42 U.S.C. § 13317 : US Code - Section 13317: Renewable energy production incentive

Search 42 U.S.C. § 13317 : US Code - Section 13317: Renewable energy production incentive

(a) Incentive payments
(1) For electric energy generated and sold by a qualified
renewable energy facility during the incentive period, the
Secretary shall make, subject to the availability of
appropriations, incentive payments to the owner or operator of such
facility.
(2) The amount of such payment made to any such owner or operator
shall be as determined under subsection (e) of this section.
(3) Payments under this section may only be made upon receipt by
the Secretary of an incentive payment application which establishes
that the applicant is eligible to receive such payment.
(4)(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), if there are insufficient
appropriations to make full payments for electric production from
all qualified renewable energy facilities for a fiscal year, the
Secretary shall assign -
(i) 60 percent of appropriated funds for the fiscal year to
facilities that use solar, wind, ocean (including tidal, wave,
current, and thermal), geothermal, or closed-loop (dedicated
energy crops) biomass technologies to generate electricity; and
(ii) 40 percent of appropriated funds for the fiscal year to
other projects.
(B) After submitting to Congress an explanation of the reasons
for the alteration, the Secretary may alter the percentage
requirements of subparagraph (A).
(b) Qualified renewable energy facility
For purposes of this section, a qualified renewable energy
facility is a facility which is owned by a not-for-profit electric
cooperative, a public utility described in section 115 of title 26,
a State, Commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United
States, or the District of Columbia, or a political subdivision
thereof, an Indian tribal government or subdivision thereof, or a
Native Corporation (as defined in section 1602 of title 43), and
which generates electric energy for sale in, or affecting,
interstate commerce using solar, wind, biomass, landfill gas,
livestock methane, ocean (including tidal, wave, current, and
thermal), or geothermal energy, except that -
(1) the burning of municipal solid waste shall not be treated
as using biomass energy; and
(2) geothermal energy shall not include energy produced from a
dry steam geothermal reservoir which has -
(A) no mobile liquid in its natural state;
(B) steam quality of 95 percent water; and
(C) an enthalpy for the total produced fluid greater than or
equal to 1200 Btu/lb (British thermal units per pound).
(c) Eligibility window
Payments may be made under this section only for electricity
generated from a qualified renewable energy facility first used
before October 1, 2016.
(d) Payment period
A qualified renewable energy facility may receive payments under
this section for a 10-fiscal year period. Such period shall begin
with the fiscal year in which electricity generated from the
facility is first eligible for such payments, or in which the
Secretary determines that all necessary Federal and State
authorizations have been obtained to begin construction of the
facility.
(e) Amount of payment
(1) In general
Incentive payments made by the Secretary under this section to
the owner or operator of any qualified renewable energy facility
shall be based on the number of kilowatt hours of electricity
generated by the facility through the use of solar, wind,
biomass, landfill gas, livestock methane, ocean (including tidal,
wave, current, and thermal), or geothermal energy during the
payment period referred to in subsection (d) of this section. For
any facility, the amount of such payment shall be 1.5 cents per
kilowatt hour, adjusted as provided in paragraph (2).
(2) Adjustments
The amount of the payment made to any person under this
subsection as provided in paragraph (1) shall be adjusted for
inflation for each fiscal year beginning after calendar year 1993
in the same manner as provided in the provisions of section
29(d)(2)(B) of title 26,(!1) except that in applying such
provisions the calendar year 1993 shall be substituted for
calendar year 1979.
(f) Sunset
No payment may be made under this section to any facility after
September 30, 2026, and no payment may be made under this section
to any facility after a payment has been made with respect to such
facility for a 10-fiscal year period.
(g) Authorization of appropriations
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are
necessary to carry out this section for each of fiscal years 2006
through 2026, to remain available until expended.