I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5594 
To direct the Secretary of Energy to establish a photovoltaic demonstration 
program, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 13, 2006 
Mr. SMITH of Texas (for himself, Mr. UDALL of Colorado, Mr. WAMP, Mr. 
EHLERS, Mr. BOEHLERT, Mr. BROWN of Ohio, Mr. BACHUS, Mr. 
DOGGETT, Mr. SIMMONS, Mr. MCCAUL of Texas, Mr. BARTLETT of 
Maryland, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. BASS, Mr. HAYWORTH, and Mr. 
BUTTERFIELD) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Science 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Energy to establish a photovoltaic 
demonstration program, 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 ‘‘Solar Utilization Now 
Demonstration Act of 2006’’ or the ‘‘SUN Act of 2006’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Renewable energy is a growth industry 
around the world. However, the United States has 
not been investing as heavily as other countries, and 
is losing market share. 
(2) Since 1996, the United States has lost sig-
nificant market share in the solar industry, dropping 
from 44 percent of the world market to 13 percent 
in 2003. 
(3) 
In 
2003, 
Japan 
spent 
more 
than 
$200,000,000 on solar research, development, dem-
onstration, and commercial application and other in-
centives, 
and 
Germany 
provided 
more 
than 
$750,000,000 in low cost financing for solar photo-
voltaic projects. This compares to United States 
Government spending of $139,000,000 in 2003 for 
research, development, demonstration, and commer-
cial application and other incentives. 
(4) Germany and Japan each had domestic 
photovoltaic industries that employed more than 
10,000 people in 2003, while in the same year the 
United States photovoltaics industry employed only 
2,000 people. 
(5) The United States is becoming increasingly 
dependent on imported energy.
(6) The high cost of fossil fuels is hurting the 
United States economy. 
(7) Small reductions in peak demand can result 
in very large reductions in price, according to energy 
market experts. 
(8) Although the United States has only 2 per-
cent of the world’s oil reserves and 3 percent of the 
world’s natural gas reserves, our Nation’s renewable 
energy resources are vast and largely untapped. 
(9) Renewable energy can reduce the demand 
for imported energy, reducing costs and decreasing 
the variability of energy prices. 
(10) By using domestic renewable energy re-
sources, the United States can reduce the amount of 
money sent into unstable regions of the world and 
keep it in the United States. 
(11) By supporting renewable energy research 
and development, and funding demonstration and 
commercial application programs for renewable en-
ergy, the United States can create an export indus-
try and improve the balance of trade. 
(12) Renewable energy can significantly reduce 
the environmental impacts of energy production.
SEC. 3. PHOTOVOLTAIC DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy (in this 
Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall establish a pro-
gram of grants to States to demonstrate advanced photo-
voltaic technology. 
(b) REQUIREMENTS.— 
(1) ABILITY TO MEET REQUIREMENTS.—To re-
ceive funding under the program under this section, 
a State must submit a proposal that demonstrates, 
to the satisfaction of the Secretary, that the State 
will meet the requirements of subsection (f). 
(2) COMPLIANCE WITH REQUIREMENTS.—If a 
State has received funding under this section for the 
preceding year, the State must demonstrate, to the 
satisfaction of the Secretary, that it complied with 
the requirements of subsection (f) in carrying out 
the program during that preceding year, and that it 
will do so in the future, before it can receive further 
funding under this section. 
(3) FUNDING
ALLOCATION.—Except as pro-
vided in subsection (c), each State submitting a 
qualifying proposal shall receive funding under the 
program based on the proportion of United States 
population in the State according to the 2000 cen-
sus. In each fiscal year, the portion of funds attrib-
utable under this paragraph to States that have not
submitted qualifying proposals in the time and man-
ner specified by the Secretary shall be distributed 
pro rata to the States that have submitted qualifying 
proposals in the specified time and manner. 
(c) COMPETITION.—If more than $80,000,000 is 
available for the program under this section for any fiscal 
year, the Secretary shall allocate 75 percent of the total 
amount of funds available according to subsection (b)(3), 
and shall award the remaining 25 percent on a competitive 
basis to the States with the proposals the Secretary con-
siders most likely to encourage the widespread adoption 
of photovoltaic technologies. 
(d) PROPOSALS.—Not later than 6 months after the 
date of enactment of this Act, and in each subsequent fis-
cal year for the life of the program, the Secretary shall 
solicit proposals from the States to participate in the pro-
gram under this section. 
(e) COMPETITIVE CRITERIA.—In awarding funds in 
a competitive allocation under subsection (c), the Sec-
retary shall consider— 
(1) the likelihood of a proposal to encourage the 
demonstration of, or lower the costs of, advanced 
photovoltaic technologies; and 
(2) the extent to which a proposal is likely to—
(A) maximize the amount of photovoltaics 
demonstrated; 
(B) maximize the proportion of non-Fed-
eral cost share; and 
(C) limit State administrative costs. 
(f) STATE PROGRAM.—A program operated by a 
State with funding under this section shall provide com-
petitive awards for the demonstration of advanced photo-
voltaic technologies. Each State program shall— 
(1) require a contribution of at least 60 percent 
per award from non-Federal sources, which may in-
clude any combination of State, local, and private 
funds, except that at least 10 percent of the funding 
must be supplied by the State; 
(2) limit awards for any single project to a 
maximum of $1,000,000; 
(3) prohibit any nongovernmental recipient 
from receiving more than $1,000,000 per year; 
(4) endeavor to fund recipients in the commer-
cial, industrial, institutional, governmental, and resi-
dential sectors; 
(5) limit State administrative costs to no more 
than 10 percent of the grant; 
(6) report annually to the Secretary on— 
(A) the amount of funds disbursed;
(B) the amount of photovoltaics purchased; 
and 
(C) the results of the monitoring under 
paragraph (7); 
(7) provide for measurement and verification of 
the output of a representative sample of the 
photovoltaics systems demonstrated throughout the 
average working life of the systems, or at least 20 
years; and 
(8) require that applicant buildings must have 
received an independent energy efficiency audit dur-
ing the 6-month period preceding the filing of the 
application. 
(g) UNEXPENDED FUNDS.—If a State fails to expend 
any funds received under subsection (b) or (c) within 3 
years of receipt, such remaining funds shall be returned 
to the Treasury. 
(h) REPORTS.—The Secretary shall report to Con-
gress 5 years after funds are first distributed to the States 
under this section— 
(1) the amount of photovoltaics demonstrated; 
(2) the number of projects undertaken; 
(3) the administrative costs of the program;