TITLE 42 - US CODE - SUBCHAPTER XII - RENEWABLE ENERGY INITIATIVES

42 USC 7371 - Statement of purpose

The purpose of this subchapter is to establish incentives for the use of renewable energy resources, to improve and coordinate the dissemination of information to the public with respect to renewable energy resources, to encourage the use of certain cost effective solar energy systems and conservation measures by the Federal Government, to establish a program for the promotion of local energy self-sufficiency, to broaden the existing program for accelerating the procurement and use of photovoltaic systems, and to provide further encouragement for the development of small hydroelectric power projects.

42 USC 7372 - Secretary and renewable energy resource defined

For purposes of this subchapter

(1) the term Secretary means the Secretary of Energy; and

(2) the term renewable energy resource means any energy resource which has recently originated in the sun, including direct and indirect solar radiation and intermediate solar energy forms such as wind, ocean thermal gradients, ocean currents and waves, hydropower, photovoltaic energy, products of photosynthetic processes, organic wastes, and others.

42 USC 7373 - Coordinated dissemination of information on renewable energy resources and conservation

In order to improve the effectiveness of Federal information dissemination activities in the fields of renewable energy resources and energy conservation with the objective of developing and promoting better public understanding of these resources and their potential uses, the Secretary shall

(1) take affirmative steps to coordinate all of the activities of the Department of Energy, whether conducted by the Department itself or by other public or private entities with assistance from the Department, which are aimed at or involve the dissemination of information with respect to renewable energy resources or energy conservation, and

(2) report annually to the Congress on the status of such activities, including a description of how the information dissemination activities and services of the Department of Energy in the fields of renewable energy resources and energy conservation are being coordinated with similar or related activities and services of other Federal agencies.

42 USC 7374 - Energy self-sufficiency initiatives

(a) Establishment of 3-year pilot program
There is hereby established under the direction of the Secretary a 3-year pilot energy self-sufficiency program to demonstrate energy self-sufficiency through the use of renewable energy resources in one or more States in the United States.

(b) Establishment of subprograms to pilot programs; scope of subprograms
As a part of the pilot program, the Secretary shall establish such subprograms as the Secretary determines are necessary to achieve the purpose of this section, including subprograms

(1) to promote the development and utilization of synergistic combinations of different renewable energy resources in specific projects aimed at reducing fossil fuel importation;

(2) to initiate and encourage energy self-sufficiency at appropriate levels of government;

(3) to stimulate private industry participation in the realization of the objective stated in subsection (a) of this section; and

(4) to stimulate the utilization of abandoned or underutilized industrial facilities for the generation of energy from any locally available renewable resource, such as municipal solid waste, agricultural waste, or forest products waste.

(c) Implementation of subprograms; preparation of plan of program and additional Federal actions
In carrying out the provisions of this section, the Secretary is authorized to assign to an existing office in the Department of Energy the responsibility of undertaking and carrying out the subprograms established under subsection (b) of this section. In addition, the Secretary shall prepare a detailed plan within one hundred eighty days of June 30, 1980, setting forth

(1) the 3-year pilot program itself, and

(2) any additional Federal actions needed to encourage and promote the adoption of programs for energy self-sufficiency.

(d) Submission of plan and implementation report to Congress
The Secretary shall submit to the Congress, within one year after June 30, 1980, the plan prepared under the second sentence of subsection (c) of this section along with a report suggesting the legislative initiatives needed to fully implement such plan.

42 USC 7375 - Authorization of appropriations

(a) There is authorized to be appropriated for each of the fiscal years 1981 and 1982 not to exceed $10,000,000 for loans under section 402 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 [16 U.S.C. 2702], in addition to any amounts authorized for such loans by that Act; and the amounts appropriated pursuant to this subsection shall remain available until expended.

(b) There is authorized to be appropriated for each of the fiscal years 1981 and 1982 not to exceed $100,000,000 for loans under section 403 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 [16 U.S.C. 2703]; and the amounts appropriated pursuant to this subsection shall remain available until expended.

(c) There is authorized to be appropriated for the fiscal year 1981 not to exceed $10,000,000 to carry out section 7374 of this title (relating to energy self-sufficiency initiatives).