[Senate Report 112-144]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 313
112th Congress Report
SENATE
2d Session 112-144
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10 MILLION SOLAR ROOFS ACT
_______
February 7, 2012.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Bingaman, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 1108]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (S. 1108) to provide local communities with
tools to make solar permitting more efficient, and for other
purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon
with an amendment and recommends that the bill, as amended do
pass.
The amendment is as follows:
1. On page 10, lines 5 through 7, strike ``section 641(p)(3)
of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C.
17231(p)(3))'' and insert ``section 399A(i)(1) of the Energy
Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6371h-1(i)(1))''.
PURPOSE
The purpose of the S. 1108 is to make solar permitting more
efficient, with the goal of installing 10 million distributed
solar energy systems by December 31, 2020, by providing grants
to local governments that adopt best practices for solar
permitting.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
Despite the various state and federal financial incentives
available to homeowners, such as the 30 percent federal tax
credit in place through 2016, financing the cost of a
residential photovoltaic (PV) and solar hot water heating
systems remains challenging. Like other renewable energy
technologies, the cost structure of solar energy systems is
front-loaded with a high initial investment, followed by modest
maintenance expenses, and zero fuel costs. While the tax credit
provides a significant consumer incentive by reducing the
overall system price, it does not fully address the key barrier
to adoption--high upfront capital cost.
Installation and permitting costs may account for up to
forty percent of the total upfront capital cost of rooftop PV
systems. Reducing these non-hardware costs by standardizing and
streamlining local permitting processes, updating local
planning and zoning codes, and improving standards for
connecting rooftop solar systems to the electric grid may
dramatically reduce the installed cost of rooftop solar
systems.
The Department of Energy has established an ambitious
program, known as the SunShot Initiative, to reduce the total
cost of solar energy systems by 75 percent. This reduction
would make PV systems cost competitive with other forms of
energy without subsidies by the end of the decade. In addition
to supporting solar research and technology development, the
SunShot Initiative seeks to reduce installation and permitting
costs by encouraging local governments to standardize and
streamline their permitting process. S. 1108 provides a
stationary basis and direction for the Department's efforts by
directing the Secretary to establish a grant program to
encourage local governments to adopt best practices for solar
permitting.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
S. 1108 was introduced by Senator Sanders on May, 26, 2011
and is cosponsored by Senators Boozman, Bingaman, Coons,
Shaheen, Whitehouse, Lautenberg, and Feinstein. The Committee
on Energy and Natural Resources held a legislative hearing on
S. 1108 on July 12, 2011. The Committee held a business meeting
on December 15, 2011 and ordered S. 1108 to be favorably
reported with an amendment.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION AND TABULATION OF VOTES
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open
business session on December 15, 2011, by majority vote of a
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 1108, if
amended as described herein.
The rollcall vote on reporting the measure was 13 yeas, 8
nays, as follows:
Yeas Nays
Mr. Bingaman Mr. Manchin
Mr. Wyden* Mr. Barrasso*
Mr. Johnson Mr. Risch*
Ms. Landrieu* Mr. Lee*
Ms. Cantwell Mr. Paul*
Mr. Sanders Mr. Coats
Mrs. Stabenow Mr. Hoeven*
Mr. Udall Mr. Corker*
Mrs. Shaheen
Mr. Franken
Mr. Coons
Ms. Murkowski
Mr. Portman*
*Indicates vote by proxy.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
During its consideration of S. 1108, the Committee adopted
an amendment under section 399A(i)(1) of the Energy Policy and
Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6371h1(i)(1)) as the source of
funds for the offset. The amendment substitutes the
authorization of appropriations for energy sustainability and
efficiency grants to subsection 3(i), which offsets such funds
as may be appropriated to carry out S. 1108 by reducing amounts
authorized to be appropriated under section 641(p)(3) of the
Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C.
17231(p)(3)).
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1. Sets forth the short title.
Section 2 defines key terms used in the bill.
Section 3(a) directs the Secretary to establish a program
to provide competitive grants, challenge grants, or both, to
local governments or consortia of local governments that have
adopted or offer a commitment to adopt best practices for solar
permitting for properties located in the United States.
Subsection (b) directs the implementation of the program
described in subsection (a). Paragraph (1) requires the
Secretary to provide voluntary certification and recognition
for local governments that have adopted best practices for
solar permitting. Paragraph (2) requires the Secretary to
design criteria for awarding competitive grants, challenge
grants, or both, that would promote greater standardization,
efficiency, and uniformity for solar energy permitting across
jurisdictions and would require that grants are awarded: only
to local governments or consortia of local governments that
have adopted or offer a commitment to adopt best practices for
solar permitting and have provided quantitative metrics to
measure success; to a diversity of geographic locations and
population sizes; and with preference for grant recipients that
have partnered with States, public utility commissions, or
other stakeholders to adopt or enhance standards and policies
to overcome barriers to distributed generation. Paragraph (3)
authorizes competitive grant funds to be used for: training or
development of materials, tools, or information to make the
local permitting process for solar energy systems more
standardized, efficient and less expensive; solar energy system
deployment projects or programs to pilot new permitting
strategies or processes; and other programs or projects to
achieve the training, development, and deployment objectives,
determined by the Secretary. Paragraph (4) authorizes challenge
grants funds to be used for solar energy system deployment
projects and programs to pilot new permitting strategies or
processes.
Subsection (c) authorizes the Secretary to rescind grant
funds from any recipient that is unable to implement the steps
necessary to adopt the best practices for solar permitting.
Subsection (d) establishes a non-federal cost match not to
exceed fifty percent for grant recipients.
Subsection (e) authorizes the Department of Energy to use
up to 5 percent of the funds made available for each fiscal
year for administrative expenses. Grant recipients are
permitted to use funds up to 5 percent for administrative
expenses.
Subsection (f) directs the Department of Energy to consult
with the Department of Treasury and grant recipients to ensure
that each program carried out by the grant recipient under
section 3 is coordinated with other applicable incentive or
financing programs of the Federal Government or any other
applicable program.
Subsection (g) establishes the national goals of installing
distributed solar energy systems on not less than 10,000,000
properties located in the United States and to achieve cost
reductions in the price of solar energy that are consistent
with the SunShot Initiative of the Department of Energy by
December 31, 2020.
Subsection (h) requires submission of reports. Paragraph
(1) requires that 270 days after enactment of this Act, the
Department of Energy issue a report to Congress detailing
recommendations necessary through this and other programs to
meet the goals established in subsection (g). Paragraph (2)
requires that not later than 2 years after the date on which
funds are first made available, the secretary shall submit to
Congress a report that contains a description of the progress
of grant recipients in implementing and maintaining best
practices for solar permitting.
Subsection (i), as proposed to be amended by the committee
amendment, offsets funds appropriated to carry out section 3 by
reducing amounts authorized to be appropriated for energy
sustainability grants under section 399A(i)(1) for the Energy
Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6371h-1(i)(1)). Section
399A(i)(1) authorizes appropriation of $250 million for fiscal
year 2013. Subsection (i) authorizes such sums as may be
appropriated to carry out section 3, up to $50 million for each
of fiscal years 2012 through 2016, to be offset by reducing
amounts authorized to be appropriated under section 399A(i)(1)
by up to $250 million in fiscal year 2013.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The following estimate of costs of this measure has been
provided by the Congressional Budget Office.
S. 1108--10 Million Solar Roofs Act of 2011
Summary: S. 1108 would direct the Secretary of Energy to
establish a grant program to support efforts by state and local
governments to develop best practices to use in permitting
certain solar energy projects. Assuming appropriation of the
authorized amounts, CBO estimates that implementing S. 1108
would cost $109 million over the 2012-2017 period. Pay-as-you-
go procedures do not apply to this legislation because it would
not affect direct spending or revenues.
S. 1108 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA).
Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated
budgetary impact of S. 1108 is shown in the following table.
The costs of this legislation fall within budget function 270
(energy).
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By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
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2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2012-2017
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CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION
Authorization Level............................ 0 0 50 50 50 0 150
Estimated Outlays.............................. 0 0 14 26 37 32 109
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Basis of estimate: S. 1108 would authorize the
appropriation of $50 million annually over the 2012-2016 period
for the Secretary of Energy to make grants to state and local
governments to support efforts to standardize and improve the
efficiency of local permitting processes for solar energy
projects with less than one megawatt of capacity. The bill
would specify terms and conditions for the use of such grants
and require the Secretary of Energy to report to the Congress
on the program's impact.
To carry out those activities, S. 1108 would authorize the
Secretary to use funds already authorized to be appropriated
under section 399A of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act.
That provision authorizes appropriations totaling $250 million
in each of fiscal years 2012 and 2013 for grants and loans to
local governments and other public institutions for a variety
of energy-related activities; no funds are authorized for those
purposes in later years. Thus, relative to current law, S. 1108
would authorize no net increase in funding in 2012 and 2013 but
would effectively authorize the appropriation of $50 million in
each of fiscal years 2014 through 2016. Assuming appropriation
of those amounts, CBO estimates that resulting spending would
total $109 million through 2017, with $41 million in additional
spending occurring in later years.
Pay-As-You-Go Considerations: None.
Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: S. 1108
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
defined in UMRA. Local governments would benefit from grants
authorized in the bill. Any costs to those governments would be
incurred voluntarily as conditions of federal assistance.
Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Megan Carroll; Impact
on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Ryan Miller; Impact on
the Private Sector: Amy Petz.
Estimate approved by: Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION
In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following
evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in
carrying out S. 1108.
The bill is not a regulatory measure in the sense of
imposing Government established standards or significant
economic responsibilities on private individuals and
businesses.
No personal information would be collected in administering
the program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal
privacy.
Applying for grants authorized by S. 1108 may impose some
additional paperwork on the local governments and consortia of
local governments applying for the grants, and will require
grant recipients to submit implementation plans and certify how
the funds will be used. The Committee does not expect these
additional paperwork burdens to be substantial in either time
or financial cost.
CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING
S. 1108, as ordered reported, does not contain any
congressionally directed spending items, limited tax benefits,
or limited tariff benefits as defined in rule XLIV of the
Standing Rules of the Senate.
EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS
The views of the Administration on S. 1108 are included in
the testimony from the Department of Energy received by the
Committee at its July 12, 2011, hearing, which is set forth
below:
Statement of Steven G. Chalk, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Renewable
Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of
Energy
Chairman Bingaman, Ranking Member Murkowski and Members of
the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to discuss the
Department of Energy's (DOE's) solar and geothermal energy
programs. Today, I am pleased to discuss the Department's
perspective and answer questions related to the Department of
Energy Administrative Improvement Act (S. 1160), the 10 Million
Solar Roofs Act of 2011 (S. 1108) and the Geothermal
Exploration and Technology Act of 2011 (S. 1142). However, the
Administration is still reviewing these bills and we do not
have a position on any of them at this time.
solar technology
We thank the committee and the sponsors of this legislation
for your strong leadership on solar technologies over the
years. The Department has set an ambitious goal for solar
energy with the SunShot Initiative (SunShot)--to reduce the
total costs of solar energy systems by about 75 percent so that
they are cost competitive with other forms of energy without
subsidies before the end of the decade. In 2012, under SunShot,
the Department will support solar research across the
development pipeline, from basic photovoltaic (PV) cell
technologies to manufacturing scale-up to total system
development.
Reducing the total installed cost for utility-scale solar
electricity to roughly 6 cents per kilowatt hour without
subsidies will result in rapid, large-scale adoption of solar
electricity across the United States. Reaching this goal will
help re-establish American technological leadership, improve
the nation's energy security, and strengthen U.S. economic
competitiveness in the global clean energy race.
SunShot takes a unique approach to developing solar energy.
Historically, solar investments focused on achieving
incremental efficiency improvements to solar cells and arrays.
SunShot focuses on reducing the installed cost of the system as
a whole, including non-technical barriers. In addition to
investing in improvements in cell technologies and
manufacturing, the SunShot Initiative also focuses on steps to
reduce installation and permitting costs, which account for 40
percent of the total installed system price of solar
electricity.\1\ This includes efforts to streamline and
digitize local permitting processes and to develop codes and
standards that ensure high performance over the approximately
20-year lifetime of residential solar products. Decreasing the
installed cost of solar is one of the key goals of SunShot.
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\1\http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/sunshot/pdfs/
dpw_white_paper.pdf
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As the United States is the world's largest consumer of
electricity and, at the same time, has the largest solar
resource of any industrialized country, SunShot is well-
positioned to help the Nation realize the significant benefits
from the wide-scale use of solar energy. SunShot underscores
solar energy's benefits to the United States and will have
multiple positive impacts for the country, including:
Achieving solar energy cost parity with baseload
energy rates. Attaining a total installed system cost of
utility solar equivalent to the wholesale cost of electricity
from fossil fuels ($0.06 per kWh) would likely result in rapid
and large-scale adoption of solar electricity across the United
States.
Increasing solar photovoltaic market share. As
recently as 1995, the United States manufactured 43 percent of
the world's PV materials, whereas today our manufacturers are
only responsible for 6 percent.\2\ Expanding the use of solar
will help boost the U.S. solar manufacturing industry while
driving innovation and providing long lasting, domestic jobs to
support global PV demand that will represent a multibillion
dollar industry.
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\2\PV News (2/1993, 3/2001, 3/2006) and Navigant Consulting (2/
2011).
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Reducing greenhouse gas emissions--Solar
technologies have the potential to significantly reduce the
amount of conventional fossil-based electricity generation
necessary, which in turn would reduce the amount of greenhouse
gases emitted into the atmosphere.
Recently, as part of ongoing Market Transformation
activities, DOE announced a Funding Opportunity Announcement
(FOA) which we are calling the ``Race to the Rooftop'' to help
standardize, streamline and digitize the permitting process,
while improving interconnection and net metering standards,
increasing access to financing, and updating planning and
zoning codes. This national competition engaging teams of local
and state governments along with utilities, installers, and
nongovernment organizations, will help standardize processes,
cut upfront fees and paperwork, and reduce the overall costs
associated with permitting and installation, making it easier
and cheaper for homeowners, businesses, and their local
communities to deploy solar energy. The standardization and
uniformity of local permitting efforts under the ``Race to the
Rooftop'' are similar to the challenge grant provision in the
10 Million Solar Roofs Act, which calls for applicants to
develop best practices for solar permitting.
The proposed legislation, S. 1108, employs a bottom-up
approach so that local teams can identify approaches best-
suited for them. A bottom-up approach, coupled with a
preference for applicants that have partnered with states,
public utility commissions, or other stakeholders, could allow
for local and regional variability while still increasing the
speed and scale of installation across large geographic areas.
This approach could also allow states to expand existing state
programs that have been effective in promoting rooftop solar
installations.
geothermal technology
The Department is committed to developing and deploying a
portfolio of innovative technologies for clean, domestic
geothermal power generation. Geothermal energy is a baseload
energy resource with a small environmental footprint and emits
little to no greenhouse gases.
Despite geothermal's enormous potential, in 2010, only 15
MW of new geothermal power generation was added to the grid in
the United States. There are two principal barriers facing the
geothermal industry: the high cost and risk of exploration and
most of the identified hydrothermal resources have already been
developed.
Drilling costs represent approximately 42 percent of
geothermal project development costs, and financing costs are
significantly higher for exploratory drilling than for plant
construction.\3\ Removing the obstacles to exploratory drilling
is vitally important to increasing our geothermal power
generation capacity. In many cases, geothermal resources have
no surface expression, leaving our nation's hydrothermal
potential--estimated at 30 GWe by the U.S. Geological Survey--
untapped and inaccessible. Exploratory drilling could also
identify resources for enhanced geothermal systems (EGS), which
have the potential to produce 16,000 GWe of power in a wide
range of geographic areas throughout the U.S.\4\
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\3\http://www.nrel.gov/applying_technologies/pdfs/46022.pdf.
\4\Augustine, Young, and Anderson, Updated U.S. Geothermal Supply
Curve, National Renewable Energy Laboratory and US Department of
Energy, February, 2010, http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fyl0osti/47458.pdf.
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Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
(Recovery Act), DOE invested $97.3 million in 24 hydrothermal
exploration projects, at which 34 exploration wells are
planned. It is expected that from these wells, 400 MW of new
resources will be confirmed by 2014.
DOE is also funding seven EGS demonstrations. At Desert
Peak, Nevada, the initial stages of reservoir stimulation were
successfully completed--a critical milestone in creating an
enhanced geothermal reservoir.
DOE supports projects in low temperature geothermal
resources as well. For example, DOE is working with industry to
develop and field test a variable phase turbine which has the
potential to generate 30 percent more power from low
temperature geothermal resources than current power conversion
technologies, at a lower cost.
DOE's National Geothermal Data System (NGDS) effort is a
distributed information system for data sharing in its second
year of development, which will enable the availability of
comprehensive and accurate data to facilitate geothermal
development. The NGDS is scheduled to be fully operational in
August 2014, at which time it will make geothermal data from
major geothermal centers, DOE-funded geothermal projects and
state geological surveys or universities publicly available.\5\
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\5\NGDS data sources include: DOE Geothermal Data Repository (Boise
State University); Energy & Geoscience Institute (University of Utah);
Geo-Heat Center (Oregon Institute of Technology); Stanford Geothermal
Program (Stanford University); Great Basin Science Sample and Records
Library y (University of Nevada, Reno); SMU Geothermal Laboratory
(Southern Methodist University); and state geological surveys
represented by Arizona Geological Survey and the American Association
of State Geologists (AASG).
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Geothermal heat pumps (GHPs) for building applications also
face barriers impeding greater marketplace adoption: high
initial cost associated with the installation of the ground
loop heat-exchanger, lack of consumer knowledge in GHP
benefits, and limitations in GHP design and business planning
infrastructure. DOE is developing a roadmap that will serve to
strategically direct activities in geothermal heat pumps.
Through the Recovery Act, DOE currently funds 26 projects
deploying geothermal heat pumps. $24M of the $58M Recovery Act
funds allocated to GHPs have been spent in 15 states in both
new and retrofit applications. Two projects are completed and
several more are already providing data for performance
analysis. The Recovery Act projects incorporate innovative
business and financial strategies and/or GHP technologies and
applications designed to overcome the initial cost premium that
has prevented GHPs from being directly cost-competitive with
other HVAC technologies, and from gaining wider marketplace
acceptance.
DOE currently has projects in many of the areas identified
for further RD&D and commercial application in S. 1142,
including district heating and cooling at large institutions,
use of hot water in shaft mines, combined GHP-solar PV and
desiccant projects, and use of carbon dioxide as a refrigerant
fluid for heat exchange.
The Department is also addressing other obstacles to
geothermal development such as delays in the siting and
permitting process which increase overall project costs and
could further strain economics. Currently, it takes
approximately seven years for a new geothermal project to move
from exploration to power generation.
While the Administration is still reviewing the bill, there
are serious technical concerns that would need to be addressed.
Any new program should be consistent with applicable laws, and
structured to mitigate risks and costs to the taxpayer.
s. 1160--department of energy administrative improvement act
S. 1160 proposes a variety of changes intended to improve
the administration of the Department of Energy. The Department
is still reviewing this bill and does not have a position on it
at this time. However, I will address Sections 4, 6, and 7 as
they relate to the Department's current authority.
Section 4
Section 4 of S. 1160 concerns the administration of the
Department's ``Other Transactions'' (OT) Authority. Section 4
is similar in many respects to DOE's current OT Authority,
which is codified at Section 646(g) of the DOE Organization Act
(42 U.S.C. 7256(g)). However, there are some important
differences.
Currently, the Department has two kinds of OT Authority:
Research OT Authority and Prototype OT Authority. Research OT
Authority is used to carry out a public purpose of support or
stimulation (e.g., RD&D projects). By contrast, Prototype OT
Authority is used for the pre-acquisition development of
technology prototypes. Such prototypes are used to evaluate the
technical or manufacturing feasibility or utility to DOE's
mission of a particular technology, process, concept, end item,
or system.
Section 4 provides DOE with permanent and independent OT
Authority similar to the authority Congress provided the
Defense Department in 1991. However, the precise scope of DOE's
OT Authority is left undefined in S. 1160.
Additionally, Section 4 of S. 1160 requires the Secretary
to determine that ``the use of a standard contract, grant, or
cooperative agreement for the project is not feasible or
appropriate'' before the Department's OT Authority can be used.
Section 4 restricts the delegation of this authority to
officials ``appointed by the President and confirmed by the
Senate.''
Section 6 and 7
Section 6 of S. 1160 provides the Secretary with direct
hire authority for ``highly qualified scientists, engineers, or
critical technical personnel'' for two years following the
enactment of the Act. Similarly, Section 7 provides the
Secretary with special hiring and pay authority for persons
with ``expertise in an extremely high level in a scientific or
technical field.'' The Secretary's authority under Section 7 is
permanent, but not more than 40 persons may be hired under this
authority at any time.
Sections 6 and 7 are analogous to Sections 621(b) and (d)
of the DOE Organization Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 7231(b)-(d)).
Section 621(b), which expired after four years, allowed the
Secretary to appoint 311 scientific, engineering, and
administrative personnel without regard to civil service laws
and to fix their compensation at ``super grades'' (formerly GS-
18, now Executive Level IV). Section 621(d), which is still in
effect, authorizes the Secretary to appoint 200 scientific,
engineering, professional, and administrative staff without
regard to civil service laws, but subject to a GS-18 pay cap
(now Executive Level IV).
Additionally, Congress granted the Department's ARPA-E
program special hiring authority. The Director of ARPA-E has
the authority to make appointments of scientific, engineering,
and professional personnel ``without regard to the civil
service laws,'' ``fix the basic pay of such personnel'' up to
Level II of the Executive Schedule, and provide ``additional
payments'' up to a certain cap.
conclusion
In conclusion, I would like to again thank this Committee
for its leadership in supporting both solar and geothermal
energy technologies.
It is important to tap valuable assets like solar and
geothermal energy to continue growing our economy to expand the
Nation's clean energy portfolio and energy security.
I would be pleased to address any questions the Committee
might have.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no
changes in existing law are made by S. 1108, as ordered
reported.