42 U.S.C. § 18792 — Energy efficiency revolving loan fund capitalization grant program
submitted 5 years ago by Pub. L. 117-58 to r/title-42-THE-PUBLIC-HEALTH-AND-WELFARE · 2,047 words · no verdicts yet
This section creates a State program that funds revolving loans and some grants for energy audits and building or home energy upgrades. It sets funding shares, eligible recipients, loan rules, reporting duties, and a $250 million authorization for fiscal year 2022.
(a) In general. Within 1 year after November 15, 2021, the Secretary* must establish, under the State Energy Program*, a program* giving States capitalization grants to create revolving loan funds. States must use those funds for the loans and grants allowed by this section.
(b) Distribution of funds. (1) All States. (A) The Secretary must use 40 percent of the amount authorized under subsection (j) for capitalization grants to States eligible for State* Energy Program funding, using the allocation formula in 10 C.F.R. §420.11 or a successor rule. (B) After applying that formula, the Secretary must redistribute unclaimed money among the remaining States seeking grants under this paragraph. (2) Priority States. (A) The Secretary must use 60 percent for supplemental capitalization grants to priority States, using an allocation formula the Secretary sets. (B) Unclaimed money must be redistributed among the remaining priority States seeking supplemental grants. (C) A supplemental grant may not exceed $15,000,000, and it must add to, rather than replace, the State’s grant under paragraph (1).
(c) Applications. A State must apply when, how, and with the information the Secretary requires. The application must explain how the money will be used, including whether the State will create or use a revolving fund; describe eligible recipients’ need for audit loans and grants; describe expected community benefits from building and energy-system upgrades; and, for a priority State* seeking supplemental money, explain why it needs that money.
(d) Timing. The Secretary must set deadlines for a State to deposit a capitalization grant into its revolving fund and begin using it under subsection (e)(1). The State must begin using it within 180 days after receiving it.
(e) Use of grant funds. (1) A State receiving a grant must provide loans under paragraph (2) and may provide grants under paragraph (3). (2)(A) Commercial audits. A State may lend to an eligible business for a commercial energy audit. The audit must measure the facility’s total energy use; find and recommend life-cycle-cost-effective ways to reduce it, including efficient lighting, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning, windows, appliances, insulation, and building envelopes; estimate energy and cost savings with Secretary-approved software; identify each building’s peak-demand period and level and the sources contributing most to that peak; recommend controls and management systems to reduce or shift peak use; and estimate total savings if all recommendations are installed, using approved software. It may also recommend electric or other high-efficiency fuel systems, including natural gas and hydrogen. The business must conduct most of its business in the lending State and own or operate one or more commercial buildings or commercial space in a multi-use building. (B) Residential audits. A State may lend to an eligible recipient for a residential audit. The audit must use the Energy Star Home Performance Assessment criteria; recommend life-cycle-cost-effective reductions, including efficient lighting, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning, windows, appliances, insulation, and building envelopes; recommend peak-use controls; compare the home with comparable homes in the same geographic area; and give it a Home Energy Score or an equivalent score using the Department’s tool or an equivalent tool. It may also recommend electric or other high-efficiency fuel systems, including natural gas and hydrogen. Eligible recipients are an individual owning a single-family home, condominium, duplex, or manufactured housing unit, or a business owning or operating multifamily housing. (C) Upgrades and retrofits. A State may lend to an eligible commercial or residential audit recipient for recommended building-infrastructure or system upgrades that meet at least one Energy Star Home Performance Assessment criterion, improve occupant comfort, energy efficiency, or air quality, are life-cycle-cost-effective, and either reduce energy intensity or improve control of energy use to reduce peak demand. The recipient must have completed a qualifying audit with the loan or a qualifying audit funded elsewhere that meets the applicable requirements or that the Secretary finds satisfactory. The loan must be fully paid by the earlier of the year the upgrades exceed their expected useful life, subject to the next sentence, or 15 years after installation. If several upgrades are funded, use the longest-lived one to calculate useful life. (D) After a qualifying audit, the State may refer the recipient to a State-qualified contractor to estimate each recommended upgrade’s upfront cost and the total cost of all recommendations. (E) As far as practicable, each State must lend to recipients without access to private capital. (3) Grants and technical assistance. A State may use no more than 25 percent of its grant for grants or technical assistance to: (A) a qualifying commercial business with fewer than 500 employees; or (B) a low-income individual, as defined in 29 U.S.C. §3102, who owns a residential building. The assistance may support the activities in paragraph (2)(A) through (C). (4) Final assessment. Within 1 year after grant-funded upgrades are completed, a State that provided a paragraph (2)(C) capitalization grant may provide the recipient a loan, or a paragraph (3) grant, for a final audit measuring total energy savings. (5) A State may use no more than 10 percent for administrative expenses.
(f) Existing programs. States are encouraged to use and build on existing programs and infrastructure that can help run the revolving fund.
(g) Private capital. As far as practicable, a State must use the grant to leverage private capital.
(h) Outreach. The Secretary must inform States that capitalization grants are available.
(i) Report. Within 2 years after receiving a grant, each State must report the number of recipients receiving commercial-audit loans, residential-audit loans, upgrade or retrofit loans, and grants. It must also report the average capital cost of upgrades and retrofits across all State-funded commercial and residential audits.
(j) Authorization. Congress authorizes $250,000,000 for fiscal year 2022, available until spent.
Not later than 1 year after November 15, 2021, under the State Energy Program*, the Secretary* shall establish a program* under which the Secretary shall provide capitalization grants to States to establish a revolving loan fund under which the State* shall provide loans and grants, as applicable, in accordance with this section.
Of the amounts made available under subsection (j), the Secretary shall use 40 percent to provide capitalization grants to States that are eligible for funding under the State Energy Program, in accordance with the allocation formula established under section 420.11 of title 10, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations).
After applying the allocation formula described in subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall redistribute any unclaimed funds to the remaining States seeking capitalization grants under that subparagraph.
Of the amounts made available under subsection (j), the Secretary shall use 60 percent to provide supplemental capitalization grants to priority States in accordance with an allocation formula determined by the Secretary.
After applying the allocation formula described in subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall redistribute any unclaimed funds to the remaining priority States seeking supplemental capitalization grants under that subparagraph.
The amount of a supplemental capitalization grant provided to a State under this paragraph shall not exceed $15,000,000.
A supplemental capitalization grant received by a State under this paragraph shall supplement, not supplant, a capitalization grant received by that State under paragraph (1).
A State seeking a capitalization grant under the program shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require, including—
a detailed explanation of how the grant will be used, including a plan to establish a new revolving loan fund or use an existing revolving loan fund;
the need of eligible recipients for loans and grants in the State for assistance with conducting energy audits;
a description of the expected benefits that building infrastructure and energy system upgrades and retrofits will have on communities in the State; and
in the case of a priority State* seeking a supplemental capitalization grant under subsection (b)(2), a justification for needing the supplemental funding.
The Secretary shall establish a timeline with dates by, or periods by the end of, which a State shall—
on receipt of a capitalization grant under the program, deposit the grant funds into a revolving loan fund; and
begin using the capitalization grant as described in subsection (e)(1).
Under the timeline established under paragraph (1), a State shall be required to begin using a capitalization grant not more than 180 days after the date on which the grant is received.
A State that receives a capitalization grant under the program—
shall provide loans in accordance with paragraph (2); and
may provide grants in accordance with paragraph (3).
A State that receives a capitalization grant under the program may provide a loan to an eligible recipient described in clause (iv) to conduct a commercial energy audit.
A commercial energy audit conducted using a loan provided under clause (i) shall—
determine the overall consumption of energy of the facility of the eligible recipient;
identify and recommend lifecycle cost-effective opportunities to reduce the energy consumption of the facility of the eligible recipient, including through energy efficient—
lighting;
heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems;
windows;
appliances; and
insulation and building envelopes;
estimate the energy and cost savings potential of the opportunities identified in subclause (II) using software approved by the Secretary;
identify—
the period and level of peak energy demand for each building within the facility of the eligible recipient; and
the sources of energy consumption that are contributing the most to that period of peak energy demand;
recommend controls and management systems to reduce or redistribute peak energy consumption; and
estimate the total energy and cost savings potential for the facility of the eligible recipient if all recommended upgrades and retrofits are implemented, using software approved by the Secretary.
A commercial energy audit conducted using a loan provided under clause (i) may recommend strategies to increase energy efficiency of the facility of the eligible recipient through use of electric systems or other high-efficiency systems utilizing fuels, including natural gas and hydrogen.
An eligible recipient under clause (i) is a business that—
conducts the majority of its business in the State that provides the loan under that clause; and
owns or operates—
1 or more commercial buildings; or
commercial space within a building that serves multiple functions, such as a building for commercial and residential operations.
A State that receives a capitalization grant under the program may provide a loan to an eligible recipient described in clause (iv) to conduct a residential energy audit.
A residential energy audit conducted using a loan under clause (i) shall—
utilize the same evaluation criteria as the Home Performance Assessment used in the Energy Star program established under section 6294a of this title;
recommend lifecycle cost-effective opportunities to reduce energy consumption within the residential building of the eligible recipient, including through energy efficient—
lighting;
heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems;
windows;
appliances; and
insulation and building envelopes;
recommend controls and management systems to reduce or redistribute peak energy consumption;
compare the energy consumption of the residential building of the eligible recipient to comparable residential buildings in the same geographic area; and
provide a Home Energy Score, or equivalent score (as determined by the Secretary), for the residential building of the eligible recipient by using the Home Energy Score Tool of the Department or an equivalent scoring tool.
A residential energy audit conducted using a loan provided under clause (i) may recommend strategies to increase energy efficiency of the facility of the eligible recipient through use of electric systems or other high-efficiency systems utilizing fuels, including natural gas and hydrogen.
An eligible recipient under clause (i) is—
an individual who owns—
a single family home;
a condominium or duplex; or
a manufactured housing unit; or
a business that owns or operates a multifamily housing facility.
A State that receives a capitalization grant under the program may provide a loan to an eligible recipient described in clause (ii) to carry out upgrades or retrofits of building infrastructure and systems that—
are recommended in the commercial energy audit or residential energy audit, as applicable, completed for the building or facility of the eligible recipient;
satisfy at least 1 of the criteria in the Home Performance Assessment used in the Energy Star program established under section 6294a of this title;
improve, with respect to the building or facility of the eligible recipient—
the physical comfort of the building or facility occupants;
the energy efficiency of the building or facility; or
the quality of the air in the building or facility; and
are lifecycle cost-effective; and
reduce the energy intensity of the building or facility of the eligible recipient; or
improve the control and management of energy usage of the building or facility to reduce demand during peak times.
An eligible recipient under clause (i) is an eligible recipient described in subparagraph (A)(iv) or (B)(iv) that—
has completed a commercial energy audit described in subparagraph (A) or a residential energy audit described in subparagraph (B) using a loan provided under the applicable subparagraph; or
has completed a commercial energy audit or residential energy audit that—
was not funded by a loan under this paragraph; and
meets the requirements for the applicable audit under subparagraph (A) or (B), as applicable; or
the Secretary determines is otherwise satisfactory.
A loan provided under this subparagraph shall be required to be fully amortized by the earlier of—
subject to subclause (II), the year in which the upgrades or retrofits carried out using the loan exceed their expected useful life; and
15 years after those upgrades or retrofits are installed.
For purposes of subclause (I)(aa), in the case of a loan being used to fund multiple upgrades or retrofits, the longest-lived upgrade or retrofit shall be used to calculate the year in which the upgrades or retrofits carried out using the loan exceed their expected useful life.
Following the completion of an audit under subparagraph (A) or (B) by an eligible recipient of a loan under the applicable subparagraph, the State may refer the eligible recipient to a qualified contractor, as determined by the State, to estimate—
the upfront capital cost of each recommended upgrade; and
the total upfront capital cost of implementing all recommended upgrades.
Each State providing loans under this paragraph shall, to the maximum extent practicable, provide loans to eligible recipients that do not have access to private capital.
A State that receives a capitalization grant under the program may use not more than 25 percent of the grant funds to provide grants or technical assistance to eligible entities described in subparagraph (B) to carry out the activities described in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of paragraph (2).
An entity eligible for a grant or technical assistance under subparagraph (A) is—
a business that—
is an eligible recipient described in paragraph (2)(A)(iv); and
has fewer than 500 employees; or
a low-income individual (as defined in section 3102 of title 29) that owns a residential building.
A State that provides a capitalization grant under paragraph (2)(C) to an eligible recipient described in clause (ii) of that paragraph may, not later than 1 year after the date on which the upgrades or retrofits funded by the grant under that paragraph are completed, provide to the eligible recipient a loan or, in accordance with paragraph (3), a grant to conduct a final energy audit that assesses the total energy savings from the upgrades or retrofits.
A State that receives a capitalization grant under the program may use not more than 10 percent of the grant funds for administrative expenses.
A State receiving a capitalization grant under the program is encouraged to utilize and build on existing programs and infrastructure within the State that may aid the State in carrying out a revolving loan fund program.
A State receiving a capitalization grant under the program shall, to the maximum extent practicable, use the grant to leverage private capital.
The Secretary shall engage in outreach to inform States of the availability of capitalization grants under the program.
Each State that receives a capitalization grant under the program shall, not later than 2 years after a grant is received, submit to the Secretary a report that describes—
the number of recipients to which the State has distributed—
loans for—
commercial energy audits under subsection (e)(2)(A);
residential energy audits under subsection (e)(2)(B);
energy upgrades and retrofits under subsection (e)(2)(C); and
grants under subsection (e)(3); and
the average capital cost of upgrades and retrofits across all commercial energy audits and residential energy audits that were conducted in the State using loans provided by the State under subsection (e).
There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section $250,000,000 for fiscal year 2022, to remain available until expended.
Source credit: (Pub. L. 117–58, div. D, title V, § 40502, Nov. 15, 2021, 135 Stat. 1051.)
- 2021Enacted · Pub. L. 117-58 · 135 Stat. 1051
A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 117-58 on 2021-11-15.
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