lcalvobartolome/proxann_data huggingface dataset:
Topic: Energy — Conservation
Subject: Energy
Date: 2013-06-20 00:00:00

Local Energy Supply and Resiliency Act of 2013 - Requires the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to establish a program to disseminate information and provide technical assistance, directly or through grants, to assist eligible entities in identifying, evaluating, planning, and designing local energy infrastructure. Defines "local energy infrastructure" as a system that:

 recovers or produces useful thermal or electric energy from waste energy or renewable energy resources, generates electricity using a combined heat and power system, distributes electricity in microgrids, stores thermal energy, or distributes thermal energy or transfers it to building heating and cooling systems via a district energy system. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to provide funds to cover no more than: (1) 100% of the cost of initial assessment to identify local energy opportunities, (2) 75% of the cost of feasibility studies to assess the potential for the implementation of local energy infrastructure, (3) 60% of the cost of guidance on overcoming barriers to such implementation, and (4) 45% of the cost of detailed engineering of local energy infrastructure.

Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to authorize the Secretary to make loan guarantees for commercial or innovative projects for local energy infrastructure under the existing loan guarantee program that provides incentives for innovative technologies.

Amends the Community Development Banking and Financial Institutions Act of 1994 to redefine "investment area" to include an area that has the potential for implementation of local energy infrastructure.
Topic: Energy — Conservation
Subject: Energy
Date: 2013-06-20 00:00:00

Amends the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to revise exceptions to the requirement that federal agencies must lease space in buildings that have earned the Energy Star label. Requires a space leased by an agency in a building that has not earned the Energy Star label to be benchmarked under a nationally recognized, online, free benchmarking program, with public disclosure. Exempts from such requirement a space for which owners cannot access whole building utility consumption data.

Requires an agency that is a tenant of a space that has not earned such label to provide to a building owner, or authorize the owner to obtain from the utility, the energy consumption information of the space for the benchmarking and disclosure requirements.

Requires the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to study and report on: (1) the impact of state and local performance benchmarking and disclosure policies, and any associated building efficiency policies, for commercial and multifamily buildings and the impact of programs and systems in which utilities provide aggregated information regarding whole building energy consumption and usage information to owners of multitenant commercial, residential, and mixed-use buildings; and (2) best practice policy approaches that have resulted in the greatest improvements in building energy efficiency.

Requires the Secretary to modify and maintain existing databases or create and maintain a new database platform to store and make publicly available energy-related information on commercial and multifamily buildings.

Authorizes the Secretary to make awards to utilities, utility regulators, and utility partners to develop and implement programs to provide aggregated whole building energy consumption information to multitenant building owners.
Topic: Energy — Conservation
Subject: Energy
Date: 2013-06-20 00:00:00

Weatherization Enhancement, and Local Energy Efficiency Investment and Accountability Act - Amends the Energy Conservation and Production Act to authorize appropriations for the Weatherization Assistance Program for low-income persons for FY2014-FY2018.

Requires the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to make competitive grants to qualified tax-exempt charitable organizations for energy efficiency retrofit uses that include:

 energy efficiency audits, cost-effective retrofit, and related activities in different climatic regions of the United States; energy efficiency materials and supplies; organizational capacity for retrofit programs; energy efficiency, audit and retrofit training, and technical assistance; information to homeowners on proper maintenance and energy savings behaviors; quality control and improvement; data collection, measurement, and verification; program monitoring, oversight, evaluation, and reporting; management and administration; and labor and training activities. Requires contractors carrying weatherization with funds under the Act to be selected through a competitive bidding process and be accredited as specified by this Act. Requires organizations, in order to receive a grant, to use a crew chief who is certified or accredited as required by this Act.

Requires the Secretary, beginning on October 1, 2015, to ensure that: (1) each retrofit for which weatherization assistance is provided meets minimum efficiency and quality of work standards established by the Secretary, (2) at least 10% of the dwelling units are randomly inspected by an accredited third party to ensure compliance with the standards, and (3) the standards meet or exceed the current industry standards for home performance work.

Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to extend the authorization for state energy conservation plans for FY2014-FY2018.
Topic: Energy — Conservation
Subject: Energy
Date: 2013-06-27 00:00:00

Energy Efficient Government Technology Act - Amends the National Energy Conservation Policy Act, with respect to federal agency energy management, to require each agency to collaborate with the Director of the Office of the Management and Budget (OMB) to develop an implementation strategy for the maintenance, purchase, and use of energy-efficient and energy-saving information and communications technologies (ICT) and practices that is based on the agency's operating requirements and statutory mission. Includes as part of such a strategy consideration of ICT and related infrastructure and practices.

Requires the OMB Director to: (1) establish performance goals for evaluating the efforts of agencies in improving such technology systems and practices; and (2) maintain a data centers task force responsible for sharing progress toward individual agency goals and the overall target for increased energy efficiency, including through exchanges of best practices and energy efficiency information with the private sector.

Sets forth reporting requirements.

Amends the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, with respect to data center energy efficiency, to require: publication of the designation of the information technology industry organization that coordinates the voluntary national information program for such centers; updating and publication of a report on server and data center efficiency, including an analysis of the impact of ICT asset and related infrastructure utilization solutions; maintenance of a data center energy practitioner program that leads to the certification of practitioners qualified to evaluate energy usage and efficiency opportunities; evaluation of agency data centers every four years by such certified energy practitioners employed by the agency; establishment of an open data initiative for federal data center usage data; consideration of the online Data Center Maturity Model in establishing the initiative; active participation by the Secretary of Energy (DOE) in efforts to harmonize global specifications and metrics for data center energy efficiency; and assistance by the Secretary in the development of an efficiency metric that measures the energy efficiency of the overall data center.
Topic: Energy — Conservation
Subject: Energy
Date: 2013-07-16 00:00:00

Energy Savings Through Public-Private Partnerships Act of 2013 - Amends the National Energy Conservation Policy Act to direct each federal facility energy manager to consider, not later than two years after completion of a comprehensive energy evaluation of a federal agency's facilities: (1) implementing any energy-saving or conservation measure that the agency identified in the evaluation that is life cycle cost-effective, and (2) bundling individual measures of varying paybacks together into combined projects. (Under current law, the energy manager is not required to consider such actions.)

Requires the energy manager, as part of the Web-based compliance certification system, to provide reasons for not implementing life cycle cost-effective measures.

Requires each agency to: (1) use the benchmarking systems selected or developed for the agency under the Act to track energy savings realized by the agency through the implementation of energy-saving or conservation measures and submit information regarding such savings for publication on a website of the Department of Energy (DOE), and (2) consider using energy savings performance or utility energy service contracts to implement such measures.

Establishes a goal of entering into energy savings performance contracts or utility energy service contracts equal to $1 billion in each year during the 5-year period beginning on January 1, 2014. Requires each agency to report annually to DOE, and DOE to report to Congress, on progress towards achieving such goal.
Topic: Energy — Conservation
Subject: Energy
Date: 2013-09-12 00:00:00

Job Creation through Energy Efficient Manufacturing Act - Requires the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to establish a Financing Energy Efficient Manufacturing Program to provide grants to states to establish or expand programs to finance energy efficiency retrofit, onsite clean and renewable energy, smart grid, and alternative vehicle fleet projects for industrial businesses (covered programs).

Defines "state" as a state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any other territory or possession of the United States.

Requires the Secretary to consult with states and stakeholders to establish a process to identify financing opportunities for manufacturing and industrial business with asset portfolios across multiple states.

Requires states that receive such funding to give a higher priority to covered programs that: (1) leverage private and nonfederal sources of funding, and (2) aim to expand the use of energy efficiency project financing using private sources of funding.

Requires: (1) states receiving such grants to collect, share, and report on data resulting from covered programs carried out under this Act; and (2) the Secretary to incorporate the data into appropriate DOE databases, with provisions for the protection of confidential business data.

Requires grant funds to be provided to the state office responsible for developing the state energy plan under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act.
Topic: Energy — Conservation
Subject: Energy
Date: 2013-10-31 00:00:00

American Renewable Energy and Efficiency Act - Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA) to require each retail electric supplier to submit to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) a quantity of federal renewable electricity credits that is equal to at least the annual target of the retail electric supplier established by this Act for each of 2015 through 2040. Requires the target to be equal to the product of the supplier's base amount (electricity sold) for the year and a specified annual percentage for that year, which increases from 6% for 2015 to 25% for 2025 through 2040.

Sets forth provisions governing the issuance, tracking, verification, trading, banking, and retirement of federal renewable electricity credits.

Authorizes alternative compliance payments in lieu of credits.

Authorizes states to set the rates for a sale of electric energy by a facility generating electric energy from renewable energy sources pursuant to a voluntary production incentive program.

Requires the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to: (1) establish a program to implement, enforce, review, and adjust performance standards for specified cumulative electricity and natural gas savings for 2015 through 2025; (2) promulgate regulations establishing performance standards for 2026 through 2040 and for subsequent years by specified deadlines; and (3) set such standards at levels reflecting the maximum achievable level of cost-effective energy efficiency potential. Prohibits standards for any year from being lower than the standard for 2025.

Requires the Secretary, at 10-year intervals, to review the most recent standards and increase them if additional cost-effective energy efficiency potential is achievable.

Requires each retail electricity and natural gas supplier to submit a report annually demonstrating that it has achieved required savings, which the Secretary shall review to verify that performance standards have been met. Authorizes suppliers to use electricity or natural gas savings purchased from another supplier, a state, or a third-party efficiency provider to meet such standards.

Provides for state administration of an energy efficiency program to meet the requirements of this Act.

Requires the Secretary to direct the state to correct deficiencies found in a review and to report to the Secretary on progress not later than 180 days after the date of the receipt of review results.

Encourages state utility regulatory commissions to review their rules and regulations to ensure that utilities can recover the direct costs of energy efficiency programs, fully recover authorized fixed costs, and earn an incentive for shareholders if the energy efficiency standards are achieved.

Requires the Secretary to contract with the National Academy of Sciences to submit a comprehensive evaluation of all aspects of the program established by this Act by July 1, 2019, and every 10 years thereafter.
Topic: Energy — Conservation
Subject: Energy
Date: 2013-11-05 00:00:00

Utility Energy Service Contracts Improvement Act of 2013 - Amends the National Energy Conservation Policy Act, with respect to promotion of the conservation and efficient use of energy and water, and the use of renewable resources, by the federal government, to authorize each agency to use measures provided by law to meet energy efficiency and conservation mandates and laws, including through utility energy service contracts.

Authorizes the term of such a contract to have a contract period that extends beyond 10 years, but prohibits such term from exceeding 25 years.

Requires the contract conditions to include requirements for measurement, verification, and performance assurances or guarantees of the savings.
Topic: Energy — Conservation
Subject: Energy
Date: 2013-11-20 00:00:00

Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) to provide additional energy conservation standards applicable to grid-enabled water heaters (those intended for use as part of an electric thermal storage or demand response program).

Requires annual reports from: (1) manufacturers of such water heaters regarding the quantity of the products shipped each year, and (2) utilities and other demand response and thermal storage program operators regarding the quantity of products activated for their programs.

Requires the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to publish analyses of data collected from such reports and to establish procedures to prevent product diversion if sales of the products exceed by at least 15% the quantity activated for use in the demand response and thermal storage programs annually.

Maintains the standards and publication procedures established by this Act until the Secretary determines that such water heaters do not require a separate efficiency requirement.

Requires the Secretary to consider the impact of EPCA electric water heater standards on thermal storage and demand response programs, including on energy savings, electric bills, electric reliability, integration of renewable resources, and the environment.

Makes unlawful, with respect to grid-enabled water heaters not used as part of an electric thermal storage or demand response program, the knowing and repeated distribution of activation keys, enabling of full operation of the products, or removing or making illegible their labels.
Topic: Energy — Conservation
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2014-02-06 00:00:00

Renewable Energy Parity Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the energy tax credit to solar energy, fuel cell, microturbine, combined heat and power system, small wind energy, and thermal energy properties the construction of which begins before January 1, 2017.
Topic: Energy — Conservation
Subject: Energy
Date: 2014-02-27 00:00:00

Weatherization Enhancement and Local Energy Efficiency Investment and Accountability Act - Amends the Energy Conservation and Production Act to extend the Weatherization Assistance Program for low-income persons through FY2019.

Requires the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to make competitive grants to qualified tax-exempt charitable organizations for energy efficiency retrofit uses that include:

 energy efficiency audits, cost-effective retrofit, and related activities in different climatic regions of the United States; energy efficiency materials and supplies; organizational capacity for retrofit programs; energy efficiency, audit and retrofit training, and technical assistance; information to homeowners on proper maintenance and energy savings behaviors; quality control and improvement; data collection, measurement, and verification; program monitoring, oversight, evaluation, and reporting; management and administration; and labor and training activities. Requires contractors carrying out weatherization with funds under the Act to be selected through a competitive bidding process and be accredited as specified by this Act. Requires organizations, in order to receive a grant, to use a crew chief who is certified or accredited as required by this Act.

Requires the Secretary, beginning on October 1, 2015, to ensure that: (1) each retrofit for which weatherization assistance is provided meets minimum efficiency and quality of work standards established by the Secretary, (2) at least 10% of the dwelling units are randomly inspected by an accredited third party to ensure compliance with the standards, and (3) the standards meet or exceed the current industry standards for home performance work.

Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to extend the program for state energy conservation plans through FY2019.
Topic: Energy — Conservation
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2014-02-27 00:00:00

Energy Efficient Heating and Cooling Tax Credit Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to expand the tax credit for nonbusiness energy property expenditures to allow a credit for up to $5,000 in a taxable year of qualifying heating conversion expenditures for a principal residence. Defines "qualifying heating conversion expenditures" as expenditures, other than for soil cleanup, for property that is placed in service before January 1, 2019, and used as a heating or cooling system on a building or structure located in a community in which the average residential expenditure for home energy is more than 200% of the national average (as determined by the Energy Information Agency).
Topic: Energy — Conservation
Subject: Energy
Date: 2014-09-10 00:00:00

EPS Service Parts Act of 2014 - Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to exempt external power supplies (EPS) for four years from energy conservation standards established by the Department of Energy in 2014. (EPS convert household electric current into direct current or lower-voltage alternating current to operate a consumer product such as a laptop computer or smart phone.) Applies this exemption to service parts or spare parts for products that were manufactured before February 10, 2016.
Topic: Energy — Conservation
Subject: Energy
Date: 2014-09-18 00:00:00

10 Million Solar Roofs Act of 2014 - Requires the Department of Energy (DOE) to establish a program to provide rebates for the purchase and installation of photovoltaic systems with the goal to install 10 million systems with a cumulative capacity of at least 60,000 megawatts over the next ten years.

Includes within the photovoltaic system solar panels, roof support structures, inverters (to convert the current output from a solar panel into a frequency that can be fed into the electrical grid), an energy storage system if it is integrated with the system, and any other hardware necessary for the installation of a system.
Topic: Energy — Conservation
Subject: Energy
Date: 2014-12-03 00:00:00

Energy Efficiency Improvement Act of 2015 - Better Buildings Act of 2014 - Requires the General Services Administration (GSA) to: (1) develop and publish model leasing provisions to encourage building owners and tenants to use greater cost-effective energy efficiency and water efficiency measures in commercial buildings, and (2) develop policies and best practices to implement the measures for the realty services provided by the GSA to federal agencies.

Amends the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop a voluntary Tenant Star program within the Energy Star program to recognize tenants of spaces in commercial buildings that voluntarily achieve high levels of energy efficiency. Authorizes the EPA to develop a voluntary program to recognize commercial building owners and tenants that use high-performance energy efficiency measures in the design and construction of leased spaces.

Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to prescribe additional energy conservation standards for grid-enabled water heaters for use as part of an electric thermal storage or demand response program, which is a program that enables customers to reduce or shift their power use during peak demand periods.

Energy Efficient Government Technology Act - Amends the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to require: (1) each federal agency to coordinate with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Department of Energy (DOE), and the EPA to develop an implementation strategy for the maintenance, purchase, and use of energy-efficient and energy-saving information technologies; (2) DOE to maintain a data center energy practitioner program that leads to the certification of energy practitioners qualified to evaluate the energy usage and efficiency opportunities in federal data centers; and (3) DOE to establish an open data initiative to make information about federal data center energy usage available and accessible in a manner that encourages data center innovation, optimization, and consolidation.

Requires DOE to maintain, and if necessary create, a database for storing and making available public energy-related information on commercial and multifamily buildings.
Topic: Energy — Conservation
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2014-04-01 00:00:00

Energy Efficiency Tax Incentives Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) extend through 2016, and increase the maximum rate of, the tax deduction for energy-efficient commercial building expenditures; (2) allow a new tax deduction for the cost of retrofitting existing commercial and multifamily buildings; (3) allow a new tax credit, through 2016, for home energy efficiency improvements that increase energy efficiency by at least 20%; (4) extend through 2018 the tax credit for combined heat and power system property expenditures and increase the capacity limitations and credit percentages for systems with a higher efficiency rating; (5) allow an energy tax credit for investment in biomass heating property and for waste heat to power property (i.e., a system which generates electricity through the recovery of a qualified waste heat resource and is placed in service before January 1, 2019); (6) allow a new business-related tax credit for efficient advanced motor systems with adjustable speed capability; (7) allow a new business-related tax credit for replacement of large water-cooled refrigerant chillers that use environmentally harmful refrigerants; and (8) allow a new tax credit for expenditures to increase water use efficiency in the manufacturing sector.