II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1974 

To amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to establish 

a renewable electricity standard, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 26, 2019 

Mr. UDALL (for himself, Mr. HEINRICH, Mr. KING, Ms. SMITH, and Mr. 

WHITEHOUSE) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 

to establish a renewable electricity standard, 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 Electricity 

5 Standard Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) renewable energy is the cheapest new form 

9 of electricity in many regions of the United States; 


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1 (2) to meet the climate goals of the United 

2 States, every State must transition to carbon-free 

3 electricity by 2050; 

4 (3) renewable energy is a virtually unlimited re5 source that can help avoid pollution of the air, 

6 water, and land of the United States; 

7 (4) States without high levels of renewable en8 ergy should not be penalized for past inaction, but 

9 should comply with an annual percentage increase of 

10 renewable electricity; and 

11 (5) States should be encouraged to create their 

12 own renewable electricity standards or clean energy 

13 standards above the Federal renewable electricity 

14 standard. 

15 SEC. 3. RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY STANDARD. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title VI of the Public Utility Reg17 ulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.) is 

18 amended by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 610. RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY STANDARD. 

20 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

21 ‘‘(1) BASE QUANTITY OF ELECTRICITY.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

23 subparagraph (B), the term ‘base quantity of 

24 electricity’ means the total quantity of electric 

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1 pressed in terms of kilowatt hours, to electric 

2 customers for purposes other than resale during 

3 the most recent calendar year for which infor4 mation is available. 

5 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—The term ‘base quan6 tity of electricity’ does not include any quantity 

7 of renewable energy delivered by a retail electric 

8 supplier to an electric customer pursuant to a 

9 voluntarily transaction entered into by the cus10 tomer to meet the demand of the customer for 

11 renewable energy. 

12 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE FACILITY.—The term ‘eligible 

13 facility’ means a facility for the generation of elec14 tric energy that— 

15 ‘‘(A) generates electric energy from a new 

16 renewable energy resource using equipment that 

17 comes online during calendar year 2020 or 

18 thereafter; 

19 ‘‘(B) generates additional electric energy 

20 during a calendar year from increased efficiency 

21 of, or additions of capacity to, existing equip22 ment for the generation of electric energy from 

23 a renewable energy resource, as compared to 

24 the quantity of electric energy generated from 


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1 renewable energy resources during the pre2 ceding calendar year; 

3 ‘‘(C) generates electric energy from a re4 newable energy resource using repowered equip5 ment that was placed in service before calendar 

6 year 2020, even though that repowered equip7 ment contains some used property, if the cost 

8 of the new property is not less than 4 times the 

9 fair market value of the used property con10 tained in the repowered equipment; or 

11 ‘‘(D) generates electric energy from a re12 newable energy resource using equipment that 

13 comes online after calendar year 2005 and be14 fore calendar year 2020, and that electric en15 ergy— 

16 ‘‘(i) is not under a contract for the 

17 sale of renewable energy credits or physical 

18 power to— 

19 ‘‘(I) a retail electric supplier for 

20 use in complying with a State renew21 able portfolio standard; or 

22 ‘‘(II) meet voluntary market de23 mand; and 

24 ‘‘(ii)(I) is delivered for end-use con25 sumption in the regional reliability entity 


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1 (as recognized by the North American 

2 Electric Reliability Corporation) in which 

3 the retail electric supplier is located; and 

4 ‘‘(II) the end-use consumption within 

5 that region can be tracked and verified. 

6 ‘‘(3) IMPACTED COMMUNITY.—The term ‘im7 pacted community’ means— 

8 ‘‘(A) an economically distressed area af9 fected by environmental pollution or other haz10 ards that can lead to— 

11 ‘‘(i) exposure to the pollution or haz12 ard, including negative public health ef13 fects resulting from that exposure; or 

14 ‘‘(ii) environmental degradation; and 

15 ‘‘(B) an economically distressed area af16 fected by high unemployment due to— 

17 ‘‘(i) a significant decline in coal min18 ing activity; or 

19 ‘‘(ii) the closure of a coal-fired power 

20 plant. 

21 ‘‘(4) INCREMENTAL HYDROPOWER.—The term 

22 ‘incremental hydropower’ means additional genera23 tion that is achieved from increased efficiency of, or 

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1 ties that are made on or after the date of enactment 

2 of this section. 

3 ‘‘(5) INDIAN LAND.—The term ‘Indian land’ 

4 means— 

5 ‘‘(A) any land within the limits of any In6 dian reservation, pueblo, or rancheria; 

7 ‘‘(B) any land not within the limits of any 

8 Indian reservation, pueblo, or rancheria title to 

9 which on the date of enactment of this section 

10 was held by— 

11 ‘‘(i) the United States for the benefit 

12 of any Indian Tribe or individual; or 

13 ‘‘(ii) any Indian Tribe or individual 

14 subject to restriction by the United States 

15 against alienation; 

16 ‘‘(C) any dependent Indian community; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(D) any land conveyed to any Alaska Na19 tive Corporation under the Alaska Native 

20 Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et 

21 seq.). 

22 ‘‘(6) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian Tribe’ 

23 means any Indian Tribe, band, nation, or other or24 ganized group or community, including any Alaskan 

25 Native village or regional or village corporation (as 


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1 defined in, or established pursuant to, the Alaska 

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

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

4 programs and services provided by the United States 

5 to Indians because of their status as Indians. 

6 ‘‘(7) RENEWABLE BIOMASS.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘renewable 

8 biomass’ means— 

9 ‘‘(i) crop byproducts or crop residues 

10 that— 

11 ‘‘(I) are harvested from actively 

12 managed or fallow agricultural land 

13 that is cleared prior to January 1, 

14 2019; and 

15 ‘‘(II) are procured at a rate that 

16 adequately maintains soil carbon and 

17 prevents erosion; 

18 ‘‘(ii) closed-loop biomass (as defined 

19 in section 45(c)(2) of the Internal Revenue 

20 Code of 1986) that is harvested from land 

21 cleared prior to January 1, 2019; 

22 ‘‘(iii) byproducts of wood or paper 

23 mill operations, including lignin in spent 

24 pulping liquors; 


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1 ‘‘(iv) small diameter thinned trees (as 

2 defined in a regulation promulgated by the 

3 Secretary, in consultation with the Admin4 istrator of the Environmental Protection 

5 Agency and Secretary of the Interior, pur6 suant to a negotiated rulemaking), logging 

7 residues (as defined by the Forest Service), 

8 or tops and limbs (as defined by the Forest 

9 Service); 

10 ‘‘(v) trees removed for purposes of ec11 ological restoration, to be determined by 

12 the Secretary, in consultation with the 

13 Chief of the Forest Service and the Direc14 tor of the United States Fish and Wildlife 

15 Service, taking into consideration climate 

16 impacts; 

17 ‘‘(vi) algae; 

18 ‘‘(vii) nonhazardous plant matter de19 rived from waste— 

20 ‘‘(I) including separated yard 

21 waste, landscape right-of-way trim22 mings, and food waste; but 

23 ‘‘(II) not including municipal 

24 solid waste, recyclable waste paper, 

25 painted, treated or pressurized wood, 


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1 or wood contaminated with plastic or 

2 metals; and 

3 ‘‘(viii) vegetative matter removed from 

4 within 200 yards of any man-made struc5 ture or campground for the purposes of 

6 hazardous fuels thinning. 

7 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSION OF INVASIVE SPECIES.— 

8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 

9 subparagraph (A), except as provided in 

10 clause (ii), the term ‘renewable biomass’ 

11 does not include any matter derived from 

12 a plant that is invasive or noxious, or from 

13 a species or variety of plants that credible 

14 risk assessment tools or other credible 

15 sources determine is potentially invasive, 

16 as determined by the Secretary, in con17 sultation with other appropriate Federal or 

18 State departments and agencies. 

19 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—The term ‘renew20 able biomass’ includes matter derived from 

21 a plant that is invasive or noxious, or from 

22 a species or variety of plants that credible 

23 risk assessment tools or other credible 

24 sources determine is potentially invasive, 

25 if— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the matter was removed for 

2 purposes of control or eradication of 

3 the invasive, noxious, or potentially 

4 invasive plant; and 

5 ‘‘(II) the invasive, noxious, or po6 tentially invasive plant was not plant7 ed for the purpose of using the plant 

8 as an energy crop. 

9 ‘‘(8) RENEWABLE ENERGY.—The term ‘renew10 able energy’ means electric energy generated by a re11 newable energy resource. 

12 ‘‘(9) RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCE.—The 

13 term ‘renewable energy resource’ means— 

14 ‘‘(A) solar; 

15 ‘‘(B) wind; 

16 ‘‘(C) ocean; 

17 ‘‘(D) tidal; 

18 ‘‘(E) geothermal energy; 

19 ‘‘(F) renewable biomass; 

20 ‘‘(G) landfill gas; 

21 ‘‘(H) incremental hydropower; or 

22 ‘‘(I) hydrokinetic energy. 

23 ‘‘(10) RETAIL ELECTRIC SUPPLIER.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘retail elec25 tric supplier’ means a person that sells electric 


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1 energy to electric consumers for purposes other 

2 than resale during the preceding calendar year. 

3 ‘‘(B) SALES TO PARENT COMPANIES OR

4 AFFILIATES.—For purposes of this paragraph, 

5 sales by any person to a parent company or to 

6 other affiliates of the person shall not be treat7 ed as sales to electric consumers. 

8 ‘‘(b) COMPLIANCE.—For calendar year 2020 and 

9 each calendar year thereafter, each retail electric supplier 

10 shall meet the requirements of subsection (c) by submit11 ting to the Secretary, not later than April 1 of the fol12 lowing calendar year, 1 or more of the following: 

13 ‘‘(1) Federal renewable energy credits issued 

14 under subsection (e). 

15 ‘‘(2) Certification of the renewable energy gen16 erated and electricity savings pursuant to the funds 

17 associated with State compliance payments as speci18 fied in subsection (e)(4)(F). 

19 ‘‘(3) Alternative compliance payments pursuant 

20 to subsection (h). 

21 ‘‘(c) REQUIRED ANNUAL PERCENTAGE INCREASE.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para23 graph (2), for each of calendar years 2020 through 

24 2035, the required annual percentage increase of the 

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1 plier that shall be generated from renewable energy 

2 resources, or otherwise credited toward the percent3 age requirement pursuant to subsection (d), shall be 

4 the applicable percentage specified in the following 

5 table: 

Required Amount 

‘‘Calendar Year percentage 

2020 ............................................................................................. 1.5

2021 ............................................................................................. 2.0

2022 ............................................................................................. 2.0

2023 ............................................................................................. 2.0

2024 ............................................................................................. 2.0

2025 ............................................................................................. 2.0

2026 ............................................................................................. 2.0

2027 ............................................................................................. 2.0

2028 ............................................................................................. 2.0

2029 ............................................................................................. 2.0

2030 ............................................................................................. 2.5

2031 ............................................................................................. 2.5

2032 ............................................................................................. 2.5

2033 ............................................................................................. 2.5

2034 ............................................................................................. 2.5

2035 ............................................................................................. 2.5. 

6 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION TO CERTAIN RETAIL ELEC7 TRIC SUPPLIERS.—In the case of a retail electric 

8 supplier that sells less than 1,000,000 megawatt 

9 hours of electric energy to electric consumers for 

10 purposes other than resale during the preceding cal11 endar year, for each of calendar years 2020 through 

12 2035, the required annual percentage increase of the 

13 base quantity of electricity of the retail electric sup14 plier that shall be generated from renewable energy 

15 resources, or otherwise credited toward the percent16 age requirement pursuant to subsection (d), shall be 


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1 1 ⁄2 of the percentage specified for the calendar year 

2 in the table in paragraph (1). 

3 ‘‘(d) RENEWABLE ENERGY CREDITS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A retail electric supplier 

5 may satisfy the requirements of subsection (b)(1) 

6 through the submission of Federal renewable energy 

7 credits— 

8 ‘‘(A) issued to the retail electric supplier 

9 under subsection (e); 

10 ‘‘(B) obtained by purchase or exchange 

11 under subsection (f); or 

12 ‘‘(C) borrowed under subsection (g). 

13 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL RENEWABLE ENERGY CRED14 ITS.—A Federal renewable energy credit may be 

15 counted toward compliance with subsection (b)(1) 

16 only once. 

17 ‘‘(e) ISSUANCE OF FEDERAL RENEWABLE ENERGY

18 CREDITS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

20 the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary 

21 shall establish by rule a program— 

22 ‘‘(A) to verify and issue Federal renewable 

23 energy credits to generators of renewable en24 ergy; 


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1 ‘‘(B) to track the sale, exchange, and re2 tirement of the credits; and 

3 ‘‘(C) to enforce the requirements of this 

4 section. 

5 ‘‘(2) EXISTING NON-FEDERAL TRACKING SYS6 TEMS.—To the maximum extent practicable, in es7 tablishing the program, the Secretary shall rely on 

8 existing and emerging State or regional tracking 

9 systems that issue and track non-Federal renewable 

10 energy credits. 

11 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An entity that gen13 erates electric energy through the use of a re14 newable energy resource may apply to the Sec15 retary for the issuance of renewable energy 

16 credits. 

17 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible for the 

18 issuance of the credits, the applicant shall dem19 onstrate to the Secretary that— 

20 ‘‘(i)(I) the electric energy will be 

21 transmitted onto the grid; or 

22 ‘‘(II) in the case of a generation off23 set, the electric energy offset would have 

24 otherwise been consumed onsite; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) in the case of electric energy gen2 erated from a renewable energy resource 

3 using equipment that comes online after 

4 calendar year 2005 and before calendar 

5 year 2020, each new kilowatt hour of elec6 tric energy generated by that equipment 

7 satisfies the criteria set forth in clauses (i) 

8 and (ii) of subsection (a)(2)(D). 

9 ‘‘(C) CONTENTS.—The application shall 

10 indicate— 

11 ‘‘(i) the type of renewable energy re12 source that is used to produce the elec13 tricity; 

14 ‘‘(ii) the location at which the electric 

15 energy will be produced; and 

16 ‘‘(iii) any other information the Sec17 retary determines appropriate. 

18 ‘‘(4) QUANTITY OF FEDERAL RENEWABLE EN19 ERGY CREDITS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise 

21 provided in this paragraph, the Secretary shall 

22 issue to a generator of electric energy 1 Federal 

23 renewable energy credit for each new kilowatt 

24 hour of electric energy generated by the use of 


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1 a renewable energy resource at an eligible facil2 ity each year. 

3 ‘‘(B) INCREMENTAL HYDROPOWER.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For purpose of 

5 compliance with this section, Federal re6 newable energy credits for incremental hy7 dropower shall be based on the increase in 

8 average annual generation resulting from 

9 the efficiency improvements or capacity ad10 ditions. 

11 ‘‘(ii) WATER FLOW INFORMATION.— 

12 The incremental generation shall be cal13 culated using the same water flow informa14 tion that is— 

15 ‘‘(I) used to determine a historic 

16 average annual generation baseline for 

17 the hydroelectric facility; and 

18 ‘‘(II) certified by the Secretary or 

19 the Commission. 

20 ‘‘(iii) OPERATIONAL CHANGES.—The 

21 calculation of the Federal renewable energy 

22 credits for incremental hydropower shall 

23 not be based on any operational change at 

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1 rectly associated with the efficiency im2 provements or capacity additions. 

3 ‘‘(C) INDIAN LAND.—The Secretary shall 

4 issue 2 renewable energy credits for each new 

5 kilowatt hour of electric energy generated and 

6 supplied to the grid in a calendar year through 

7 the use of a renewable energy resource at an el8 igible facility located on Indian land. 

9 ‘‘(D) IMPACTED COMMUNITIES.—The Sec10 retary shall issue 2 renewable energy credits for 

11 each new kilowatt hour of electric energy gen12 erated and supplied to the grid in a calendar 

13 year through the use of a renewable energy re14 source at an eligible facility located in an im15 pacted community. 

16 ‘‘(E) COMBINATION OF RENEWABLE AND

17 NONRENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCES.—If both 

18 a renewable energy resource and a nonrenew19 able energy resource are used to generate the 

20 electric energy, the Secretary shall issue the 

21 Federal renewable energy credits based on the 

22 proportion of the renewable energy resources 

23 used. 

24 ‘‘(F) COMPLIANCE WITH STATE RENEW25 ABLE PORTFOLIO STANDARD PROGRAMS.—PayVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:05 Jun 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1974.IS S1974

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1 ments made by a retail electric supplier, directly 

2 or indirectly, to a State for compliance with a 

3 State renewable portfolio standard program, or 

4 for an alternative compliance mechanism, shall 

5 be valued at 1 credit per kilowatt hour for the 

6 purpose of subsection (b)(2) based on the quan7 tity of electric energy generation from renew8 able resources that results from the payments. 

9 ‘‘(f) RENEWABLE ENERGY CREDIT TRADING.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para11 graph (2), a Federal renewable energy credit may be 

12 sold, transferred, or exchanged by the entity to 

13 whom the credit is issued or by any other entity that 

14 acquires the Federal renewable energy credit. 

15 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—A Federal renewable energy 

16 credit may not be sold, transferred, or exchanged 

17 under paragraph (1) if the credit was issued to an 

18 eligible facility as a result of that facility having 

19 complied with a State program the requirements of 

20 which exceed the requirements of this section with 

21 respect to the quantity of renewable energy. 

22 ‘‘(3) CARRYOVER.—A Federal renewable energy 

23 credit for any year that is not submitted to satisfy 

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1 ried forward for use pursuant to subsection (b)(1) 

2 within the next 3 years. 

3 ‘‘(4) DELEGATION.—The Secretary may dele4 gate to an appropriate market-making entity the ad5 ministration of a national tradeable renewable en6 ergy credit market for purposes of creating a trans7 parent national market for the sale or trade of re8 newable energy credits. 

9 ‘‘(g) RENEWABLE ENERGY CREDIT BORROWING.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than December 

11 31, 2020, a retail electric supplier that has reason 

12 to believe the retail electric supplier will not be able 

13 to fully comply with subsection (b) may— 

14 ‘‘(A) submit a plan to the Secretary dem15 onstrating that the retail electric supplier will 

16 earn sufficient Federal renewable energy credits 

17 within the next 3 calendar years that, when 

18 taken into account, will enable the retail electric 

19 supplier to meet the requirements of subsection 

20 (b) for calendar year 2020 and the subsequent 

21 calendar years involved; and 

22 ‘‘(B) on the approval of the plan by the 

23 Secretary, apply Federal renewable energy cred24 its that the plan demonstrates will be earned 

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1 quirements of subsection (b) for each calendar 

2 year involved. 

3 ‘‘(2) REPAYMENT.—The retail electric supplier 

4 shall repay all of the borrowed Federal renewable 

5 energy credits by submitting an equivalent number 

6 of Federal renewable energy credits, in addition to 

7 the credits otherwise required under subsection (b), 

8 by calendar year 2023 or any earlier deadlines speci9 fied in the approved plan. 

10 ‘‘(h) ALTERNATIVE COMPLIANCE PAYMENTS.—As a 

11 means of compliance under subsection (b)(3), the Sec12 retary shall accept payment equal to the lesser of— 

13 ‘‘(1) 200 percent of the average market value of 

14 Federal renewable energy credits for the applicable 

15 compliance period; or 

16 ‘‘(2) 3 cents per kilowatt hour (as adjusted on 

17 January 1 of each year following calendar year 2020 

18 based on the implicit price deflator for the gross na19 tional product). 

20 ‘‘(i) INFORMATION COLLECTION.—The Secretary 

21 may collect the information necessary to verify and 

22 audit— 

23 ‘‘(1)(A) the annual renewable energy generation 

24 of any retail electric supplier; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) Federal renewable energy credits sub2 mitted by a retail electric supplier pursuant to sub3 section (b)(1); 

4 ‘‘(2) the validity of Federal renewable energy 

5 credits submitted for compliance by a retail electric 

6 supplier to the Secretary; and 

7 ‘‘(3) the quantity of electricity sales of all retail 

8 electric suppliers. 

9 ‘‘(j) ENVIRONMENTAL SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Incre10 mental hydropower shall be subject to all applicable envi11 ronmental laws and licensing and regulatory requirements. 

12 ‘‘(k) STATE PROGRAMS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this section pre14 empts or affects any authority of a State, political 

15 subdivision of a State, or interstate compact— 

16 ‘‘(A) to adopt or enforce any law or rule 

17 respecting renewable energy, including by estab18 lishing and enforcing a renewable energy pro19 gram that is separate from the program estab20 lished under this section, that does not conflict 

21 with the requirements of this section; or 

22 ‘‘(B) to regulate the acquisition and dis23 position of Federal renewable energy credits by 

24 retail electric suppliers. 


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1 ‘‘(2) COMPLIANCE WITH SECTION.—No law or 

2 regulation referred to in paragraph (1)(A) shall re3 lieve any person of any requirement otherwise appli4 cable under this section. 

5 ‘‘(3) COORDINATION WITH STATE PROGRAM.— 

6 The Secretary, in consultation with States that have 

7 in effect renewable energy programs, shall— 

8 ‘‘(A) preserve the integrity of the State 

9 programs, including programs the requirements 

10 of which exceed the requirements of this section 

11 with respect to quantity of renewable energy; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(B) facilitate coordination between the 

14 Federal program and State programs. 

15 ‘‘(4) STATE INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT.— 

16 The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission shall 

17 seek to ensure that each transmission provider (as 

18 defined in section 37.3 of title 18, Code of Federal 

19 Regulations (or a successor regulation))— 

20 ‘‘(A) identifies the electric transmission in21 frastructure needs driven by the requirements 

22 of this section; and 

23 ‘‘(B) fully evaluates, in the transmission 

24 planning process, potential transmission solu25 tions to meet those identified needs. 


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1 ‘‘(5) EXISTING RENEWABLE ENERGY PRO2 GRAMS.—In the regulations establishing the program 

3 under this section, the Secretary shall incorporate 

4 common elements of existing renewable energy pro5 grams, including State programs, to ensure adminis6 trative ease, market transparency, and effective en7 forcement. 

8 ‘‘(6) MINIMIZATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE BUR9 DENS AND COSTS.—In carrying out this section, the 

10 Secretary shall work with the States to minimize ad11 ministrative burdens and costs to retail electric sup12 pliers. 

13 ‘‘(7) OPT-OUT.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the re15 quirements of this paragraph, the Secretary 

16 shall allow a State to elect not to participate in 

17 this section, including any program established 

18 by the Secretary under this section. 

19 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBILITY.—A State may elect not 

20 to participate in this section if the Secretary de21 termines that— 

22 ‘‘(i) more than 60 percent of the elec23 tricity sold in the State each year is gen24 erated from new or existing renewable en25 ergy resources; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the State— 

2 ‘‘(I) has in effect a program the 

3 requirements of which exceed the re4 quirements of this section with respect 

5 to quantity of new renewable energy; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(II) has in effect a system of 

8 enforcing compliance with that State 

9 program, including any penalty, that 

10 is at least as effective as the system 

11 of enforcement under this section. 

12 ‘‘(C) APPLICATION.— 

13 ‘‘(i) SUBMISSION.—A State electing 

14 not to participate in this section shall sub15 mit to the Secretary an application at such 

16 time, in such manner, and containing such 

17 information as the Secretary may require. 

18 ‘‘(ii) APPROVAL.—The Secretary shall 

19 approve an application submitted under 

20 clause (i) if the Secretary determines that 

21 the State meets the requirements described 

22 in subparagraph (B). 

23 ‘‘(D) WAIVER.— 

24 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—On approval of an 

25 application under subparagraph (C), the 


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1 Secretary shall issue to the State a waiver 

2 from the requirements of this section. 

3 ‘‘(ii) DURATION.—A waiver issued by 

4 the Secretary under clause (i) shall be for 

5 a period of 3 years. 

6 ‘‘(E) EFFECT OF OPT-OUT.— 

7 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—On receipt of a 

8 waiver under subparagraph (D), a State, 

9 including any retail electric supplier within 

10 the State, shall be exempt from the re11 quirements of this section, including any 

12 program established by the Secretary 

13 under this section, for the duration of the 

14 waiver. 

15 ‘‘(ii) ISSUANCE OF FEDERAL RENEW16 ABLE ENERGY CREDITS.— 

17 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Subject to 

18 subclause (II), the Secretary shall not 

19 issue Federal renewable energy credits 

20 for electricity generated in a State 

21 that has been issued a waiver under 

22 subparagraph (D). 

23 ‘‘(II) ENERGY CONSUMED IN AN24 OTHER STATE.—On request of an eli25 gible facility located in a State that 


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1 has been issued a waiver under sub2 paragraph (D), the Secretary may 

3 issue to the eligible facility Federal re4 newable energy credits for electric en5 ergy generated by the eligible facility 

6 through the use of a renewable energy 

7 resource if that electric energy was 

8 consumed in a State that has not 

9 been issued a waiver under subpara10 graph (D). 

11 ‘‘(iii) GRANTS.—A State that has re12 ceived a waiver under subparagraph (D) 

13 shall not be eligible for a grant under sub14 section (n). 

15 ‘‘(l) RECOVERY OF COSTS.—An electric utility that 

16 has sales of electric energy that are subject to rate regula17 tion (including any utility with rates that are regulated 

18 by the Commission and any State regulated electric util19 ity) shall not be denied the opportunity to recover the full 

20 amount of the prudently incurred incremental cost of re21 newable energy obtained to comply with the requirements 

22 of subsection (b). 

23 ‘‘(m) PROGRAM REVIEW.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall enter 

25 into an arrangement with the National Academy of 


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1 Sciences under which the Academy shall conduct a 

2 comprehensive evaluation of all aspects of the pro3 gram established under this section. 

4 ‘‘(2) EVALUATION.—The study under para5 graph (1) shall include an evaluation of— 

6 ‘‘(A) the effectiveness of the program in 

7 increasing the market penetration and lowering 

8 the cost of the eligible renewable energy tech9 nologies; 

10 ‘‘(B) the opportunities for any additional 

11 technologies and sources of renewable energy 

12 emerging since the date of enactment of this 

13 section; 

14 ‘‘(C) the impact on the regional diversity 

15 and reliability of supply sources, including the 

16 power quality benefits of distributed generation; 

17 ‘‘(D) the regional resource development 

18 relative to renewable potential and reasons for 

19 any investment in renewable resources; 

20 ‘‘(E) the net cost or benefit of the renew21 able electricity standard to the national and 

22 State economies, including— 

23 ‘‘(i) retail power costs; 

24 ‘‘(ii) the economic development bene25 fits of investment; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) avoided costs related to environ2 mental and congestion mitigation invest3 ments that would otherwise have been re4 quired; 

5 ‘‘(iv) the impact on natural gas de6 mand and price; and 

7 ‘‘(v) the effectiveness of green mar8 keting programs at reducing the cost of re9 newable resources; and 

10 ‘‘(F) the impact of any attrition of existing 

11 renewable energy. 

12 ‘‘(3) REPORT.—Not later than January 1, 

13 2025, and every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary 

14 shall submit to Congress a report describing the re15 sults of the evaluation and any recommendations for 

16 modifications and improvements to the program. 

17 ‘‘(4) PLAN.—Not later than December 31, 

18 2033, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a plan 

19 to amend and extend, through regulation, the pro20 gram and standards established under this section in 

21 a manner that will decarbonize the power sector be22 fore 2050. 

23 ‘‘(n) STATE RENEWABLE ENERGY ACCOUNT.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the 

25 Treasury a State renewable energy account. 


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1 ‘‘(2) DEPOSITS.—All money collected by the 

2 Secretary from the alternative compliance payments 

3 under subsection (h) shall be deposited into the 

4 State renewable energy account established under 

5 paragraph (1). 

6 ‘‘(3) GRANTS.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Proceeds deposited in 

8 the State renewable energy account shall be 

9 used by the Secretary, subject to annual appro10 priations, for a program to provide grants— 

11 ‘‘(i) to the State agency responsible 

12 for administering a fund to promote renew13 able energy generation for customers of the 

14 State or an alternative agency designated 

15 by the State; or 

16 ‘‘(ii) if no agency described in clause 

17 (i), to the State agency developing State 

18 energy conservation plans under section 

19 362 of the Energy Policy and Conservation 

20 Act (42 U.S.C. 6322). 

21 ‘‘(B) USE.—A grant under this paragraph 

22 shall be used for the purpose of— 

23 ‘‘(i) promoting renewable energy pro24 duction; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) providing energy assistance and 

2 weatherization services to low-income con3 sumers. 

4 ‘‘(C) CRITERIA.—The Secretary may issue 

5 guidelines and criteria for any grant awarded 

6 under this paragraph. 

7 ‘‘(D) STATE-APPROVED FUNDING MECHA8 NISMS.—At least 75 percent of the funds pro9 vided to each State for each fiscal year shall be 

10 used to promote renewable energy production 

11 through grants, production incentives, or other 

12 State-approved funding mechanisms. 

13 ‘‘(E) ALLOCATION.—The funds shall be al14 located to the States on the basis of retail elec15 tric sales subject to the renewable electricity 

16 standard under this section or through vol17 untary participation. 

18 ‘‘(F) RECORDS.—A State agency receiving 

19 a grant under this paragraph shall maintain 

20 such records and evidence of compliance as the 

21 Secretary may require.’’. 

22 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

23 for the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 

24 U.S.C. prec. 2601) is amended by adding at the end of 

25 the items relating to title VI the following: 


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‘‘Sec. 609. Rural and remote communities electrification grants. 

‘‘Sec. 610. Renewable electricity standard.’’. 

Æ 


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