I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8954 
To promote the development of renewable energy on public lands, and for 
other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 9, 2024 
Mr. GOSAR introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, 
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 promote the development of renewable energy on public 
lands, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Public Land Renew-
able Energy Development Act of 2024’’. 
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title. 
Sec. 2. Table of contents. 
Sec. 3. Definitions. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:52 Aug 10, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6211
E:\BILLS\H8954.IH
H8954
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
Sec. 4. Limited grandfathering. 
Sec. 5. Disposition of revenues. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) COVERED LAND.—The term ‘‘covered land’’ 
means land that is— 
(A) Federal land administered by the Sec-
retary; and 
(B) not excluded from the development of 
geothermal, solar, or wind energy under— 
(i) a land use plan; or 
(ii) other Federal law. 
(2) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’ 
means— 
(A) public lands; and 
(B) lands of the National Forest System 
as described in section 11(a) of the Forest and 
Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act 
of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a)). 
(3) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Re-
newable Energy Resource Conservation Fund estab-
lished by section 5(c)(1). 
(4) RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECT.—The term 
‘‘renewable energy project’’ means a project carried 
out on covered land that uses wind, solar, or geo-
thermal energy to generate energy. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:52 Aug 10, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H8954.IH
H8954
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
(5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Interior. 
SEC. 4. LIMITED GRANDFATHERING. 
(a) DEFINITION OF PROJECT.—In this section, the 
term ‘‘project’’ means a system described in section 
2801.9(a)(4) of title 43, Code of Federal Regulations (as 
in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act). 
(b) REQUIREMENT TO PAY RENTS AND FEES.—Un-
less otherwise agreed to by the owner of a project, the 
owner of a project that applied for a right-of-way under 
section 501 of the Federal Land Policy and Management 
Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1761) on or before December 19, 
2016, shall be obligated to pay with respect to the right- 
of-way all rents and fees in effect before the effective date 
of the rule of the Bureau of Land Management entitled 
‘‘Competitive Processes, Terms, and Conditions for Leas-
ing Public Lands for Solar and Wind Energy Development 
and Technical Changes and Corrections’’ (81 Fed. Reg. 
92122 (December 19, 2016)). 
SEC. 5. DISPOSITION OF REVENUES. 
(a) DISPOSITION OF REVENUES.— 
(1) AVAILABILITY.—Except as provided in 
paragraph (2), beginning on January 1, 2025, of 
amounts collected from a wind or solar project as 
bonus bids, rentals, fees, or other payments under a 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:52 Aug 10, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H8954.IH
H8954
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB