HR 3221 IHCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

112th CONGRESSCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

1st SessionCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

H. R. 3221CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To authorize the Secretary of Energy to provide loan guarantees for energy efficiency upgrades to existing buildings.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

October 14, 2011CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Ms. DELAURO (for herself, Mr. CARNAHAN, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. COURTNEY, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. OLVER, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. CONYERS, and Mr. WELCH) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and CommerceCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

A BILLCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To authorize the Secretary of Energy to provide loan guarantees for energy efficiency upgrades to existing buildings.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘Job Creation and Energy Efficiency Act’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 2. LOAN PROGRAM FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY UPGRADES TO EXISTING BUILDINGS.

Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16511 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘SEC. 1706. BUILDING RETROFIT FINANCING PROGRAM.

‘(a) Definitions- In this section:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) CREDIT SUPPORT- The term ‘credit support’ means a guarantee or commitment to issue a guarantee or other forms of credit enhancement to ameliorate risks for efficiency obligations.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) EFFICIENCY OBLIGATION- The term ‘efficiency obligation’ means a debt or repayment obligation incurred in connection with financing a project, or a portfolio of such debt or repayment obligations.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(3) PROJECT- The term ‘project’ means the installation and implementation of efficiency, advanced metering, distributed generation, or renewable energy technologies and measures for a building (or for multiple buildings on a given property) that are expected to increase the energy efficiency of the building (including fixtures) in accordance with criteria established by the Secretary.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(b) Eligible Projects-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) IN GENERAL- Notwithstanding sections 1703 and 1705, the Secretary may provide credit support under this section, in accordance with section 1702.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) INCLUSIONS- Buildings eligible for credit support under this section include commercial, multifamily residential, industrial, municipal, government, institution of higher education, school, and hospital facilities that satisfy criteria established by the Secretary.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(c) Guidelines-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) IN GENERAL- Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) establish guidelines for credit support provided under this section;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) publish the guidelines in the Federal Register; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(C) provide for an opportunity for public comment on the guidelines.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) REQUIREMENTS- The guidelines established by the Secretary under this subsection shall include--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) standards for assessing the energy savings that could reasonably be expected to result from a project;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) examples of financing mechanisms (and portfolios of such financing mechanisms) that qualify as efficiency obligations;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(C) the threshold levels of energy savings that a project, at the time of issuance of credit support, shall be reasonably expected to achieve to be eligible for credit support;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(D) the eligibility criteria the Secretary determines to be necessary for making credit support available under this section; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(E) notwithstanding subsections (d)(3) and (g)(2)(B) of section 1702, any lien priority requirements that the Secretary determines to be necessary, in consultation with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, which may include--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) mechanisms to preserve prior lien positions of mortgage lenders and other creditors in buildings eligible for credit support;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) remedies available to the Secretary under chapter 176 of title 28, United States Code, in the event of default on the efficiency obligation by the borrower; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(iii) measures to limit the exposure of the Secretary to financial risk in the event of default, such as--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(I) the collection of a credit subsidy fee from the borrower as a loan loss reserve, taking into account the limitation on credit support under subsection (d);CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(II) minimum debt-to-income levels of the borrower;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(III) minimum levels of value relative to outstanding mortgage or other debt on a building eligible for credit support;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(IV) allowable thresholds for the percent of the efficiency obligation relative to the amount of any mortgage or other debt on an eligible building;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(V) analysis of historic and anticipated occupancy levels and rental income of an eligible building;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(VI) requirements of third-party contractors to guarantee energy savings that will result from a retrofit project, and whether financing on the efficiency obligation will amortize from the energy savings;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(VII) requirements that the retrofit project incorporate protocols to measure and verify energy savings; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(VIII) recovery of payments equally by the Secretary and the retrofit.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(3) EFFICIENCY OBLIGATIONS- The financing mechanisms qualified by the Secretary under paragraph (2)(B) may include--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) loans, including loans made by the Federal Financing Bank;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) power purchase agreements, including energy efficiency power purchase agreements;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(C) energy services agreements, including energy performance contracts;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(D) property assessed clean energy bonds and other tax assessment-based financing mechanisms;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(E) aggregate on-meter agreements that finance retrofit projects; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(F) any other efficiency obligations the Secretary determines to be appropriate.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(4) PRIORITIES- In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall prioritize--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) the maximization of energy savings with the available credit support funding;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) the establishment of a clear application and approval process that allows private building owners, lenders, and investors to reasonably expect to receive credit support for projects that conform to guidelines;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(C) the distribution of projects receiving credit support under this section across States or geographical regions of the United States; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(D) projects designed to achieve whole-building retrofits.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(d) Limitation- Notwithstanding section 1702(c), the Secretary shall not issue credit support under this section in an amount that exceeds--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) 90 percent of the principal amount of the efficiency obligation that is the subject of the credit support; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) $25,000,000 for any single project.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(e) Aggregation of Projects- To the extent provided in the guidelines developed in accordance with subsection (c), the Secretary may issue credit support on a portfolio, or pool of projects, that are not required to be geographically contiguous, if each efficiency obligation in the pool fulfills the requirements described in this section.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(f) Application-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) IN GENERAL- To be eligible to receive credit support under this section, the applicant shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary determines to be necessary.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) CONTENTS- An application submitted under this section shall include assurances by the applicant that--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) each contractor carrying out the project meets minimum experience level criteria, including local retrofit experience, as determined by the Secretary;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) the project is reasonably expected to achieve energy savings, as set forth in the application using any methodology that meets the standards described in the program guidelines;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(C) the project meets any technical criteria described in the program guidelines;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(D) the recipient of the credit support and the parties to the efficiency obligation will provide the Secretary with--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) any information the Secretary requests to assess the energy savings that result from the project, including historical energy usage data, a simulation-based benchmark, and detailed descriptions of the building work, as described in the program guidelines; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) permission to access information relating to building operations and usage for the period described in the program guidelines; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(E) any other assurances that the Secretary determines to be necessary.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(3) DETERMINATION- Not later than 90 days after receiving an application, the Secretary shall make a final determination on the application, which may include requests for additional information.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(g) Fees-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) IN GENERAL- In addition to the fees required by section 1702(h)(1), the Secretary may charge reasonable fees for credit support provided under this section.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) AVAILABILITY- Fees collected under this section shall be subject to section 1702(h)(2).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(h) Underwriting- The Secretary may delegate the underwriting activities under this section to 1 or more entities that the Secretary determines to be qualified.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) Status Report- Not later than 1 year after commencement of the program, the Secretary shall submit to the Congress a report that describes in reasonable detail--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) the manner in which this section is being carried out;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) the number and type of projects supported;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(3) the types of funding mechanisms used to provide credit support to projects;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(4) the energy savings expected to result from projects supported by this section;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(5) any tracking efforts the Secretary is using to calculate the actual energy savings produced by the projects; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(6) any plans to improve the tracking efforts described in paragraph (5).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(j) Buy American Report- The Secretary shall submit to the Congress an annual report that estimates the percentage of American-made materials used in conducting retrofit activities funded pursuant to this section.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(k) Funding-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS- There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $15,000,000,000 for the period encompassing fiscal years 2012 through 2021.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS- Not more than 1 percent of any amounts made available to the Secretary for carrying out this section may be used by the Secretary for administrative costs incurred in carrying out this section.’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink