I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4291 

To help reduce household energy burdens by expanding access to solar energy 

for low-income households, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 11, 2019 

Mr. MCEACHIN (for himself, Ms. BARRAGA ́N, Ms. JAYAPAL, and Mr. LUJA ́N) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Financial 

Services, and Education and Labor, 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 help reduce household energy burdens by expanding access to solar energy for low-income households, 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 ‘‘Low-Income Solar En5 ergy Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act, the term ‘‘low-income’’, used with respect 

8 to a household, means a household that is eligible for a 


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1 payment under the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance 

2 Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8621 et seq.), in accordance 

3 with— 

4 (1) section 2605(b)(2) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

5 8624(b)); and 

6 (2) State eligibility guidelines (consistent with 

7 such Act) for that payment. 

8 SEC. 3. LOW-INCOME HOME ENERGY ASSISTANCE. 

9 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

10 2602 of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 

11 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8621) is amended— 

12 (1) in the first sentence of subsection (b), by 

13 striking ‘‘2607A),’’ and all that follows and inserting 

14 ‘‘2607A), $6,075,000,000 for fiscal year 2020 and 

15 each subsequent fiscal year.’’; and 

16 (2) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘(e) of’’ and 

17 inserting ‘‘(f) of’’. 

18 (b) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.—Section 2604 of the 

19 Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 

20 U.S.C. 8623) is amended— 

21 (1) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub22 section (f); and 

23 (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol24 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(e)(1) Of the funds available to a State under sub2 section (a), a territory under subsection (b), or a tribal 

3 organization or other entity under subsection (d), up to 

4 25 percent may be reserved by the State, territory, or or5 ganization or entity, for solar projects for covered housing. 

6 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall expand the program funded 

7 under section 2602(b) to include such solar projects, and 

8 for purposes of this title shall consider— 

9 ‘‘(A) the funds used for such projects to be as10 sistance for home energy costs; and 

11 ‘‘(B) the projects to be activities that provide 

12 assistance for home energy costs, rather than to res13 idential weatherization or other energy-related home 

14 repair. 

15 ‘‘(3) In determining whether to award, under that 

16 program, funding that includes a portion for a solar 

17 project to a State, territory, or tribal organization or enti18 ty, the Secretary shall use the application and request 

19 processes specified in this title, with such adjustments as 

20 the Secretary may specify in regulations. 

21 ‘‘(4) The Secretary shall issue regulations and guid22 ance for States, territories, and tribal organizations and 

23 entities, that receive funds under subsection (a), (b), or 

24 (d) (referred to individually in this subsection as a ‘cov25 ered recipient’), to— 


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1 ‘‘(A) define the solar projects that may be fund2 ed through the reserved funds described in para3 graph (1); 

4 ‘‘(B) specify the circumstances and process 

5 under which a covered recipient, with an arrange6 ment with a particular type of local agency or orga7 nization to distribute assistance for home energy 

8 costs, may instead enter into an arrangement with 

9 a different local agency or organization with exper10 tise in solar projects, for such projects; and 

11 ‘‘(C) specify how a covered recipient may dis12 tribute such funds in a manner that usefully fi13 nances the work of solar project developers and solar 

14 panel installers for such projects. 

15 ‘‘(5) Not later than 6 months after the date of enact16 ment of the Low-Income Solar Energy Act, the Secretary 

17 shall— 

18 ‘‘(A) evaluate whether community solar projects 

19 could be administered through the program carried 

20 out under this title; and 

21 ‘‘(B) prepare and submit to Congress a report 

22 containing the evaluation. 

23 ‘‘(6) In this section, the term ‘covered housing’ means 

24 federally assisted housing as defined in section 683 of the 

25 Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 (42 


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1 U.S.C. 13641), and housing occupied by a low-income 

2 household, as defined in section 2 of the Low-Income Solar 

3 Energy Act.’’. 

4 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—Section 2605(b)(1)(A) of the 

5 Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 

6 U.S.C. 8624(b)(1)(A)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, includ7 ing the costs of solar projects for covered housing as de8 fined in section 2604(e)’’ after ‘‘home energy costs’’. 

9 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 2609 of the 

10 Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 

11 U.S.C. 8628) is amended by inserting ‘‘, including solar 

12 projects for covered housing or community solar projects 

13 under section 2604(e)’’ after ‘‘home repairs’’. 

14 SEC. 4. SOLAR FINANCING AND WORKFORCE TRAINING. 

15 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

16 (1) COMMUNITY SOLAR PROJECT.—The term 

17 ‘‘community solar project’’ means a project for the 

18 renewable generation of energy through solar power 

19 that has multiple subscribers that receive benefits on 

20 utility bills that are directly attributable to the 

21 project. 

22 (2) COMMUNITY SOLAR SUBSCRIPTION.—The 

23 term ‘‘community solar subscription’’ means owner24 ship of a financial share in a community solar 

25 project that serves multiple consumers. 


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1 (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti2 ty’’ means a developer or installer of solar equip3 ment. 

4 (4) ELIGIBLE HOUSEHOLD.—The term ‘‘eligible 

5 household’’ means a household that includes an eligi6 ble individual as defined in section 32(c)(1) of the 

7 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 for purposes of the 

8 credit under section 32 of that Code. 

9 (5) INTERCONNECTION.—The term ‘‘inter10 connection’’ has the meaning given the term in sec11 tion 111(d)(15) of the Public Utility Regulatory 

12 Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2621(d)(15)). 

13 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

14 the Secretary of Energy. 

15 (b) SOLAR FINANCING PROGRAM.— 

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

17 a solar financing program under which the Secretary 

18 shall offer a variety of financing mechanisms, includ19 ing grants, loans, loan guarantees, and interest buy20 downs, to support the deployment of solar projects 

21 for eligible households, in accordance with this sub22 section. 

23 (2) GRANTS.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—Under the program es25 tablished under paragraph (1), the Secretary 


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1 shall award grants to eligible entities for de2 ploying residential solar projects or community 

3 solar projects— 

4 (i) that benefit eligible households; 

5 and 

6 (ii) in which the tariff, net metering, 

7 bill credit, or other valuation of solar en8 ergy generation, or the sale of that solar 

9 generation by a third party, enables a sav10 ings-to-investment ratio of at least 1:1 for 

11 an eligible entity over a period of not more 

12 than 10 years. 

13 (B) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity 

14 that receives a grant under the program estab15 lished under paragraph (1) shall use the grant 

16 only to pay for— 

17 (i) the cost and installation of solar 

18 equipment in buildings in which the dwell19 ing units of eligible households are located, 

20 including the cost of materials, labor, and 

21 permitting; 

22 (ii) repairs or upgrades to the build23 ings described in clause (i) that may be 

24 needed to ensure that solar equipment is 

25 installed in a safe manner; and 


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1 (iii) the cost of a community solar 

2 subscription. 

3 (3) SOLAR HOUSING LOANS.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—Under the program es5 tablished under paragraph (1), the Secretary 

6 shall provide loans at zero percent interest— 

7 (i) to owners of buildings— 

8 (I) that receive assistance under 

9 section 8(o) of the United States 

10 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 

11 1437f(o)); or 

12 (II) with respect to which a cred13 it is allowable under section 42 of the 

14 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 for 

15 the taxable year in which the loan is 

16 provided; and 

17 (ii) for the purpose of— 

18 (I) installing solar equipment 

19 that benefits the dwelling unit of a 

20 tenant; 

21 (II) if necessary for the installa22 tion of solar equipment under sub23 clause (I), making any upgrade to the 

24 building in which the dwelling unit is 

25 located; and 


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1 (III) covering the cost of a com2 munity solar subscription. 

3 (B) SAVINGS.— 

4 (i) IN GENERAL.—An owner of a 

5 building receiving a loan under this sub6 section shall— 

7 (I) reduce the rent that each ten8 ant described in clause (ii) is required 

9 to pay by an amount that is propor10 tional to the savings obtained through 

11 any solar upgrades described in sub12 paragraph (A); and 

13 (II) enter into an affordability 

14 agreement with the Secretary to en15 sure that the rent of the tenant re16 mains affordable for the duration of 

17 the tenancy. 

18 (ii) TENANT DESCRIBED.—A tenant 

19 referred to in clause (i) is a tenant that is 

20 in a low-income household and occupying a 

21 dwelling unit in the building, which dwell22 ing unit is affected by a solar upgrade de23 scribed in subparagraph (A). 

24 (C) GUIDANCE; REGULATION.—The Sec25 retary shall— 


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1 (i) publish guidance on what con2 stitutes a benefit to the dwelling unit of a 

3 tenant under subparagraph (A)(ii)(I); and 

4 (ii) promulgate a regulation on the 

5 manner in which a community solar sub6 scription under subparagraph (A)(ii)(III) 

7 shall be managed. 

8 (c) COMMUNITY SOLAR PROJECTS.—The Secretary 

9 shall establish a program under which the Secretary shall 

10 make grants for community solar projects— 

11 (1) to be used for costs associated with inter12 connection of the community solar project, including 

13 application fees, interconnection fees, engineering re14 views, and other associated costs incurred during the 

15 interconnection process; 

16 (2) to be used for costs associated with up17 grades to a distribution system, if the distribution 

18 system requires service or new equipment to accom19 modate the installation of the community solar 

20 project; and 

21 (3) led by nonprofit organizations to support 

22 the implementation of the projects for low-income 

23 households. 

24 (d) MINORITY AND WOMAN-OWNED BUSINESSES.— 

25 The Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, 


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1 contract with minority or women-owned businesses for the 

2 deployment of solar projects that are financed pursuant 

3 to this section. 

4 (e) SOLAR WORKFORCE PROGRAM.— 

5 (1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

6 (A) ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANT.—The term 

7 ‘‘eligible participant’’ means an individual who 

8 is a member of an underrepresented group, in9 cluding— 

10 (i) an individual who is a religious, ra11 cial, or ethnic minority; 

12 (ii) a woman; 

13 (iii) a veteran; 

14 (iv) an individual with a disability; 

15 (v) an unemployed energy worker; 

16 (vi) an energy worker employed by a 

17 fossil fuel industry who is being 

18 transitioned away from that industry be19 cause of a State renewable program or 

20 Federal program, as determined by the 

21 Secretary; 

22 (vii) a socioeconomically disadvan23 taged individual; and 

24 (viii) a formerly incarcerated indi25 vidual. 


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1 (B) LOCAL WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

2 BOARD; STATE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

3 BOARD.—The terms ‘‘local workforce develop4 ment board’’ and ‘‘State workforce development 

5 board’’ have the meanings given the terms 

6 ‘‘local board’’ and ‘‘State board’’, respectively, 

7 in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and 

8 Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102). 

9 (C) PROGRAM PARTNER.—The term ‘‘pro10 gram partner’’ means— 

11 (i) a business; 

12 (ii) an employer or industry associa13 tion; 

14 (iii) a labor management organization; 

15 (iv) a local workforce development 

16 board or State workforce development 

17 board; 

18 (v) a 2- or 4-year institution of higher 

19 education that offers an educational pro20 gram leading to an associate’s or bach21 elor’s degree in conjunction with a certifi22 cate of completion of an apprenticeship or 

23 other training program; 

24 (vi) the Armed Forces (including the 

25 National Guard and the Army Reserve); 


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1 (vii) a nonprofit organization; 

2 (viii) a community-based organization; 

3 and 

4 (ix) an economic development agency. 

5 (2) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es6 tablish a solar workforce program to assist eligible 

7 participants in pursuing careers in the solar energy 

8 industry, including as— 

9 (A) solar photovoltaic system installers; 

10 (B) solar technicians; 

11 (C) electrical system inspectors; and 

12 (D) other professionals in the solar indus13 try, as determined by the Secretary. 

14 (3) COURSES.—In carrying out the program es15 tablished under paragraph (2), the Secretary shall 

16 create courses or seek to administer existing courses 

17 that provide— 

18 (A) job training, including through intern19 ships and work-based training in accordance 

20 with paragraph (4); 

21 (B) employment skills training; and 

22 (C) comprehensive support services that— 

23 (i) enhance the training experience 

24 and promote the professional development 

25 of participants; and 


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1 (ii) help participants transition into 

2 the workforce. 

3 (4) COURSE PARTNERS.—To the maximum ex4 tent practicable, the Secretary shall partner with 

5 program partners to provide internships and work6 based training as part of the job training offered 

7 under paragraph (3)(A). 

8 (5) EXAM REQUIREMENT.—As a requirement 

9 for completing a course under paragraph (3), the 

10 Secretary shall require each participant in the 

11 course to earn an applicable industry-recognized 

12 entry-level certificate or other credential, as deter13 mined by the Secretary. 

14 (f) GUARANTEE OF LOANS FOR ACQUISITION OF

15 PROPERTY.—Section 108 of the Housing and Community 

16 Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5308) is amended 

17 by striking ‘‘or (6)’’ and inserting ‘‘(6) the installation of 

18 solar energy equipment; or (7)’’. 

19 (g) POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENTS FOR PUBLIC

20 HOUSING AGENCIES.—Section 6 of the United States 

21 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437d) is amended by 

22 adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(u) POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENTS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each contract for contribu25 tions for a public housing agency shall provide that 


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1 the agency may enter into third-party power pur2 chase agreements with third-party providers for a 

3 period of not more than 20 years, in addition to a 

4 2-year option period, for the installation of solar en5 ergy equipment in public housing projects. 

6 ‘‘(2) UTILITIES.—With respect to tenant-paid 

7 utilities, any solar rate savings from a power pur8 chase agreement that may result in rebates to a 

9 family shall not be used in the calculation of lower 

10 utility allowances for the family that results in an 

11 increase in the rent paid by the family.’’. 

12 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

13 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

14 out this section and the amendments made by this section 

15 $240,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024. 

16 SEC. 5. RULEMAKING RELATING TO UTILITY ALLOWANCES. 

17 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the term ‘‘covered 

18 housing’’ means— 

19 (1) public housing, as defined in section 3(b) of 

20 the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 

21 1437a(b)); and 

22 (2) tenant-based assistance provided under sec23 tion 8(o) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)). 

24 (b) RULEMAKING.—The Secretary of Housing and 

25 Urban Development shall promulgate regulations to proVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:06 Sep 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4291.IH H4291

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1 vide that, with respect to covered housing, any solar rate 

2 savings for a dwelling unit that is associated with this Act 

3 or an amendment made by this Act shall not be used in 

4 the calculation of lower utility allowances for a family that 

5 results in an increase in the rent paid by the family. 

Æ 


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