I 
111TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5805 
To encourage the implementation of thermal energy infrastructure, and for 
other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 21, 2010 
Ms. MCCOLLUM (for herself, Mr. INSLEE, and Mr. TONKO) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Com-
merce, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means and Over-
sight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To encourage the implementation of thermal energy 
infrastructure, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Thermal Renewable Energy and Efficiency Act of 2010’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Findings. 
Sec. 3. Purpose. 
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Sec. 4. Statement of policy. 
TITLE I—MODIFICATION OF CREDIT FOR ELECTRICITY 
PRODUCED FROM CERTAIN RENEWABLE SOURCES 
Sec. 101. Extension of renewable electricity credit to thermal energy. 
Sec. 102. Federal purchase requirement amendments. 
TITLE II—EXEMPT FACILITY BONDS 
Sec. 201. Exempt facility bonds. 
TITLE III—ENERGY SUSTAINABILITY AND EFFICIENCY GRANTS 
FOR INSTITUTIONS 
Sec. 301. Definition of institutional entity. 
Sec. 302. Availability of grants. 
Sec. 303. Authorization of appropriations for grants. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
(1) approximately 30 percent of the total quan-
tity of energy consumed in the United States is used 
to provide thermal energy for heating and cooling 
building space, domestic hot water, and industrial 
processes; 
(2) thermal energy is an essential, but often 
overlooked, segment of the national energy mix; 
(3) district energy systems use 1 or more cen-
tral plants to provide thermal energy to multiple 
buildings that range in size from campus applica-
tions to systems heating entire towns or cities; 
(4) district energy systems provide sustainable 
thermal energy infrastructure by producing and dis-
tributing thermal energy from combined heat power, 
sources of industrial or municipal surplus heat, and 
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from renewable sources such as biomass, geothermal, 
and solar energy; 
(5) as of 2009, the United States had approxi-
mately 2,500 operating district energy systems; 
(6) district energy systems provide advantages 
that support secure, affordable, renewable, and sus-
tainable energy for the United States, including— 
(A) use of local fuels or waste heat sources 
that keep jobs and energy dollars in local econo-
mies; 
(B) stable, predictable energy costs for 
businesses and industry; 
(C) reduction in reliance on fossil fuels; 
(D) reduction in emissions of greenhouse 
gases; and 
(E) flexibility to modify fuel sources in re-
sponse to future changes in fuel availability and 
prices and development of new technologies; 
(7) district energy helps cut peak power de-
mand and reduce power transmission and distribu-
tion system constraints by— 
(A) meeting air conditioning demand 
through delivery of chilled water produced with 
heat from combined heat and power or other 
energy sources; and 
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(B) shifting power demand through ther-
mal storage and, with combined heat and 
power, generating power near load centers; 
(8) combined heat and power systems increase 
energy efficiency of power plants by capturing ther-
mal energy and using the thermal energy to provide 
heating and cooling, more than doubling the effi-
ciency of conventional power plants; 
(9) according to the Oak Ridge National Lab-
oratory, if the United States was able to increase 
combined heat and power from approximately 9 per-
cent of total electric generation capacity to 20 per-
cent by 2030, the increase would— 
(A) save as much energy as half of all 
household energy consumption; 
(B) create approximately 1,000,000 new 
jobs; 
(C) avoid more than 800,000,000 metric 
tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually, 
which is equivalent to taking half of all United 
States passenger vehicles off the road; and 
(D) save hundreds of millions of barrels of 
oil equivalent; and 
(10) constraints to significant expansion of dis-
trict energy and combined heat and power include— 
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(A) the lack of economic value in the en-
ergy marketplace for the environmental, grid 
support, energy security, and local economic de-
velopment benefits of district energy systems; 
(B) relatively high project development 
costs due to the variety of institutional, legal, 
and technical issues that must be addressed; 
and 
(C) the high costs of debt service, particu-
larly in the early years of systems development 
before a broad base of customers has connected. 
SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 
The purpose of this Act is to encourage the imple-
mentation of thermal energy infrastructure order to— 
(1) increase energy efficiency; 
(2) increase use of renewable energy resources; 
(3) revitalize the infrastructure of the cities and 
institutions of the United States; 
(4) reduce local and regional air pollution; 
(5) reduce emissions of greenhouse gases; 
(6) reduce emissions of ozone-depleting refrig-
erants; and 
(7) enhance power grid reliability and overall 
energy supply reliability and energy security. 
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