42 U.S.C. § 16122 — Federal and State procurement of fuel cell vehicles and hydrogen energy systems

(a) Purposes. This section exists to: help the market accept fuel cell vehicles and hydrogen energy systems; support the development of fuel cell vehicle technology, public refueling stations, and hydrogen energy systems; and get the federal government — the single largest energy user in the country — to adopt these technologies as soon as they're ready, working with private industry partners. (b) Federal leases and purchases. (1) Requirement: By January 1, 2010, the head of any federal agency that uses a light-duty or heavy-duty vehicle fleet must lease or buy fuel cell vehicles and hydrogen energy systems to meet the energy savings goals described in subsection (c). The Secretary of Energy may lease or buy certain "learning demonstration" vehicles developed under section 16157 to help meet this requirement. (2) Costs of leases and purchases: The Secretary, working with the Task Force and Technical Advisory Committee, must pay federal agencies (or split the cost through interagency agreements) the difference between what it costs to lease or buy fuel cell vehicles and hydrogen systems and what it would cost to lease or buy a normal, feasible alternative instead. In doing this, the Secretary, working with the agency, may use the General Services Administration or any commercial vendor to get a cost-effective purchase or a cost-effective lease-management setup. (3) Exception: If the Secretary decides an agency can't find an efficient, reliable fuel cell vehicle or hydrogen energy system, that agency is excused from the requirement. In deciding this, the Secretary must consider the agency's needs and an evaluation from the Task Force or the Technical Advisory Committee. (c) Energy savings goals. (1) By December 31, 2006, the Secretary, working with the Task Force, had to issue regulations for 2008 through 2010 that extend and strengthen each federal agency's energy savings goals, matching any executive order issued after March 2000, and had to issue regulations expanding the minimum federal fleet requirement and credit allowances for fuel cell vehicle systems under section 13212. By December 31, 2010, the Secretary had to review those regulations, evaluate the progress agencies made, and issue new regulations for 2011 through 2015 to push further energy savings through updated technical and cost-performance standards. (2) An agency that leases or buys a fuel cell vehicle or hydrogen energy system under subsection (b)(1) can count that purchase toward its energy savings goal. (d) Cooperative program with State agencies. (1) The Secretary may set up a cooperative program with state agencies that manage vehicle fleets, to encourage those agencies to buy fuel cell vehicles. (2) As part of that program, the Secretary may offer states incentive payments to help with planning costs, the extra cost of these vehicles, and administration. (e) Authorization of appropriations. Congress authorized $15,000,000 for 2008, $25,000,000 for 2009, $65,000,000 for 2010, and whatever amount is needed for each year from 2011 through 2015.