider 

2 the expedited procedures outlined in section 210A(b) in 

3 order to design a contract that minimizes administrative 

4 burdens. The Commission shall provide public utilities 

5 subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission with stand6 ard contract not later than 18 months after the date of 

7 enactment of this subsection. 

8 ‘‘(f) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER FEDERAL AND STATE

9 STANDARDS, REQUIREMENTS, TAXES, AND BENEFITS.— 

10 Except for accelerated tax depreciation, no person who 

11 elects to sell power under a contract under this section 

12 shall be entitled to any tax credits or deductions associated 

13 with renewable energy production under Federal tax laws 

14 or to any other incentives or benefits under any Federal 

15 law associated with renewable energy. Any State or utility 

16 may provide additional incentives to promote the deploy17 ment of renewable energy facilities and, except as provided 

18 in subsection (g) with respect to net metering, any renew19 able energy facility may utilize such benefits. No public 

20 utility making purchases of electric energy under a con21 tract under this section shall be exempt from any State 

22 law requiring minimum purchase percentages of renewable 

23 energy. Any credit or allowance for renewable energy gen24 eration needed to meet any State or Federal law requiring 

25 minimum purchases of renewable energy shall belong to 


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1 the public utility that purchases electric energy under a 

2 contract under this section unless otherwise specified in 

3 State or Federal law. 

4 ‘‘(g) NET METERING.—If electric energy generated 

5 by any renewable energy facility is eligible for net meter6 ing treatment under State law, all electric energy gen7 erated by such facility shall be subject to such State law 

8 in lieu of this section unless the owner or operator of the 

9 facility makes an election for such electric generation to 

10 be subject to this section. For renewable energy facilities 

11 interconnecting to public utilities within the jurisdiction 

12 of the Commission, the election shall be submitted to the 

13 Commission in such form and at such time as the Com14 mission shall prescribe by rule. The election shall include 

15 notice to the appropriate State agency administering the 

16 State net metering program. 

17 ‘‘(h) PUBLIC REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—By Sep18 tember 30 of each calendar year after 2010, each public 

19 utility shall publicly report to the Energy Information Ad20 ministration without undue delay the following informa21 tion recorded during the previous calendar year: 

22 ‘‘(1) The network upgrade costs associated with 

23 compliance with the standards under section 210A 

24 of this Act. 


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1 ‘‘(2) The total quantity of electric energy gen2 erated by a specific renewable energy facility and the 

3 total amount paid to each such renewable energy fa4 cility operator in accordance with the rules under 

5 this section. 

6 ‘‘(3) The total quantity of electric energy gen7 erated by each renewable energy technology and the 

8 total amounts paid to renewable energy facility oper9 ators that use each such renewable energy tech10 nology in accordance with the rules under this sec11 tion. 

12 ‘‘(4) The total number of renewable energy fa13 cilities of each technology in the area in which the 

14 public utility supplies electric energy. 

15 ‘‘(5) For each technology, the amount of growth 

16 in capacity installed relative to the number of new 

17 interconnections in the area in which the public util18 ity supplies electric energy. 

19 ‘‘(6) The total amount of electric energy gen20 erated by renewable energy facilities and from other 

21 renewable energy sources in the area in which the 

22 public utility supplies electric energy. 

23 ‘‘(7) The location of new renewable energy facil24 ity development relative to population density in the 


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1 area in which the public utility supplies electric en2 ergy. 

3 ‘‘(i) REPORTS BY THE ENERGY INFORMATION AD4 MINISTRATION.—In each of the first 2 years and every 2 

5 years thereafter after the date of enactment of this sec6 tion, the Secretary of Energy, acting through the Energy 

7 Information Administration, shall make public and submit 

8 to Congress a report that shall include the number of new 

9 renewable energy facilities in each State and the environ10 mental benefits and effects of the addition of such facili11 ties. There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec12 retary of Energy such sums as may be necessary to carry 

13 out this subsection. 

14 ‘‘(j) EXEMPTIONS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para16 graph (2), sales of electric energy by renewable en17 ergy facilities under this section are exempt from 

18 regulation under other provisions of this Part and 

19 from State laws and regulations respecting the rates, 

20 or respecting the financial or organizational regula21 tion, of electric utilities, or from any combination of 

22 the foregoing. 

23 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—No renewable energy facil24 ity shall be exempt under this subsection from— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the provisions of section 210, 211, or 

2 212 of this Act or the necessary authorities for 

3 enforcement of any such provision under this 

4 Act; or 

5 ‘‘(B) any license or permit requirement 

6 under part I of this Act, any provision under 

7 this Act related to such a license or permit re8 quirement, or the necessary authorities for en9 forcement of any such requirement. 

10 ‘‘(k) FEDERAL CONTRACTS.—No contract between a 

11 Federal agency and any electric utility for the sale of elec12 tric energy by such Federal agency for resale which is en13 tered into after the date of the enactment of this sub14 section may contain any provision that will have the effect 

15 of preventing the implementation of any rule under this 

16 section with respect to such utility. Any provision in any 

17 such contract which has such effect shall be null and 

18 void.’’. 

19 (b) ELECTRIC UTILITIES NOT REGULATED BY

20 FERC.—Section 113 of the Public Utility Regulatory 

21 Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2623), as amended, is 

22 further amended as follows: 

23 (1) By adding the following new paragraph at 

24 the end of subsection (b): 


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1 ‘‘(7) STANDARD CONTRACTS FOR POWER PUR2 CHASES FROM RENEWABLE ENERGY FACILITIES.— 

3 Each electric utility shall purchase electric energy 

4 from renewable energy facilities (as defined in the 

5 Federal Power Act) under standard contracts for a 

6 20-year period with rates that are the same as in 

7 the case of purchases of electric energy under con8 tracts under section 210B of the Federal Power Act 

9 by public utilities subject to the jurisdiction of the 

10 Commission under that Act.’’. 

11 (2) By adding the following at the end of sub12 section (a): 

13 ‘‘For purposes of applying this section in the case of the 

14 standard under paragraph (7) of subsection (b), in lieu 

15 of the 2-year period referred to in this section there shall 

16 be substituted a period of one year after the date on which 

17 renewable energy payment rules are prescribed or revised 

18 by the Commission under section 210B of the Federal 

19 Power Act.’’. 

20 (c) FEDERAL CONTRACTS FOR RENEWABLE EN21 ERGY.—Notwithstanding section 501(b)(1)(B) of title 40, 

22 United States Code, a contract for the acquisition of elec23 tric energy generated from a renewable energy resource 

24 for the Federal Government may be made for a period 

25 of not more than 20 years. 


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1 SEC. 203. REGIONAL COST SHARING MECHANISM. 

2 Part II of the Federal Power Act is amended by add3 ing the following new section at the end thereof: 

4 ‘‘SEC. 224. REGIONAL COST SHARING MECHANISM. 

5 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to fi6 nance the power purchase agreements under the rules 

7 under section 210B (and under the corresponding stand8 ard required by section 113(b)(7) of the Public Utility 

9 Regulatory Policies Act of 1978) and interconnection and 

10 network upgrades referred to in section 210A (and under 

11 the corresponding standard under section 113(b)(6) of the 

12 Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978) by creating 

13 a cost sharing mechanism that equally distributes addi14 tional costs of compliance with the Renewable Energy 

15 Jobs and Security Act to electric energy customers on a 

16 regional basis. 

17 ‘‘(b) COST SHARING.—Not later than 1 year after the 

18 date of enactment of this section, the Commission shall, 

19 in consultation with State regulatory authorities and non20 regulated utilities, design a regional cost redistribution 

21 mechanism that shall consist of a nonbypassable system 

22 benefits charge payable by every end-use consumer of an 

23 electric utility to the electric utility. Revenue from such 

24 charge shall be transferred to a national renewable energy 

25 corporation to be referred to as the ‘RenewCorps’ to be 

26 established by such utilities and approved by the CommisVerDate Mar 15 2010 05:23 Jul 28, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5883.IH H5883

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1 sion for purposes of this section. The Commission shall 

2 design a system benefits charge, determine the amount of 

3 such charge, and establish a cost distribution mechanism 

4 so as to achieve each of the following: 

5 ‘‘(1) Full reimbursement to electric utilities and 

6 transmitting utilities for the costs associated with 

7 network upgrades and interconnection (including the 

8 carrying costs of capital while awaiting reimburse9 ment) carried out in accordance with the standards 

10 under section 210A of this Act and section 

11 113(b)(6) of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies 

12 Act of 1978 and for the additional costs of the 

13 power purchase requirements of section 210B of this 

14 Act and section 113(b)(7) of the Public Utility Reg15 ulatory Policies Act of 1978. 

16 ‘‘(2) Ensure that systems benefits charges are 

17 based on energy usage. 

18 ‘‘(3) Ensure that monthly charges shall apply 

19 to customers according to projected program costs. 

20 ‘‘(4) Ensure that monthly charges to individual 

21 households is no greater than $3 per month. 

22 ‘‘(5) Ensure relief, but not exemption, for elec23 tric energy intensive facilities, by including a provi24 sion requiring such facilities to submit an applica25 tion for relief, including proof of electric energy 


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1 usage (such as contracts for the supply of electric 

2 energy and electric energy bills for the previous fis3 cal year) and proof of the value of shipments (by 

4 supplying financial data from the previous fiscal 

5 year compiled by a certified accountant). 

6 ‘‘(c) COMPLIANCE WITH ACCOUNTING RULES.— 

7 RenewCorps shall comply with such accounting rules and 

8 other rules as may be established by the Commission. 

9 ‘‘(d) REGIONAL DISBURSEMENT OF FUNDS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) REIMBURSEMENT.—Funds received by 

11 RenewCorps from the systems benefits charge under 

12 this section shall be disbursed to electric utilities and 

13 transmitting utilities to provide reimbursement for— 

14 ‘‘(A) the costs associated with network up15 grades and interconnection carried out in ac16 cordance with the standards under section 

17 210A and section 113(b)(6) of the Public Util18 ity Regulatory Policies Act of 1978; and 

19 ‘‘(B) the additional costs of the power pur20 chase requirements of section 210B and section 

21 113(b)(7) of the Public Utility Regulatory Poli22 cies Act of 1978 to reimburse such utilities for 

23 the full additional cost of such power purchase 

24 agreements (as adjusted under paragraph (3)). 


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1 ‘‘(2) QUARTERLY DISBURSEMENT.—Funds re2 ceived by RenewCorps from the systems benefits 

3 charge under this section shall be disbursed on a 

4 quarterly basis. The Renew Corps shall distribute 

5 such revenue to electric utilities within each region 

6 of the North American Electric Reliability Corpora7 tion (NERC) in the United States in proportion to 

8 the revenue raised within each such region. 

9 ‘‘(3) AVOID DOUBLE COST RECOVERY.—Reim10 bursements from RenewCorps to electric utilities and 

11 transmitting utilities for costs associated with com12 pliance with the Renewable Energy Jobs and Secu13 rity Act may not also be eligible for recovery by any 

14 other means.’’. 

15 SEC. 204. CONSISTENCY WITH ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS. 

16 Nothing in this Act (including the amendments made 

17 by this Act) shall be deemed to waive any existing Federal 

18 or State environmental protection provision, including the 

19 requirements of any of the following: 

20 (1) The National Forest Management Act of 

21 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a et seq.). 

22 (2) The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 

23 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). 

24 (3) The National Environmental Policy Act of 

25 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 


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1 (4) The Federal Water Pollution Control Act 

2 (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.). 

3 (5) The Federal Land Policy and Management 

4 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.). 

Æ 


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