EAGLE SOLAR Act
Bill: H.R.8124 | Sponsor: Rep. Ryan, Tim (D-OH)
Policy area: Energy

Summary:
Ensuring America Gets Legitimate Energy Sourced, Originating, and Leased At home Reliably Act or the EAGLE SOLAR Act
This bill modifies the Buy American Act to apply to solar power purchase agreements.

To amend section 8302 of title 41, United States Code, to require Buy 
American Act requirements to apply to solar power purchase agreements, 
                        and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Ensuring America Gets Legitimate 
Energy Sourced, Originating, and Leased At home Reliably Act'' or the 
``EAGLE SOLAR Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Solar cells were first invented in the United States in 
        1954 at Bell Labs. The United States went on to lead the world 
        in the 1960's and 1970's in the development of this technology 
        with the help of government-funded research and development and 
        private research organizations.
            (2) In 2005, the State Council of the People's Republic of 
        China (PRC) identified solar power as a key strategic growth 
        industry. The Chinese Government subsequently poured billions 
        of dollars into their solar industry and funded massive losses 
        for solar companies to corner the global market. By 2011, 
        China's share of global solar manufacturing exceeded 60 
        percent.
            (3) In October 2012, the Department of Commerce released 
        its affirmative final determination that Chinese producers and 
        exporters had been selling solar cells in the United States at 
        dumping margins ranging from 18.32 to 249.96 percent. Commerce 
        also determined that Chinese producers and exporters had 
        received countervailable subsidies of 14.78 to 15.97 percent.
            (4) In January 2018, the United States implemented 
        safeguard tariffs on solar cells and modules imported from 
        China based on the investigations, findings, and 
        recommendations of the independent, bipartisan U.S. 
        International Trade Commission (ITC).
            (5) Several United States solar module manufacturers 
        substantially increased production because of the 2018 tariffs 
        on imported solar cells and modules. The ITC found that from, 
        ``2012 to 2016, the volume of solar generation capacity 
        installed annually in the United States more than tripled, 
        spurred on by artificially low-priced solar cells and modules 
        from China''. According to the ITC, in the same period, 
        ``imports grew by approximately 500 percent, and prices dropped 
        precipitously. Prices for solar cells and modules fell by 60 
        percent, to a point where most U.S. producers ceased domestic 
        production, moved their facilities to other countries, or 
        declared bankruptcy.''. The ITC determined increased solar cell 
        and module imports to be a substantial cause of serious injury 
        to the domestic industry.
            (6) In the years since, the PRC has attempted to circumvent 
        United States tariffs by shifting production to Malaysia, 
        Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia, an issue the Department of 
        Commerce is currently investigating.
            (7) Renewable energy is among the key industries of the 
        Chinese Communist Party's Made in China 2025 strategic plan, 
        and it is therefore crucial that Congress appropriate necessary 
        funds and pursue policies that drive innovation, encourage 
        investment, and spur growth in this sector.
            (8) Made in China 2025 includes self-sufficiency quotas 
        that violate World Trade Organization rules against technology 
        substitution. The PRC has repeatedly chosen to ignore free 
        market norms and flout rules-based trade through foreign 
        acquisitions, forced technology transfer agreements, and 
        commercial cyber espionage, in addition to other restrictive 
        market practices.
            (9) The PRC has 64 percent of global production capacity of 
        polysilicon, a key raw material in the solar panel supply 
        chain. Approximately half of China's polysilicon production 
        occurs in the western Xinjiang province, where the PRC relies 
        on coal-fired power plants and forced Uyghur labor to account 
        for about half of today's global polysilicon output.
            (10) The United States has recognized the ongoing genocide 
        of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang and has prioritized combating forced 
        labor with the overwhelmingly bipartisan passage and December 
        23, 2021, signing of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.
            (11) Over 1.3 million photovoltaic systems were installed 
        in the United States in 2016, more than four times the level of 
        2012. The American solar industry employed approximately 
        249,983 people in the United States in 2019, a 167 percent 
        increase from the number of people employed in the industry in 
        2010.
            (12) According to the Department of Energy, solar could 
        account for as much as 40 percent of the Nation's electricity 
        supply by 2035 and 45 percent by 2050.
            (13) Significant majorities of Americans support the 
        domestic manufacturing of solar panels, adding solar panel 
        farms, and expanding the Buy American Act to further support 
        United States domestic solar manufacturers. Most Americans 
        support expanding the Buy American Act so that the Federal 
        Government is required to purchase renewable energy produced by 
        equipment manufactured in the United States.
            (14) A resilient domestic solar supply chain will become 
        increasingly vital to the economic, energy, and national 
        security of the United States. The solar energy used to power 
        the Federal Government cannot come from solar panels produced 
        in coal-fired power plants, by forced labor, and shipped from 
        the PRC. Expanding Buy American to include solar power purchase 
        agreements will ensure that the renewable energy that powers 
        the Federal Government comes from domestically manufactured 
        solar panels.

SEC. 3. APPLICATION OF THE BUY AMERICAN ACT TO SOLAR POWER PURCHASE 
              AGREEMENTS.

    (a) Amendments.--Chapter 83 of title 41, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in section 8301, by adding at the end the following new 
        paragraphs:
            ``(4) Integrated module.--The term `integrated module' 
        means a solar module produced by a single manufacturer through 
        the conversion of a photovoltaic wafer or other semiconductor 
        material into an end product which is--
                    ``(A) suitable to generate electricity when exposed 
                to sunlight; and
                    ``(B) ready for installation without additional 
                manufacturing processes.
            ``(5) Solar module.--The term `solar module' means the 
        connection and lamination of photovoltaic cells into an 
        environmentally protected final assembly which is--
                    ``(A) suitable to generate electricity when exposed 
                to sunlight; and
                    ``(B) ready for installation without an additional 
                manufacturing process.
            ``(6) Solar power purchase agreement.--The term `solar 
        power purchase agreement' means an energy savings performance 
        contract authorized under section 801 of the National Energy 
        Conservation Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 8287), a contract under 
        section 2922a of title 10, a utility energy service contract 
        authorized under section 546 of the National Energy 
        Conservation Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 8256), or other agreement of 
        the Federal Government, to acquire electricity or, in the case 
        of a renewable energy certificate or similar instrument, solar 
        energy attributes, produced by--
                    ``(A) solar modules, including integrated modules, 
                installed or otherwise used on Government property or 
                at a facility owned or controlled by the Government; or
                    ``(B) a facility that uses solar energy to generate 
                electricity where any of the electricity generated is 
                reserved for the use or benefit of the Government.'';
            (2) in section 8302, by adding at the end the following new 
        subsection:
    ``(d) Applicability to Solar Power Purchase Agreements.--This 
section applies with respect to any solar module, including any 
integrated module, that is used to generate electricity provided under 
a solar power purchase agreement.''; and
            (3) in section 8303, by adding at the end the following new 
        subsection:
    ``(e) Applicability to Solar Power Purchase Agreements.--This 
section applies with respect to any solar module, including any 
integrated module, that is used to generate electricity provided under 
a solar power purchase agreement.''.
    (b) Applicability.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act and apply 
with respect to any solar power purchase agreement entered into on or 
after such date.
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