II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1016 

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

energy independence and self-sufficiency by providing for the use of 

net metering by certain small electric energy generation systems, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 28, 2007 

Mr. MENENDEZ 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 promote energy independence and self-sufficiency by 

providing for the use of net metering by certain small 

electric energy generation systems, 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 ‘‘Solar Opportunity and 

5 Local Access Rights Act’’. 

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1 SEC. 2. NET METERING AND INTERCONNECTION STAND2 ARDS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 113 of the Public Utility 

4 Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2623) is 

5 amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(d) NET METERING.— 

7 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection and 

8 subsection (e): 

9 ‘‘(A) CUSTOMER-GENERATOR.—The term 

10 ‘customer-generator’ means the owner or oper11 ator of a qualified generation unit. 

12 ‘‘(B) ELECTRIC GENERATION UNIT.—The 

13 term ‘electric generation unit’ means— 

14 ‘‘(i) a qualified generation unit; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) any electric generation unit that 

16 qualifies for net metering under a net me17 tering tariff or rule approved by a State. 

18 ‘‘(C) LOCAL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM.—The 

19 term ‘local distribution system’ means any sys20 tem for the distribution of electric energy to the 

21 ultimate consumer of the electricity, whether or 

22 not the owner or operator of the system is a re23 tail electric supplier. 

24 ‘‘(D) NET METERING.—The term ‘net me25 tering’ means the process of— 

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1 ‘‘(i) measuring the difference between 

2 the electricity supplied to a customer-gen3 erator and the electricity generated by the 

4 customer-generator that is delivered to a 

5 local distribution system at the same point 

6 of interconnection during an applicable 

7 billing period; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) providing an energy credit to the 

9 customer-generator in the form of a kilo10 watt-hour credit for each kilowatt-hour of 

11 energy produced by the customer-generator 

12 from a qualified generation unit. 

13 ‘‘(E) QUALIFIED GENERATION UNIT.—The 

14 term ‘qualified generation unit’ means an elec15 tric energy generation unit that— 

16 ‘‘(i) is a fuel cell or uses as the energy 

17 source of the unit solar energy, wind, bio18 mass, geothermal energy, anaerobic diges19 tion, or landfill gas, or a combination of 

20 the any of those sources; 

21 ‘‘(ii) has a generating capacity of not 

22 more than 2,000 kilowatts; 

23 ‘‘(iii) is located on premises that are 

24 owned, operated, leased, or otherwise con25 trolled by the customer-generator; 

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1 ‘‘(iv) operates in parallel with the re2 tail electric supplier; and 

3 ‘‘(v) is intended primarily to offset all 

4 or part of the requirements of the cus5 tomer-generator for electric energy. 

6 ‘‘(F) RETAIL ELECTRIC SUPPLIER.—The 

7 term ‘retail electric supplier’ means any electric 

8 utility that sells electric energy to the ultimate 

9 consumer of the energy. 

10 ‘‘(2) ADOPTION.—Not later than 1 year after 

11 the date of enactment of this subsection, each State 

12 regulatory authority (with respect to each electric 

13 utility for which the State regulatory authority has 

14 ratemaking authority), and each nonregulated elec15 tric utility, shall— 

16 ‘‘(A) provide public notice and conduct a 

17 hearing with respect to the standards estab18 lished under paragraph (3); and 

19 ‘‘(B) on the basis of the hearing, adopt the 

20 standard. 

21 ‘‘(3) ESTABLISHMENT OF NET METERING

22 STANDARD.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each retail electric 

24 supplier shall offer to arrange (either directly or 

25 through a local distribution company or other 

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1 third party) to make net metering available, on 

2 a first-come, first-served basis, to each of the 

3 retail customers of the retail electric supplier in 

4 accordance with the requirements described in 

5 subparagraph (B) and other provisions of this 

6 subsection. 

7 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—The requirements 

8 referred to in subparagraph (A) are, with re9 spect to a retail electric supplier, that— 

10 ‘‘(i) rates and charges and contract 

11 terms and conditions for the sale of electric 

12 energy to customer-generators shall be the 

13 same as the rates and charges and con14 tract terms and conditions that would be 

15 applicable if the customer-generator did 

16 not own or operate a qualified generation 

17 unit and use a net metering system; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) each retail electric supplier shall 

19 notify all of the retail customers of the re20 tail electric supplier of the standard estab21 lished under this paragraph as soon as 

22 practicable after the adoption of the stand23 ard. 

24 ‘‘(4) NET ENERGY MEASUREMENT.— 

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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each retail electric 

2 supplier shall arrange to provide to customer3 generators who qualify for net metering under 

4 subsection (b) an electrical energy meter capa5 ble of net metering and measuring, to the max6 imum extent practicable, the flow of electricity 

7 to or from the customer, using a single meter 

8 and single register. 

9 ‘‘(B) IMPRACTICABILITY.—In a case in 

10 which it is not practicable to provide a meter to 

11 a customer-generator under subparagraph (A), 

12 a retail electric supplier (either directly or 

13 through a local distribution company or other 

14 third party) shall, at the expense of the retail 

15 electric supplier, install 1 or more of those elec16 tric energy meters for the customer-generators 

17 concerned. 

18 ‘‘(5) BILLING.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each retail electric 

20 supplier subject to subsection (b) shall calculate 

21 the electric energy consumption for a customer 

22 using a net metering system in accordance with 

23 subparagraphs (B) through (D). 

24 ‘‘(B) MEASUREMENT OF ELECTRICITY.— 

25 The retail electric supplier shall measure the 

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1 net electricity produced or consumed during the 

2 billing period using the metering installed in ac3 cordance with paragraph (4). 

4 ‘‘(C) BILLING AND CREDITING.— 

5 ‘‘(i) BILLING.—If the electricity sup6 plied by the retail electric supplier exceeds 

7 the electricity generated by the customer8 generator during the billing period, the 

9 customer-generator shall be billed for the 

10 net electric energy supplied by the retail 

11 electric supplier in accordance with normal 

12 billing practices 

13 ‘‘(ii) CREDITING.— 

14 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—If electric en15 ergy generated by the customer-gener16 ator exceeds the electric energy sup17 plied by the retail electric supplier 

18 during the billing period, the cus19 tomer-generator shall be billed for the 

20 appropriate customer charges for that 

21 billing period and credited for the ex22 cess electric energy generated during 

23 the billing period, with the credit ap24 pearing as a kilowatt-hour credit on 

25 the bill for the following billing period. 

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1 ‘‘(II) APPLICATION OF CRED2 ITS.—Any kilowatt-hour credits pro3 vided to a customer-generator under 

4 this clause shall be applied to cus5 tomer-generator electric energy con6 sumption on the following billing pe7 riod bill (except for a billing period 

8 that ends in the next calendar year). 

9 ‘‘(III) CARRYOVER OF UNUSED

10 CREDITS.—At the beginning of each 

11 calendar year, any unused kilowatt12 hour credits remaining from the pre13 ceding year will carry over to the new 

14 year. 

15 ‘‘(D) USE OF TIME-DIFFERENTIATED

16 RATES.— 

17 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro18 vided in clause (ii), if a customer-generator 

19 is using a meter and retail billing arrange20 ment that has time-differentiated rates— 

21 ‘‘(I) the kilowatt-hour credit shall 

22 be based on the ratio representing the 

23 difference in retail rates for each 

24 time-of-use rate; or 

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1 ‘‘(II) the credits shall be reflected 

2 on the bill of the customer-generator 

3 as a monetary credit reflecting retail 

4 rates at the time of generation of the 

5 electric energy by the customer-gener6 ator. 

7 ‘‘(ii) DIFFERENT TARIFFS OR SERV8 ICES.—A retail electric supplier shall offer 

9 a customer-generator the choice of a time10 differentiated energy tariff rate or a 

11 nontime-differentiated energy tariff rate, if 

12 the retail electric supplier offers the choice 

13 to customers in the same rate class as the 

14 customer-generator. 

15 ‘‘(6) PERCENT LIMITATIONS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) 4 PERCENT LIMITATION.—The stand17 ard established under this subsection shall not 

18 apply for a calendar year in the case of a cus19 tomer-generator served by a local distribution 

20 company if the total generating capacity of all 

21 customer-generators with net metering systems 

22 served by the local distribution company in the 

23 calendar year is equal to or more than 4 per24 cent of the capacity necessary to meet the avermstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 age forecasted aggregate customer peak de2 mand of the company for the calendar year. 

3 ‘‘(B) 2 PERCENT LIMITATION.—The stand4 ard established under this subsection shall not 

5 apply for a calendar year in the case of a cus6 tomer-generator served by a local distribution 

7 company if the total generating capacity of all 

8 customer-generators with net metering systems 

9 served by the local distribution company in the 

10 calendar year using a single type of qualified 

11 generation units (as described in paragraph 

12 (1)(D)(i)) is equal to or more than 2 percent of 

13 the capacity necessary to meet the average fore14 casted aggregate customer peak demand of the 

15 company for the calendar year. 

16 ‘‘(C) RECORDS AND NOTICE.— 

17 ‘‘(i) RECORDS.—Each retail electric 

18 supplier shall maintain, and make available 

19 to the public, records of— 

20 ‘‘(I) the total generating capacity 

21 of customer-generators of the system 

22 of the retail electric supplier that are 

23 using net metering; and 

24 ‘‘(II) the type of generating sys25 tems and energy source used by the 

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1 electric generating systems used by 

2 the customer-generators. 

3 ‘‘(ii) NOTICE.—Each such retail elec4 tric supplier shall notify the State regu5 latory authority and the Commission at 

6 each time at which the total generating ca7 pacity of the customer-generators of the 

8 retail electric supplier reaches a level that 

9 equals or exceeds— 

10 ‘‘(I) 75 percent of the limitation 

11 specified in subparagraph (B); or 

12 ‘‘(II) the limitation specified in 

13 subparagraph (B). 

14 ‘‘(7) OWNERSHIP OF CREDITS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of Fed16 eral and State laws providing renewable energy 

17 credits or greenhouse gas credits, a customer18 generator with a qualified generation unit and 

19 net metering shall be treated as owning and 

20 having title to the renewable energy attributes, 

21 renewable energy credits and greenhouse gas 

22 emission credits relating to any electricity pro23 duced by the qualified generation unit. 

24 ‘‘(B) RETAIL ELECTRIC SUPPLIERS.—No 

25 retail electric supplier shall claim title to or 

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1 ownership of any renewable energy attributes, 

2 renewable energy credits, or greenhouse gas 

3 emission credits of a customer-generator as a 

4 result of interconnecting the customer-generator 

5 or providing or offering the customer-generator 

6 net metering. 

7 ‘‘(8) SAFETY AND PERFORMANCE STAND8 ARDS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A qualified generation 

10 unit and net metering system used by a cus11 tomer-generator shall meet all applicable safety 

12 and performance and reliability standards es13 tablished by— 

14 ‘‘(i) the national electrical code; 

15 ‘‘(ii) the Institute of Electrical and 

16 Electronics Engineers; 

17 ‘‘(iii) Underwriters Laboratories; or 

18 ‘‘(iv) the American National Stand19 ards Institute. 

20 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL CHARGES.—The Com21 mission shall, after consultation with State reg22 ulatory authorities and nonregulated local dis23 tribution systems and after notice and oppor24 tunity for comment, prohibit by regulation the 

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1 tric suppliers and local distribution systems for 

2 equipment or services for safety or performance 

3 that are in addition to those necessary to meet 

4 the standards and requirements referred to in 

5 subparagraph (A) and subsection (e). 

6 ‘‘(9) DETERMINATION OF COMPLIANCE.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any State regulatory 

8 authority (with respect to each electric utility 

9 for which the authority has ratemaking author10 ity), and each nonregulated electric utility, may 

11 apply to the Commission for a determination 

12 that any State net metering requirement or reg13 ulations complies with this subsection. 

14 ‘‘(B) ORDERS.—In the absence of a deter15 mination under subparagraph (A), the Commis16 sion, on the motion of the Commission or pur17 suant to the petition of any interested person, 

18 may, after notice and opportunity for a hearing 

19 on the record, issue an order requiring against 

20 any retail electric supplier or local distribution 

21 company to require compliance with this sub22 section. 

23 ‘‘(C) PENALTIES.— 

24 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Any person who 

25 violates this subsection or any order of the 

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1 Commission under this subsection shall be 

2 subject to a civil penalty in the amount of 

3 $10,000 for each day that the violation 

4 continues. 

5 ‘‘(ii) ASSESSMENT.—The penalty may 

6 be assessed by the Commission, after no7 tice and opportunity for hearing, in the 

8 same manner as penalties are assessed 

9 under section 31(d) of the Federal Power 

10 Act (16 U.S.C. 823b(d)). 

11 ‘‘(e) INTERCONNECTION STANDARDS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) MODEL STANDARDS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

14 after the date of enactment of this subsection, 

15 the Commission shall publish model standards 

16 for the physical connection between local dis17 tribution systems and qualified generation units 

18 and electric generation units that— 

19 ‘‘(i) are qualified generation units (as 

20 defined in subsection (d)(1)(D) (other than 

21 clause (ii) of subsection (d)(1)(D)); and 

22 ‘‘(ii) do not exceed 20,000 kilowatts of 

23 capacity. 

24 ‘‘(B) PURPOSES.—The model standards 

25 shall be designed to— 

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1 ‘‘(i) encourage the use of qualified 

2 generation units; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) ensure the safety and reliability 

4 of the qualified generation units and the 

5 local distribution systems interconnected 

6 with the qualified generation units. 

7 ‘‘(C) EXPEDITED PROCEDURES.— 

8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The model stand9 ards shall have 2 separate expedited proce10 dures, including— 

11 ‘‘(I) a standard for inter12 connecting qualified generation units 

13 of not more than 15 kilowatts; and 

14 ‘‘(II) a separate standard that 

15 expedites interconnection for qualified 

16 generation units of more than 15 kilo17 watts but not more than 2,000 kilo18 watts. 

19 ‘‘(ii) BEST PRACTICES.—The expe20 dited procedures shall be based on the best 

21 practices that have been used in States 

22 that have adopted interconnection stand23 ards. 

24 ‘‘(iii) MODEL RULE.—In designing the 

25 expedited procedures, the Commission shall 

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1 consider Interstate Renewable Energy 

2 Council Model Rule MR–I2005. 

3 ‘‘(D) ADOPTION OF STANDARDS.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 

5 years after the date of enactment of this 

6 subsection, each State shall— 

7 ‘‘(I) adopt the model standards 

8 established under this paragraph, with 

9 or without modification; and 

10 ‘‘(II) submit the standards to the 

11 Commission for approval. 

12 ‘‘(ii) APPROVAL OF MODIFICATION.— 

13 The Commission shall approve a modifica14 tion of the model standards only if the 

15 Commission determines that the modifica16 tion is— 

17 ‘‘(I) consistent with or superior 

18 to the purpose of the standards; and 

19 ‘‘(II) required by reason of local 

20 conditions. 

21 ‘‘(E) NONAPPROVAL OF STANDARDS FOR A

22 STATE.—If standards have not been approved 

23 under this paragraph by the Commission for 

24 any State during the 2-year period beginning 

25 on the date of enactment of this subsection, the 

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1 Commission shall, by rule or order, enforce the 

2 model standards of the Commission in the State 

3 until such time as State standards are approved 

4 by the Commission. 

5 ‘‘(F) UPDATES.— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 

7 years after the date of enactment of this 

8 subsection and after notice and oppor9 tunity for comment, the Commission shall 

10 publish an update of the model standards, 

11 after considering changes in the underlying 

12 standards and technologies. 

13 ‘‘(ii) AVAILABILITY.—The updates 

14 shall be made available to State regulatory 

15 authorities for the consideration of the au16 thorities. 

17 ‘‘(2) SAFETY, RELIABILITY, PERFORMANCE, 

18 AND COST.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The standards under 

20 this subsection shall establish such measures 

21 for the safety and reliability of the affected 

22 equipment and local distribution systems as are 

23 appropriate. 

24 ‘‘(B) ADMINISTRATION.—The standards 

25 shall— 

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1 ‘‘(i) be consistent with all applicable 

2 safety and performance standards estab3 lished by— 

4 ‘‘(I) the national electrical code; 

5 ‘‘(II) the Institute of Electrical 

6 and Electronics Engineers; 

7 ‘‘(III) Underwriters Laboratories; 

8 or 

9 ‘‘(IV) the American National 

10 Standards Institute; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) impose not more than such min12 imum cost and technical burdens to the 

13 interconnecting customer generator as the 

14 Commission determines, by rule, are prac15 ticable. 

16 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL CHARGES.—The model stand17 ards under this subsection shall prohibit the imposi18 tion of additional charges by local distribution sys19 tems for equipment or services for interconnection 

20 that are in excess of— 

21 ‘‘(A) the charges necessary to meet the 

22 standards; and 

23 ‘‘(B) the charges and equipment require24 ments identified in the best practices of States 

25 with interconnection standards. 

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1 ‘‘(4) RELATIONSHIP TO EXISTING LAW REGARD2 ING INTERCONNECTION.—Nothing in this subsection 

3 affects the application of section 111(d)(15) relating 

4 to interconnection. 

5 ‘‘(5) CONSUMER-FRIENDLY CONTRACTS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission 

7 shall— 

8 ‘‘(i) promulgate regulations that en9 sure that simplified contracts will be used 

10 for the interconnection of electric energy 

11 by electric energy transmission or local dis12 tribution systems and generating facilities 

13 that have a power production capacity of 

14 not greater than 2,000 kilowatts; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) consider the best practices for 

16 consumer-friendly contracts that are used 

17 by States or national associations of State 

18 regulators. 

19 ‘‘(B) LIABILITY OR INSURANCE.—The con20 tracts shall not require liability or other insur21 ance in excess of the liability or insurance that 

22 is typically carried by customer-generators for 

23 general liability. 

24 ‘‘(6) ENFORCEMENT.— 

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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any person who vio2 lates this subsection shall be subject to a civil 

3 penalty in the amount of $10,000 for each day 

4 that the violation continues. 

5 ‘‘(B) ASSESSMENT.—The penalty may be 

6 assessed by the Commission, after notice and 

7 opportunity for hearing, in the same manner as 

8 penalties are assessed under section 31(d) of 

9 the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 823b(d)).’’. 

10 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 1262 of the 

11 Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 

12 16451) is amended by striking paragraph (5) and insert13 ing the following: 

14 ‘‘(5) ELECTRIC UTILITY COMPANY.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘electric 

16 utility company’ means any company that owns 

17 or operates facilities used for the generation, 

18 transmission, or distribution of electric energy 

19 for sale. 

20 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘electric util21 ity company’ does not include an electric gen22 eration unit (as defined in section 113(d) of the 

23 Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 

24 1978).’’. 

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1 SEC. 3. RELATIONSHIP TO STATE LAW. 

2 Section 117(b) of the Public Utility Regulatory Poli3 cies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2627(b)) is amended— 

4 (1) by striking ‘‘Nothing’’ and inserting the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para7 graph (2), nothing’’; and 

8 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(2) NET METERING AND INTERCONNECTION

10 STANDARDS.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara12 graph (B), no State or nonregulated utility may 

13 adopt or enforce any standard or requirement 

14 concerning net metering or interconnection that 

15 restricts access to the electric power trans16 mission or local distribution system by qualified 

17 generators beyond those standards and require18 ments established under section 113. 

19 ‘‘(B) EQUIVALENT OR GREATER ACCESS.— 

20 Nothing in this Act precludes a State from 

21 adopting or enforcing incentives or require22 ments to encourage qualified generation and net 

23 metering that— 

24 ‘‘(i) are in addition to or equivalent to 

25 incentives or requirements under section 

26 113; or 

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1 ‘‘(ii) afford greater access to the elec2 tric power transmission and local distribu3 tion systems by qualified generators (as 

4 defined in section 113) or afford greater 

5 compensation or credit for electricity gen6 erated by the qualified generators.’’. 

7 SEC. 4. CONTRACTS FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY FOR EXECU8 TIVE AGENCIES. 

9 Section 501(b)(1)(B) of title 40, United States Code, 

10 is amended— 

11 (1) by striking ‘‘A contract’’ and inserting the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro14 vided in clause (ii), a contract’’; and 

15 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(ii) RENEWABLE ENERGY.—A con17 tract for renewable energy (as defined in 

18 section 203(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 

19 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15852(b))) may be made 

20 for a period of not more than 30 years.’’. 

21 SEC. 5. PROHIBITION OF EXCESSIVE FEES FOR SOLAR EN22 ERGY SYSTEMS BUILDING PERMITS. 

23 (a) DEFINITION OF SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEM.—In 

24 this section, the term ‘‘solar energy system’’ means, with 

25 respect to a structure, equipment that uses solar energy 

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1 to generate electricity for, to heat or cool, or provide hot 

2 water for use in, the structure. 

3 (b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after 

4 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Hous5 ing and Urban Development, in consultation with the Sec6 retary of Energy, shall issue regulations providing that the 

7 cost of a permit or license required by a State or unit 

8 of local government for construction or installation of any 

9 solar energy system shall not exceed— 

10 (1) in the case of a structure primarily for resi11 dential use, an amount determined to be appropriate 

12 by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Develop13 ment; and 

14 (2) in the case of a structure primarily for non15 residential use, 1 percent of the total cost of the in16 stallation or construction of the solar energy system, 

17 but not more than $10,000. 

18 SEC. 6. PROHIBITION OF RESTRICTIONS ON RESIDENTIAL 

19 INSTALLATION OF SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEM. 

20 (a) REGULATIONS.—Within 180 days after the enact21 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Housing and Urban 

22 Development, in consultation with the Secretary of En23 ergy, shall issue regulations— 

24 (1) to prohibit any private covenant, contract 

25 provision, lease provision, homeowners’ association 

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1 rule or bylaw, or similar restriction, that impairs the 

2 ability of the owner or lessee of any residential 

3 structure designed for occupancy by 1 family to in4 stall, construct, maintain, or use a solar energy sys5 tem on such residential property; and 

6 (2) to require that whenever any such covenant, 

7 provision, rule or bylaw, or restriction requires ap8 proval for the installation or use of a solar energy 

9 system, the application for approval shall be proc10 essed and approved by the appropriate approving en11 tity in the same manner as an application for ap12 proval of an architectural modification to the prop13 erty, and shall not be willfully avoided or delayed. 

14 (b) CONTENTS.—The regulations required under sub15 section (a) shall provide that— 

16 (1) such a covenant, provision, rule or bylaw, or 

17 restriction impairs the installation, construction, 

18 maintenance, or use of a solar energy system if it— 

19 (A) unreasonably delays or prevents instal20 lation, maintenance, or use; 

21 (B) unreasonably increases the cost of in22 stallation, maintenance, or use; or 

23 (C) precludes use of such a system; and 

24 (2) any fee or cost imposed on the owner or les25 see of such a residential structure by such a covmstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 enant, provision, rule or bylaw, or restriction shall 

2 be considered unreasonable if— 

3 (A) such fee or cost is not reasonable in 

4 comparison to the cost of the solar energy sys5 tem or the value of its use; or 

6 (B) treatment of solar energy systems by 

7 the covenant, provision, rule or bylaw, or re8 striction is not reasonable in comparison with 

9 treatment of comparable systems by the same 

10 covenant, provision, rule or bylaw, or restric11 tion. 

12 (c) SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEM.—For purposes of this 

13 section, the term ‘‘solar energy system’’ means, with re14 spect to a structure, equipment that uses solar energy to 

15 generate electricity for, to heat or cool, or provide hot 

16 water for use in, the structure. 

Æ 

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