Solar Opportunity and Local Access Rights Act
Latest action · Mar 28, 2007 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMar 28, 2007
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Solar Opportunity and Local Access Rights Act - Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to require each state regulatory authority with ratemaking authority, and each nonregulated electric utility, to conduct a hearing, and on the basis of such hearing, adopt a net metering standard.
Requires retail electric suppliers to offer to arrange to make net metering available to retail customers on a first-come-first-served basis.
Prescribes implementation requirements regarding: (1) net energy measurement; (2) billing practices; (3) ownership of credits; (4) safety and performance standards; and (5) determination of compliance.
Directs the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to publish model interconnection standards, according to specified requirements, for the physical connection between local distribution systems and qualified generation units and qualified electric generation units that do not exceed 20,000 kilowatts of capacity. Requires states to adopt such model standards, subject to FERC approval.
Prohibits a state or nonregulated utility from adopting or enforcing any standard or requirement concerning net metering or interconnection that restricts access to the electric power transmission or local distribution system by qualified generators beyond those established under this Act.
Allows states to adopt or enforce additional incentives or requirements to encourage qualified generation and net metering, including any that afford: (1) greater access to the electric power transmission and local distribution systems by qualified generators; or (2) greater compensation or credit for electricity generated by qualified generators.
Amends federal law governing administrative services for public buildings and properties to authorize a contract for renewable energy for a maximum period of 30 years.
Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to issue regulations to prohibit: (1) excessive fees for solar energy systems building permits; and (2) any restriction impairing the ability of the owner or lessee of a one-family residential structure to install or use a solar energy system on such property.
Directs the Secretary to issue regulations also requiring that the application for approval of such a system: (1) be processed and approved in the same manner as an application for approval of an architectural modification to the property; and (2) not be willfully avoided or delayed.
Cosponsors
Members who signed on, in the order they did.
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Energy and Natural Resources Committee | Referred Mar 28, 2007 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Mar 28, 2007Introduced in Senate
- Mar 28, 2007Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Printed hearings 1
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| S. Hrg. 110-1121 | GREEN JOBS FROM ACTION ON GLOBAL WARMING54 pages | Environment and Public Works Committee | Aug 14, 2007 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 2848 | Solar Opportunity and Local Access Rights Act | Related bill | Jun 25, 2007 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to promote energy independence and self-sufficiency by providing for the use of net metering by certain small electric energy generation systems, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Solar Opportunity and Local Access Rights Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Energy.
- Administrative fees
- Administrative procedure
- Alternative energy sources
- Biomass energy
- Building laws
- Commerce
- Consumer protection
- Contracts
- Department of Energy
- Department of Housing and Urban Development
- Economics and Public Finance
- Electric power distribution
- Electric utilities
- Electric utility rates
- Energy
- Environmental Protection
- Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
- Federal office buildings
- Federal preemption
- Fuel cells
- Geothermal resources
- Government Operations and Politics
- Home repair and improvement
- Homeowners' associations
- Housing and Community Development
- Independent regulatory commissions
- Landfills
- Law
- Leases
- Licenses
- Methane
- Public meetings
- Rental housing
- Single family housing
- Solar access rights
- Solar energy
- Standards
- State laws
- Wind power
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Mar 28, 2007Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
