I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3139 
To require the Secretary of Energy to submit to Congress an annual report 
on peaker plants in the United States and to provide financial incentives 
for replacing peaker plants with technology that receives, stores, and 
delivers energy generated by renewable energy resources, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 12, 2021 
Ms. CLARKE of New York (for herself, Mr. TORRES of New York, Ms. 
VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. NADLER, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Ms. NORTON, Mr. 
ESPAILLAT, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Mr. 
JONES, and Mr. SOTO) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Com-
mittee on Ways and Means, 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 require the Secretary of Energy to submit to Congress 
an annual report on peaker plants in the United States 
and to provide financial incentives for replacing peaker 
plants with technology that receives, stores, and delivers 
energy generated by renewable energy resources, and for 
other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Promoting Energy Al-
ternatives is Key to Emission Reductions Act of 2021’’ 
or the ‘‘PEAKER Act of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) 
APPROPRIATE
COMMITTEES
OF
CON-
GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con-
gress’’ means— 
(A) the Committee on Finance of the Sen-
ate; 
(B) the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources of the Senate; 
(C) the Committee on Environment and 
Public Works of the Senate; 
(D) the Committee on Ways and Means of 
the House of Representatives; and 
(E) the Committee on Energy and Com-
merce of the House of Representatives. 
(2) DISADVANTAGED
COMMUNITY.—The term 
‘‘disadvantaged community’’ means a community 
that— 
(A) is located in an area with a high con-
centration of individuals who— 
(i) are members of low- and moderate- 
income households (as defined in section 
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570.3 of title 24, Code of Federal Regula-
tions (or a successor regulation)); 
(ii) experience high levels of unem-
ployment; 
(iii) face a high rent burden; 
(iv) face a high energy burden; 
(v) have low levels of home ownership; 
(vi) have low levels of educational at-
tainment; or 
(vii) are members of groups that have 
historically experienced discrimination on 
the basis of race or ethnicity; 
(B) is burdened by high cumulative envi-
ronmental pollution or other hazards that can 
lead to negative public health effects; or 
(C) is determined to be a disadvantaged 
community, an environmental justice commu-
nity, a climate-burdened community, or an oth-
erwise similarly vulnerable community pursuant 
to any Federal or State-level initiative, includ-
ing any relevant mapping initiative. 
(3) HIGH ENERGY BURDEN.—The term ‘‘high 
energy burden’’ means, with respect to a household, 
expenditure of the household on residential energy 
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costs that equals 6 percent or more of the household 
income. 
(4) PEAKER PLANT.—The term ‘‘peaker plant’’ 
means a fossil fuel-fired power plant or unit of a 
power plant that is run primarily to meet peak elec-
tricity demand, as determined by the Secretary, in 
coordination with the Administrator of the Environ-
mental Protection Agency and the applicable local 
electrical grid operator. 
(5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Energy. 
SEC. 3. ANNUAL REPORT ON PEAKER PLANTS IN THE 
UNITED STATES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, 
the Secretary, in coordination with the Administrator of 
the Environmental Protection Agency, the White House 
Environmental Justice Advisory Council, the White House 
Environmental Justice Interagency Council, the Council 
on Environmental Quality, and any other relevant Federal 
entity that the Secretary determines to be appropriate, 
shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress 
a report that— 
(1) identifies each peaker plant in the United 
States; and 
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(2) for each peaker plant identified under para-
graph (1)— 
(A) describes the location of the peaker 
plant and related socioeconomic and demo-
graphic data for that location, including wheth-
er the peaker plant is located in or adjacent to 
a disadvantaged community; 
(B) evaluates the quantity of carbon diox-
ide, nitric oxides, sulfur oxides, fine particulate 
matter (PM2.5), and methane emitted per unit 
of electricity generated by the peaker plant; 
(C) identifies— 
(i) the total number of hours that the 
peaker plant generates electricity during 
the year covered by the report; 
(ii) the capacity factor of the plant; 
(iii) the average number of hours that 
the peaker plant generates electricity each 
time that the peaker plant generates elec-
tricity; and 
(iv) the percentage of the total num-
ber of instances in which the peaker plant 
is started that result in the peaker plant 
generating electricity for— 
(I) not less than 4 hours; 
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(II) not less than 8 hours; and 
(III) not less than 12 hours; and 
(D) identifies, for each day on which the 3 
air monitors closest to the peaker plant indicate 
that Federal ozone or particulate matter stand-
ards have been exceeded, the percentage of peak 
demand met by the peaker plant for the elec-
trical grid load zone served by the peaker plant. 
(b) COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.—In preparing a re-
port under subsection (a), the Secretary shall initiate and 
carry out public engagement with residents and stake-
holders from disadvantaged communities containing a 
peaker plant. 
SEC. 4. CREDIT FOR GENERATION AND STORAGE OF EN-
ERGY FROM RENEWABLE SOURCES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart E of part IV of sub-
chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 is amended by inserting after section 48C the fol-
lowing new section: 
‘‘SEC. 48D. RENEWABLE ENERGY GENERATION AND STOR-
AGE CREDIT. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 46, the 
renewable energy generation and storage credit for any 
taxable year is an amount equal to 10 percent of the quali-
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fied investment for such taxable year with respect to any 
qualified renewable energy facility. 
‘‘(b) QUALIFIED INVESTMENT WITH RESPECT TO 
QUALIFIED RENEWABLE ENERGY FACILITIES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of subsection 
(a), the qualified investment with respect to a quali-
fied renewable energy facility for any taxable year is 
the basis of any qualified property placed in service 
by the taxpayer during such taxable year which is 
part of a qualified renewable energy facility. 
‘‘(2) QUALIFIED PROPERTY.—For purposes of 
this subsection, the term ‘qualified property’ means 
property— 
‘‘(A) which is— 
‘‘(i) tangible personal property, or 
‘‘(ii) other tangible property (not in-
cluding a building or its structural compo-
nents), but only if such property is used as 
an integral part of the qualified renewable 
energy facility, 
‘‘(B) with respect to which depreciation (or 
amortization in lieu of depreciation) is allow-
able, 
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‘‘(C) which is constructed, reconstructed, 
erected, installed, or acquired by the taxpayer, 
and 
‘‘(D) the original use of which commences 
with the taxpayer. 
‘‘(3) QUALIFIED RENEWABLE ENERGY FACIL-
ITY.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-
graph (B), the term ‘qualified renewable energy 
facility’ means a facility which— 
‘‘(i) uses solar, wind, low-impact hy-
droelectric (as certified by the Low Impact 
Hydropower Institute), geothermal, tidal, 
or wave energy to generate electricity 
which will be received and stored by prop-
erty described in clause (ii), 
‘‘(ii) contains property which receives, 
stores, and delivers electricity described in 
clause (i), provided that such electricity 
is— 
‘‘(I)(aa) sold by the taxpayer to 
an unrelated person, or 
‘‘(bb) in the case of a facility 
which is equipped with a metering de-
vice which is owned and operated by 
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an unrelated person, sold or consumed 
by the taxpayer, and 
‘‘(II) at a minimum, discharged 
at such times as a peaker plant within 
the same electrical grid load zone 
would operate to meet peak electricity 
demand (as determined by the grid 
operator for such electrical grid), and 
‘‘(iii) which is placed in service— 
‘‘(I) in a disadvantaged commu-
nity which is located within— 
‘‘(aa) the same census tract 
as a peaker plant, or 
‘‘(bb) a census tract that is 
adjacent to a census tract in 
which a peaker plant is located, 
and 
‘‘(II) after December 31, 2021. 
‘‘(B) SPECIAL
RULE.—For purposes of 
this paragraph, a facility shall not be deemed to 
be a qualified renewable energy facility unless 
the taxpayer demonstrates, to the satisfaction 
of the Secretary, that— 
‘‘(i) the property described in clause 
(i) of subparagraph (A) is co-located with 
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