I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2391 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a renewable 

electricity integration credit. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 24, 2011 

Mr. PAULSEN (for himself and Mr. KIND) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to 

the Committee on Energy and Commerce, 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 amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide 

a renewable electricity integration credit. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Renewable Energy for 

5 a Brighter Future Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY INTEGRATION CREDIT. 

7 (a) BUSINESS CREDIT.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subpart D of part IV of 

9 subchapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue 


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1 Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the 

2 following new section: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 45S. RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY INTEGRATION CRED4 IT. 

5 ‘‘(a) GENERAL RULE.—For purposes of section 38, 

6 in the case of an eligible taxpayer, the renewable electricity 

7 integration credit for any taxable year is an amount equal 

8 to the product of— 

9 ‘‘(1) the intermittent renewable portfolio factor 

10 of such eligible taxpayer, and 

11 ‘‘(2) the number of kilowatt hours of renewable 

12 electricity— 

13 ‘‘(A) purchased or produced by such tax14 payer, and 

15 ‘‘(B) sold by such taxpayer to a retail cus16 tomer during the taxable year. 

17 ‘‘(b) INTERMITTENT RENEWABLE PORTFOLIO FAC18 TOR.— 

19 ‘‘(1) YEARS BEFORE 2017.—In the case of tax20 able years beginning before January 1, 2017, the 

21 intermittent renewable portfolio factor for an eligible 

22 taxpayer shall be determined as follows: 


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‘‘In the case of an 

eligible taxpayer 

whose intermittent 

renewable electricity percentage 

is: 

For taxable years 

beginning before 

2012, the intermittent renewable 

portfolio factor is: 

For taxable years 

beginning in or 

after 2012, the 

intermittent renewable portfolio factor is: 

Less than 4 percent ....... zero cents zero cents 

At least 4 percent but 

less than 8 percent ..... 0.1 cents zero cents 

At least 8 percent but 

less than 12 percent ... 0.2 cents 0.2 cents 

At least 12 percent but 

less than 16 percent ... 0.3 cents 0.3 cents 

At least 16 percent but 

less than 20 percent ... 0.4 cents 0.4 cents 

At least 20 percent but 

less than 24 percent ... 0.5 cents 0.5 cents 

Equal to or greater than 

24 percent .................. 0.6 cents 0.6 cents. 

1 ‘‘(2) YEARS AFTER 2016.—In the case of tax2 able years beginning after December 31, 2016, the 

3 intermittent renewable portfolio factor for an eligible 

4 taxpayer shall be determined as follows: 

‘‘In the case of an 

eligible taxpayer 

whose intermittent 

renewable electricity percentage 

is: 

For taxable years 

beginning before 

2019, the intermittent renewable 

portfolio factor is: 

For taxable years 

beginning in or 

after 2019, the 

intermittent renewable portfolio factor is: 

Less than 10 percent ..... zero cents zero cents 

At least 10 percent but 

less than 12 percent ... 0.2 cents zero cents 

At least 12 percent but 

less than 16 percent ... 0.3 cents 0.15 cents 

At least 16 percent but 

less than 20 percent ... 0.4 cents 0.4 cents 

At least 20 percent but 

less than 24 percent ... 0.5 cents 0.5 cents 

Equal to or greater than 

24 percent .................. 0.6 cents 0.6 cents. 

5 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS AND SPECIAL RULES.—For pur6 poses of this section— 

7 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE TAXPAYER.—The term ‘eligible 

8 taxpayer’ means an electric utility (as defined in secVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:46 Jul 01, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2391.IH H2391

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1 tion 3(22) of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 

2 796(22)). 

3 ‘‘(2) RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY.—The term ‘re4 newable electricity’ means electricity generated by— 

5 ‘‘(A) any facility using wind to generate 

6 such electricity; 

7 ‘‘(B) any facility using solar energy to gen8 erate such electricity; or 

9 ‘‘(C) any facility using any other intermit10 tent renewable energy source which the Sec11 retary of Energy determines has a capacity fac12 tor of less than 50 percent on an annual basis. 

13 ‘‘(3) INTERMITTENT RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY

14 PERCENTAGE.—The term ‘intermittent renewable 

15 electricity percentage’ means the percentage of an el16 igible taxpayer’s total sales of electricity to retail 

17 customers that is derived from renewable electricity 

18 (determine without regard to whether such elec19 tricity was produced by the taxpayer). 

20 ‘‘(4) APPLICATION OF OTHER RULES.—For 

21 purposes of this section, rules similar to the rules of 

22 paragraphs (1), (3), and (5) of section 45(e) shall 

23 apply. 

24 ‘‘(5) CREDIT ALLOWED ONLY WITH RESPECT

25 TO 1 ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—No credit shall be allowed 


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1 under subsection (a) with respect to renewable elec2 tricity purchased from another eligible entity if a 

3 credit has been allowed under this section or a pay4 ment has been made under section 6433 to such 

5 other eligible entity. 

6 ‘‘(d) CREDIT DISALLOWED UNLESS CREDIT PASSED

7 TO THIRD PARTY GENERATORS CHARGED FOR INTEGRA8 TION COSTS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of renewable 

10 electricity eligible for the credit under subsection (a) 

11 that is purchased and not produced by an eligible 

12 taxpayer, no credit shall be allowed unless any 

13 charge the taxpayer has assessed the seller to re14 cover the integration costs associated with such elec15 tricity has been reduced (but not below zero) to the 

16 extent of the credit received under subsection (a) as17 sociated with such electricity. 

18 ‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of paragraph 

19 (1), charges intended to recover integration costs do 

20 not include amounts paid by the producer of the 

21 electricity for interconnection facilities, distribution 

22 upgrades, network upgrades, or stand alone network 

23 upgrades as those terms have been defined by the 

24 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in its 

25 Standard Interconnection Procedures. 


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1 ‘‘(e) COORDINATION WITH PAYMENTS.—The amount 

2 of the credit determined under this section with respect 

3 to any electricity shall be reduced to take into account any 

4 payment provided with respect to such electricity solely by 

5 reason of the application of section 6433.’’. 

6 (2) CREDIT MADE PART OF GENERAL BUSINESS

7 CREDIT.—Subsection (b) of section 38 of the Inter8 nal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking 

9 ‘‘plus’’ at the end of paragraph (35), by striking the 

10 period at the end of paragraph (36) and inserting ‘‘, 

11 plus’’, and by adding at the end the following new 

12 paragraph: 

13 ‘‘(37) the renewable electricity integration cred14 it determined under section 45S(a).’’. 

15 (3) SPECIFIED CREDIT.—Subparagraph (B) of 

16 section 38(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

17 1986 is amended by redesignating clauses (vii) 

18 through (ix) as clauses (viii) through (x), respec19 tively, and by inserting after clause (v) the following 

20 new clause: 

21 ‘‘(vi) the credit determined under sec22 tion 45S.’’. 

23 (4) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec24 tions for subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of 

25 chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 


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1 amended by adding at the end the following new 

2 item: 

‘‘Sec. 45S. Renewable electricity integration credit.’’. 

3 (b) PAYMENTS IN LIEU OF CREDIT.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter B of chapter 65 

5 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by 

6 adding at the end the following new section: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 6433. RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY INTEGRATION PAY8 MENTS. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—If any eligible person sells re10 newable electricity to a retail customer, the Secretary shall 

11 pay (without interest) to any such person who elects to 

12 receive a payment an amount equal to the product of— 

13 ‘‘(1) the intermittent renewable portfolio factor 

14 of such eligible person; and 

15 ‘‘(2) the number of kilowatt hours of renewable 

16 electricity— 

17 ‘‘(A) purchased or produced by such per18 son; and 

19 ‘‘(B) sold by such person in the trade or 

20 business of such person to a retail customer. 

21 ‘‘(b) TIMING OF PAYMENTS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para23 graph (2), rules similar to the rules of section 

24 6427(i)(1) shall apply for purposes of this section. 

25 ‘‘(2) QUARTERLY PAYMENTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If, at the close of any 

2 quarter of the taxable year of any person, at 

3 least $750 is payable in the aggregate under 

4 subsection (a), to such person with respect to 

5 electricity purchased or produced during— 

6 ‘‘(i) such quarter; or 

7 ‘‘(ii) any prior quarter (for which no 

8 other claim has been filed) during such 

9 taxable year, a claim may be filed under 

10 this section with respect to such electricity. 

11 ‘‘(B) TIME FOR FILING CLAIM.—No claim 

12 filed under this paragraph shall be allowed un13 less filed on or before the last day of the first 

14 quarter following the earliest quarter included 

15 in the claim. 

16 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS AND SPECIAL RULES.—For pur17 poses of this section: 

18 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE PERSON.—The term ‘eligible 

19 person’ means an electric utility (as defined in sec20 tion 3(22) of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 

21 796(22)). 

22 ‘‘(2) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—Any term used in 

23 this section which is also used in section 45S shall 

24 have the meaning given such term under section 

25 45S. 


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1 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION OF OTHER RULES.—For 

2 purposes of this section, rules similar to the rules of 

3 paragraphs (1) and (3) of section 45(e) shall apply. 

4 ‘‘(d) PAYMENT DISALLOWED UNLESS AMOUNT

5 PASSED TO THIRD PARTY GENERATORS CHARGED FOR

6 INTEGRATION COSTS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of renewable 

8 electricity eligible for the payment under subsection 

9 (a) that is purchased and not produced by an eligi10 ble person, no payment shall be made under this sec11 tion unless any charge the eligible person has as12 sessed the seller to recover the integration costs as13 sociated with such electricity has been reduced (but 

14 not below zero) to the extent of the payment re15 ceived under subsection (a) associated with such 

16 electricity. 

17 ‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of paragraph 

18 (1), charges intended to recover integration costs do 

19 not include amounts paid by the producer of the 

20 electricity for interconnection facilities, distribution 

21 upgrades, network upgrades, or stand alone network 

22 upgrades as those terms have been defined by the 

23 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in its 

24 Standard Interconnection Procedures.’’. 


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1 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec2 tions for subpart B of chapter 65 of the Internal 

3 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the 

4 end the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 6433. Renewable electricity integration payments.’’. 

5 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

6 this section shall apply to electricity produced or pur7 chased after December 31, 2010. 

Æ 


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