42 U.S.C. § 8243 — Duties of Secretary

(a) Duties: When using the authority provided by section 8242, the Secretary^*, in consultation with the Administrator^* of the General Services Administration, must do the following. (1) Issue rules that establish—(A) requirements under which Federal agencies must submit proposals to install solar energy equipment in Federal buildings under their control, with the buildings selected under procedures in the rule; and (B) criteria for evaluating those proposals. The criteria must require each proposal to include a complete analysis, as the Secretary determines it, of the present value of the proposal's costs and benefits to the Federal agency. They must also provide, to the maximum extent practicable, for innovative and varied applications of solar heating and solar heating and cooling technology to different types of Federal buildings, and for demonstration projects to be located where a private-sector market for solar energy equipment is likely to develop. (2) Evaluate each proposal in writing under the criteria issued under paragraph (1)(B), and make the evaluation available to the agency and, on request, to any person. (3) Provide technical and financial assistance, through an interagency agreement, to carry out a proposal that was evaluated under paragraph (2) and approved by the Secretary. This assistance is limited to designing, acquiring, constructing, and installing solar energy equipment. (4) Issue a rule requiring Federal agencies to periodically report to the Secretary information they obtain about maintaining and operating solar energy equipment for which assistance is provided under paragraph (3). (5) Require a life-cycle cost analysis under part B for any Federal building for which a proposal is submitted under this section, and require the results of that analysis to be included in the proposal. (6) If solar energy equipment for which assistance will be provided under paragraph (3) is not the minimum-life-cycle-cost alternative, require the Federal agency involved to submit a report to the Secretary stating how much the life-cycle cost of that equipment exceeds the minimum life-cycle cost.

(b) Contents of proposals: Proposals under subsection (a)(1)(A) must include a list of the specific Federal buildings proposed to receive solar energy equipment; the funds needed to acquire and install the equipment; the proposed implementation schedule; maintenance costs; estimated savings in fossil fuels and electricity; estimated payback time; and any other information the Secretary requires.

(c) Initial submission of proposals: Under the requirements established under subsection (a)(1)(A), initial proposals to install solar energy equipment in Federal buildings selected under subsection (a)(1)(A) must be submitted no later than 180 days after the rule under subsection (a)(1) is issued.

(d) Program to disseminate information to Federal procurement and loan officers: To disseminate more widely information about the program under this part and part B, and about the benefits of renewable energy and energy-efficiency technology, the Secretary must establish a program that includes site visits and technical briefings. The program must disseminate that information to Federal procurement officers and Federal loan officers. The Secretary must use available funds for the program.