I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8165 
To direct the Secretary of Energy to establish a program to provide assistance 
for low-income solar projects, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 4, 2020 
Mr. CA´RDENAS (for himself and Ms. LEE of California) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Energy to establish a program 
to provide assistance for low-income solar projects, 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 ‘‘Affordable Solar En-
ergy for Our Communities Act’’. 
SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM FOR SOLAR INSTALLATIONS LO-
CATED IN, OR THAT SERVE, LOW-INCOME 
AND UNDERSERVED AREAS. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
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(1) BENEFICIARY.—The term ‘‘beneficiary’’ 
means a low-income household or a low-income 
household in an underserved area. 
(2) COMMUNITY
SOLAR
FACILITY.—The term 
‘‘community solar facility’’ means a solar generating 
facility that— 
(A) through a voluntary program, has mul-
tiple subscribers that receive financial benefits 
that are directly attributable to the facility; 
(B) has a nameplate rating of 5 megawatts 
AC or less; and 
(C) is located in the utility distribution 
service territory of subscribers. 
(3) COMMUNITY
SOLAR
SUBSCRIPTION.—The 
term ‘‘community solar subscription’’ means a share 
in the capacity, or a proportional interest in the elec-
tricity generation, of a community solar facility. 
(4) COVERED
FACILITY.—The term ‘‘covered 
facility’’ means— 
(A) a community solar facility— 
(i) that is located in an underserved 
area; or 
(ii) at least 50 percent of the capacity 
of which is reserved for low-income house-
holds; 
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(B) a solar generating facility located at a 
residence of a low-income household; or 
(C) a solar generating facility located at a 
multi-family affordable housing complex. 
(5) COVERED
STATE.—The term ‘‘covered 
State’’ means a State with processes in place to en-
sure that covered facilities deliver financial benefits 
to low-income households. 
(6) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti-
ty’’ means— 
(A) a nonprofit organization that provides 
services to low-income households or multi-fam-
ily affordable housing complexes; 
(B) a developer, owner, or operator of a 
community solar facility that reserves a portion 
of the capacity of the facility for subscribers 
who are members of low-income households or 
for low-income households that otherwise finan-
cially benefit from the facility; 
(C) a covered State, or political subdivision 
thereof; 
(D) an Indian Tribe or a tribally owned 
electric utility; 
(E) a Native Hawaiian community-based 
organization; 
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(F) any other national or regional entity 
that has experience developing or installing 
solar generating facilities for low-income house-
holds that maximize financial benefits to those 
households; and 
(G) an electric cooperative or municipal 
electric utility (as such terms are defined in sec-
tion 3 of the Federal Power Act). 
(7) ELIGIBLE
INSTALLATION
PROJECT.—The 
term ‘‘eligible installation project’’ means a project 
to install a covered facility in a covered State. 
(8) ELIGIBLE PLANNING PROJECT.—The term 
‘‘eligible planning project’’ means a project to carry 
out pre-installation activities for the development of 
a covered facility in a covered State. 
(9) ELIGIBLE
PROJECT.—The term ‘‘eligible 
project’’ means— 
(A) an eligible planning project; or 
(B) an eligible installation project. 
(10) FEASIBILITY
STUDY.—The term ‘‘feasi-
bility study’’ means any activity to determine the 
feasibility of a specific solar generating facility, in-
cluding a customer interest assessment and a siting 
assessment, as determined by the Secretary. 
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(11) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 
means any Indian Tribe, band, nation, or other or-
ganized group or community, including any Alaska 
Native village, Regional Corporation, or Village Cor-
poration (as defined in, or established pursuant to, 
the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 
1601 et seq.)), that is recognized as eligible for the 
special programs and services provided by the 
United States to Indians because of their status as 
Indians. 
(12) INTERCONNECTION
SERVICE.—The term 
‘‘interconnection service’’ has the meaning given 
such term in section 111(d)(15) of the Public Utility 
Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 
2621(d)(15)). 
(13) LOW-INCOME
HOUSEHOLD.—The term 
‘‘low-income household’’ means that income in rela-
tion to family size which— 
(A) is at or below 200 percent of the pov-
erty level determined in accordance with criteria 
established by the Director of the Office of 
Management and Budget, except that the Sec-
retary may establish a higher level if the Sec-
retary determines that such a higher level is 
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necessary to carry out the purposes of this sec-
tion; 
(B) is the basis on which cash assistance 
payments have been paid during the preceding 
12-month period under titles IV and XVI of the 
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq., 
1381 et seq.) or applicable State or local law; 
or 
(C) if a State elects, is the basis for eligi-
bility for assistance under the Low-Income 
Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 
U.S.C. 8621 et seq.), provided that such basis 
is at least 200 percent of the poverty level de-
termined in accordance with criteria established 
by the Director of the Office of Management 
and Budget. 
(14) MULTI-FAMILY
AFFORDABLE
HOUSING 
COMPLEX.—The term ‘‘multi-family affordable hous-
ing complex’’ means any federally subsidized afford-
able housing complex in which at least 50 percent of 
the units are reserved for low-income households. 
(15) NATIVE HAWAIIAN COMMUNITY-BASED OR-
GANIZATION.—The term ‘‘Native Hawaiian commu-
nity-based organization’’ means any organization 
that is composed primarily of Native Hawaiians 
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from a specific community and that assists in the 
social, cultural, and educational development of Na-
tive Hawaiians in that community. 
(16) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 
the program established under subsection (b). 
(17) 
SECRETARY.—The 
term 
‘‘Secretary’’ 
means the Secretary of Energy. 
(18) SOLAR GENERATING FACILITY.—The term 
‘‘solar generating facility’’ means— 
(A) a generator that creates electricity 
from light photons; and 
(B) the accompanying hardware enabling 
that electricity to flow— 
(i) onto the electric grid; 
(ii) into a facility or structure; or 
(iii) into an energy storage device. 
(19) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 
the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Guam, the 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Northern Mar-
iana Islands, the Virgin Islands, and American 
Samoa. 
(20) SUBSCRIBER.—The term ‘‘subscriber’’ 
means a person who— 
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(A) owns a community solar subscription, 
or an equivalent unit or share of the capacity 
or generation of a community solar facility; or 
(B) financially benefits from a community 
solar facility, even if the person does not own 
a community solar subscription for the facility. 
(21) UNDERSERVED AREA.—The term ‘‘under-
served area’’ means— 
(A) a geographical area with low or no 
photovoltaic solar deployment, as determined by 
the Secretary; 
(B) a geographical area that has low or no 
access to electricity, as determined by the Sec-
retary; 
(C) a geographical area with an average 
annual residential retail electricity price that 
exceeds the national average annual residential 
retail electricity price (as reported by the En-
ergy Information Agency) by 50 percent or 
more; or 
(D) trust land, as defined in section 3765 
of title 38, United States Code. 
(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 
a program to provide financial assistance to eligible enti-
ties to— 
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(1) carry out planning projects that are nec-
essary to establish the feasibility, obtain required 
permits, identify beneficiaries, or secure subscribers 
to install a covered facility; or 
(2) install a covered facility for beneficiaries in 
accordance with this section. 
(c) APPLICATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive as-
sistance under the program, an eligible entity shall 
submit to the Secretary an application at such time, 
in such manner, and containing such information as 
the Secretary may require. 
(2) INCLUSION
FOR
INSTALLATION
ASSIST-
ANCE.— 
(A) REQUIREMENTS.—For an eligible enti-
ty to receive assistance for a project to install 
a covered facility, the Secretary shall require 
the eligible entity to include— 
(i) information in the application that 
is sufficient to demonstrate that the eligi-
ble entity has obtained, or has the capacity 
to obtain, necessary permits, subscribers, 
access to an installation site, and any other 
items or agreements necessary to comply 
with an agreement under subsection (g)(1) 
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and to complete the installation of the ap-
plicable covered facility; 
(ii) a description of the mechanism 
through which financial benefits will be 
distributed to beneficiaries or subscribers; 
and 
(iii) an estimate of the anticipated fi-
nancial benefit for beneficiaries or sub-
scribers. 
(B) 
CONSIDERATION
OF
PLANNING 
PROJECTS.—The Secretary shall consider the 
successful completion of an eligible planning 
project pursuant to subsection (b)(1) by the eli-
gible entity to be sufficient to demonstrate the 
ability of the eligible entity to meet the require-
ments of subparagraph (A)(i). 
(d) SELECTION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—In selecting eligible projects 
to receive assistance under the program, the Sec-
retary shall— 
(A) prioritize— 
(i) eligible installation projects that 
will result in the most financial benefit for 
subscribers, as determined by the Sec-
retary; 
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(ii) eligible installation projects that 
will result in development of covered facili-
ties in underserved areas; and 
(iii) eligible projects that include ap-
prenticeship, job training, or community 
participation as part of their application; 
and 
(B) ensure that such assistance is provided 
in a manner that results in eligible projects 
being carried out on a geographically diverse 
basis within and among covered States. 
(2) DETERMINATION
OF
FINANCIAL
BEN-
EFIT.—In determining the amount of financial ben-
efit for low-income households of an eligible installa-
tion project, the Secretary shall ensure that all cal-
culations for estimated household energy savings are 
based solely on electricity offsets from the applicable 
covered facility and use formulas established by the 
State or local government with jurisdiction over the 
applicable covered facility for verifiable household 
energy savings estimates that accrue to low-income 
households. 
(e) ASSISTANCE.— 
(1) FORM.—The Secretary may provide assist-
ance under the program in the form of a grant 
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(which may be in the form of a rebate) or a low-in-
terest loan. 
(2) MULTIPLE
PROJECTS
FOR
SAME
FACIL-
ITY.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity may 
apply for assistance under the program for an 
eligible planning project and an eligible installa-
tion project for the same covered facility. 
(B) SEPARATE SELECTIONS.—Selection by 
the Secretary for assistance under the program 
of an eligible planning project does not require 
the Secretary to select for assistance under the 
program an eligible installation project for the 
same covered facility. 
(f) USE OF ASSISTANCE.— 
(1) ELIGIBLE PLANNING PROJECTS.—An eligi-
ble entity receiving assistance for an eligible plan-
ning project under the program may use such assist-
ance to pay the costs of pre-installation activities as-
sociated with an applicable covered facility, includ-
ing— 
(A) feasibility studies; 
(B) permitting; 
(C) site assessment; 
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(D) on-site job training, or other commu-
nity-based activities directly associated with the 
eligible planning project; or 
(E) such other costs determined by the 
Secretary to be appropriate. 
(2) ELIGIBLE
INSTALLATION
PROJECTS.—An 
eligible entity receiving assistance for an eligible in-
stallation project under the program may use such 
assistance to pay the costs of— 
(A) installation of a covered facility, in-
cluding costs associated with materials, permit-
ting, labor, or site preparation; 
(B) storage technology sited at a covered 
facility; 
(C) interconnection service expenses; 
(D) on-site job training, or other commu-
nity-based activities directly associated with the 
eligible installation project; 
(E) offsetting the cost of a subscription for 
a covered facility described in subparagraph (A) 
of subsection (a)(4) for subscribers that are 
members of a low-income household; or 
(F) such other costs determined by the 
Secretary to be appropriate. 
(g) ADMINISTRATION.— 
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(1) AGREEMENTS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of re-
ceiving assistance under the program, an eligi-
ble entity shall enter into an agreement with 
the Secretary. 
(B) REQUIREMENTS.—An agreement en-
tered into under this paragraph— 
(i) shall require the eligible entity to 
maintain such records and adopt such ad-
ministrative practices as the Secretary may 
require to ensure compliance with the re-
quirements of this section and the agree-
ment; 
(ii) with respect to an eligible installa-
tion project shall require that any solar 
generating facility installed using assist-
ance provided pursuant to the agreement 
comply with local building and safety codes 
and standards; and 
(iii) shall contain such other terms as 
the Secretary may require to ensure com-
pliance with the requirements of this sec-
tion. 
(C) TERM.—An agreement under this 
paragraph shall be for a term that begins on 
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the date on which the agreement is entered into 
and ends on the date that is 2 years after the 
date on which the eligible entity receives assist-
ance pursuant to the agreement, which term 
may be extended once for a period of not more 
than 1 year if the eligible entity demonstrates 
to the satisfaction of the Secretary that such an 
extension is necessary to complete the activities 
required by the agreement. 
(2) USE OF FUNDS.—Of the funds made avail-
able to provide assistance to eligible installation 
projects under this section over the period of fiscal 
years 2021 through 2025, the Secretary shall use— 
(A) not less than 50 percent to provide as-
sistance for eligible installation projects with re-
spect to which low-income households make up 
at least 50 percent of the subscribers to the 
project; and 
(B) not more than 50 percent to provide 
assistance for eligible installation projects with 
respect to which low-income households make 
up at least 25 percent of the subscribers to the 
project. 
(3) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 120 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec-
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retary shall publish in the Federal Register regula-
tions to carry out this section, which shall take ef-
fect on the date of publication. 
(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this sec-
tion $200,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 
through 2025, to remain available until expended. 
(2) AMOUNTS FOR PLANNING PROJECTS.—Of 
the amounts appropriated pursuant to this section 
over the period of fiscal years 2021 through 2025, 
the Secretary shall use not more than 15 percent of 
funds to provide assistance to eligible planning 
projects. 
(i) RELATIONSHIP
TO OTHER ASSISTANCE.—The 
Secretary shall, to the extent practicable, encourage eligi-
ble entities that receive assistance under this section to 
leverage such funds by seeking additional funding through 
federally or locally subsidized weatherization and energy 
efficiency programs. 
Æ 
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