II 

Calendar No. 618 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3460 

[Report No. 111–332] 

To require the Secretary of Energy to provide funds to States for rebates, 

loans, and other incentives to eligible individuals or entities for the 

purchase and installation of solar energy systems for properties located 

in the United States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 7, 2010 

Mr. SANDERS (for himself, Mr. SPECTER, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, 

Mr. KAUFMAN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. LEAHY, Mrs. 

BOXER, Mr. CASEY, Mr. HARKIN, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. MENENDEZ, 

Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. KERRY, Mrs. SHAHEEN, and Ms. CANTWELL) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

SEPTEMBER 27, 2010 

Reported by Mr. BINGAMAN, with an amendment and an amendment to the 

title 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Energy to provide funds to 

States for rebates, loans, and other incentives to eligible 

individuals or entities for the purchase and installation 

of solar energy systems for properties located in the 

United States, and for other purposes. 


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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘10 Million Solar Roofs 

5 Act of 2010’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANT.—The term ‘‘eligi9 ble participant’’ means— 

10 (A) an owner of a home; 

11 (B) a business entity; 

12 (C) a local educational agency; and 

13 (D) any other individual or entity that the 

14 Secretary determines to be appropriate. 

15 (2) INSTALLED NAMEPLATE CAPACITY.—The 

16 term ‘‘installed nameplate capacity’’ means the max17 imum output of a solar electric system under specific 

18 conditions designated by the manufacturer of the 

19 solar electric system. 

20 (3) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 

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

22 the term in section 9101 of the Elementary and Sec23 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

24 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

25 the Secretary of Energy. 


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

2 energy system’’ means rooftop or ground-mounted 

3 solar equipment— 

4 (A) that is used to generate electricity or 

5 heat water; and 

6 (B) with an installed nameplate capacity 

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

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

10 PURCHASE AND INSTALLATION OF SOLAR 

11 ENERGY SYSTEMS. 

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

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

14 a program under which the Secretary shall provide funds 

15 to States to provide rebates, loans, or other incentives to 

16 eligible participants for the purchase and installation of 

17 solar energy systems for properties located in the United 

18 States. 

19 (b) ALLOCATION.—For each of fiscal years 2012 

20 through 2020, the Secretary shall provide funds to States 

21 in accordance with the allocation formula used to allocate 

22 funds to States to carry out State energy conservation 

23 plans under part D of title III of the Energy Policy and 

24 Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6321 et seq.). 

25 (c) STATES NOT RECEIVING FUNDS.— 


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1 (1) DUTY OF STATES.—Any State that does not 

2 elect to receive funds provided under this section 

3 shall submit to the Secretary written notification of 

4 the decision of the State not to receive the funds. 

5 (2) DUTY OF SECRETARY.—Upon the receipt of 

6 written notification by a State under paragraph (1), 

7 the Secretary shall redistribute the funds that the 

8 State would have received to each other State that 

9 elects to receive funds provided under this section in 

10 accordance with the allocation formula described in 

11 subsection (b). 

12 (d) IMPLEMENTATION.— 

13 (1) AUTHORIZED USE OF FUNDS.—Subject to 

14 subsection (e), each State may use funds received 

15 under this section to expand an existing, or establish 

16 and fund a new— 

17 (A) State solar rebate program; 

18 (B) solar loan program; 

19 (C) solar performance-based incentive pro20 gram; or 

21 (D) solar incentive program or innovative 

22 solar financing program not described in sub23 paragraphs (A) through (C), as determined by 

24 the Secretary. 


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1 (2) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—For each fiscal 

2 year during which a State uses funds provided under 

3 this section for a use described in paragraph (1), the 

4 State shall— 

5 (A) certify to the Secretary that the funds 

6 will be used— 

7 (i) to supplement, expand, or create 

8 new programs (and will not supplant exist9 ing programs as to maximize program par10 ticipation); and 

11 (ii) to deploy an increased quantity of 

12 solar energy systems; and 

13 (B) submit to the Secretary an annual im14 plementation plan that contains— 

15 (i) projections for solar energy sys16 tems deployment; 

17 (ii) data regarding the number of eli18 gible participants that are assisted under 

19 existing applicable State programs; and 

20 (iii) projections for— 

21 (I) additional solar energy system 

22 deployment; and 

23 (II) the number of additional eli24 gible participants for the fiscal year 


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1 following the fiscal year covered by 

2 the annual implementation plan. 

3 (e) SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEM.—With respect to each 

4 State that receives funds under this section, the Secretary 

5 may specify the type and capacity of the solar energy sys6 tem that the State may use. 

7 (f) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—Each State that receives 

8 funds under this section shall be responsible for an 

9 amount equal to 20 percent of the amount of the provided 

10 funds. 

11 (g) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Not more than 5 

12 percent of the amounts made available for each fiscal year 

13 under this section may be used to pay the administrative 

14 expenses of the Department of Energy that the Secretary 

15 determines to be necessary to carry out this Act (including 

16 expenses arising from monitoring and evaluation). 

17 (h) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAW.—An eligible 

18 participant that receives a rebate under this section shall 

19 not be eligible for a rebate under section 206(c) of the 

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

21 (i) COORDINATION; CONSULTATION.—To the max22 imum extent practicable, the Secretary shall consult with 

23 the Secretary of the Treasury and the Governor of each 

24 State that receives funds under this section to ensure that 

25 each program carried out by each State through the use 


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1 of the funds is coordinated with each other applicable in2 centive or financing program of the Federal Government 

3 or any other State. 

4 (j) GOAL.—It is the aspiration and goal of the United 

5 States, through this Act or any appropriate incentive or 

6 research and development program, to install distributed 

7 solar energy systems on not less than 10,000,000 prop8 erties located in the United States by January 1, 2020. 

9 (k) REPORT REGARDING ADDITIONAL REC10 OMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 270 days after the date 

11 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to 

12 the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 

13 Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of 

14 the House of Representatives a report that contains addi15 tional recommendations that the Secretary determines to 

16 be necessary to achieve the goal described in subsection 

17 (j), including any modification to the program established 

18 under subsection (a). 

19 (l) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

20 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

21 out this section— 

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

23 (2) for each of fiscal years 2013 through 2020, 

24 such sums as are necessary. 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘10 Million Solar Roofs 

3 Act of 2010’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

6 (1) ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANT.—The term ‘‘eligible 

7 participant’’ means— 

8 (A) an owner of a home; 

9 (B) a business entity; 

10 (C) a local educational agency; and 

11 (D) any other individual or entity that the 

12 Secretary determines to be appropriate. 

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

14 the meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian 

15 Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 

16 U.S.C. 450b). 

17 (3) INSTALLED NAMEPLATE CAPACITY.—The 

18 term ‘‘installed nameplate capacity’’ means the max19 imum output of a solar electric system under specific 

20 conditions designated by the manufacturer of the 

21 solar electric system. 

22 (4) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 

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

24 term in section 9101 of the Elementary and Sec25 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 


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

2 the Secretary of Energy. 

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

4 energy system’’ means rooftop or ground-mounted 

5 solar equipment— 

6 (A) that is used to generate electricity or 

7 heat water; and 

8 (B) with an installed nameplate capacity 

9 not exceeding 1 megawatt or the thermal equiva10 lent of 1 megawatt. 

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

12 PURCHASE AND INSTALLATION OF SOLAR EN13 ERGY SYSTEMS. 

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

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

16 a program under which the Secretary shall provide com17 petitive grants to States, Indian tribes, and local govern18 ments to provide rebates, loans, or other incentives to eligi19 ble participants for the purchase and installation of solar 

20 energy systems for properties located in the United States. 

21 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.— 

22 (1) COMPETITIVE GRANTS.— 

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

24 Secretary shall provide competitive grants to 


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1 States, Indian tribes, and local governments to 

2 be used in accordance with this section. 

3 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary shall 

4 adopt and implement criteria for awarding com5 petitive grants under subparagraph (A) to 

6 States, Indian tribes, and local governments that 

7 would— 

8 (i) provide the maximum leverage of 

9 Federal funds; 

10 (ii) provide for the maximum deploy11 ment of solar energy; 

12 (iii) ensure that grants are awarded to 

13 a diversity of geographic locations and re14 cipients with different population sizes; 

15 (iv) provide not less than 2 percent of 

16 the funds available to Indian tribes and 

17 consortia of Indian tribes; and 

18 (v) provide a preference for grant re19 cipients that have established and main20 tained, or agree to commit to establish and 

21 maintain, standards and policies to over22 come barriers to distributed generation (in23 cluding interconnection and net metering) 

24 in a manner consistent with the legal au25 thorities of the grant recipient. 


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

2 subsection (c), competitive grants provided under this 

3 section may be used to expand an existing, or estab4 lish and fund a new— 

5 (A) solar rebate program; 

6 (B) solar loan program; 

7 (C) solar performance-based incentive pro8 gram; or 

9 (D) solar incentive program, solar deploy10 ment program or project, or innovative solar fi11 nancing program not described in subpara12 graphs (A) through (C), as determined by the 

13 Secretary. 

14 (3) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—For each fiscal 

15 year during which a grant recipient uses funds pro16 vided under this section, the grant recipient shall— 

17 (A) certify to the Secretary that the funds 

18 will be used— 

19 (i) to supplement, expand, or create 

20 new programs or projects and will not sup21 plant existing programs as to maximize 

22 program participation; and 

23 (ii) to deploy an increased quantity of 

24 solar energy systems; and 


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1 (B) submit to the Secretary an implementa2 tion plan that contains— 

3 (i) projections for solar energy systems 

4 deployment; 

5 (ii) data regarding the number of eligi6 ble participants that are assisted under ex7 isting applicable State and local programs; 

8 and 

9 (iii) projections for— 

10 (I) additional solar energy system 

11 deployment; and 

12 (II) the number of additional eli13 gible participants who will be covered 

14 by the annual implementation plan. 

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

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

17 may specify the type and capacity of the solar energy sys18 tem and type of deployment or incentive program for which 

19 the grant funds are made available. 

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

21 receives funds under this section shall be responsible for an 

22 amount equal to 20 percent of the amount of the provided 

23 funds. 

24 (e) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.— 


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

2 the amounts made available for each fiscal year under 

3 this section may be used to pay the administrative ex4 penses of the Department of Energy that the Sec5 retary determines to be necessary to carry out this 

6 Act (including expenses arising from monitoring and 

7 evaluation). 

8 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES; OTHER GRANT RECIPI9 ENTS .—Grant recipients may use amounts made 

10 available for each fiscal year under this section to 

11 pay for administrative expenses in accordance with 

12 section 545(b)(3)(A) of the Energy Independence and 

13 Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17155(b)(3)(A)). 

14 (f) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAW.—An eligible par15 ticipant that receives a rebate under this section shall not 

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

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

18 (g) COORDINATION; CONSULTATION.—To the max19 imum extent practicable, the Secretary shall consult with 

20 the Secretary of the Treasury and the Chief Executive of 

21 each grant recipient that receives funds under this section 

22 to ensure that each program carried out by each grant re23 cipient through the use of the funds is coordinated with each 

24 other applicable incentive or financing program of the Fed25 eral Government or any other applicable program. 


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1 (h) MAXIMUM INCENTIVE.— 

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

3 grant, and tax credit provided to an eligible partici4 pant under this section, the aggregate value of the 

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

6 percent of the cost to the purchaser of the purchase 

7 and installation of the solar energy system. 

8 (2) EFFECT.—Nothing in this subsection affects 

9 any solar loan or financing program under this sec10 tion or any other law (including regulations). 

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

12 this Act and any appropriate incentive or research and de13 velopment program, to install distributed solar energy sys14 tems on not less than 10,000,000 properties located in the 

15 United States by December 31, 2021. 

16 (j) REPORT REGARDING ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDA17 TIONS.—Not later than 270 days after the date of enactment 

18 of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on 

19 Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Com20 mittee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Represent21 atives a report that contains additional recommendations 

22 that the Secretary determines to be necessary to achieve the 

23 goal described in subsection (i), including any modification 

24 to the program established under subsection (a). 


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1 (k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are 

2 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out 

3 this section— 

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

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

6 such sums as are necessary. 


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Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to require the 

Secretary of Energy to provide competitive grants to 

States, Indian tribes, and local governments for rebates, 

loans, and other incentives to eligible individuals or entities for the purchase and installation of solar energy systems for properties located in the United States, and for 

other purposes.’’. 


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Calendar No. 618 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3460 

[Report No. 111–332] 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Energy to provide 

for other purposes. for properties located in the United States, and purchase and installation of solar energy systems centives to eligible individuals or entities for the funds to States for rebates, loans, and other inSEPTEMBER 27, 2010 

Reported with an amendment and an amendment to the 

title 


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