
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document affected by Public Law 106-469 Section 104(2)]
[CITE: 42USC6276]

 
                 TITLE 42--THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
 
                     CHAPTER 77--ENERGY CONSERVATION
 
                SUBCHAPTER II--STANDBY ENERGY AUTHORITIES
 
    Part B--Authorities With Respect to International Energy Program
 
Sec. 6276. Domestic renewable energy industry and related 
        service industries
        

(a) Purpose

    It is the purpose of this section to implement the responsibilities 
of the United States under chapter VII of the international energy 
program with respect to development of alternative energy by 
facilitating the overall abilities of the domestic renewable energy 
industry and related service industries to create new markets.

(b) Evaluation; report to Congress

    (1) Before the later of--
        (A) 6 months after July 18, 1984, and
        (B) May 31, 1985,

the Secretary of Commerce shall conduct an evaluation regarding the 
domestic renewable energy industry and related service industries and 
submit a report of his findings to the Congress.
    (2) Such evaluation shall include--
        (A) an assessment of the technical and commercial status of the 
    domestic renewable energy industry and related service industries in 
    domestic and foreign markets;
        (B) an assessment of the Federal Government's activities 
    affecting commerce in the domestic renewable energy industry and 
    related service industries and in consolidating and coordinating 
    such activities within the Federal Government; and
        (C) an assessment of the aspects of the domestic renewable 
    energy industry and related service industries in which improvements 
    must be made to increase the international commercialization of such 
    industry.

(c) Program for enhancing commerce in renewable energy technologies; 
        funding

    (1) On the basis of the evaluation under subsection (b) of this 
section, the Secretary of Commerce shall, consistent with existing law, 
establish a program for enhancing commerce in renewable energy 
technologies and consolidating or coordinating existing activities for 
such purpose.
    (2) Such program shall provide for--
        (A) the broadening of the participation by the domestic 
    renewable energy industry and related service industries in such 
    activities;
        (B) the promotion of the domestic renewable energy industry and 
    related service industries on a worldwide basis;
        (C) the participation by the Federal Government and the domestic 
    renewable energy industry and related service industries in 
    international standard-setting activities; and
        (D) the establishment of an information program under which--
            (i) technical information about the domestic renewable 
        energy industry and related service industries shall be provided 
        to appropriate public and private officials engaged in commerce, 
        and to potential end users, including other industry sectors in 
        foreign countries such as health care, rural development, 
        communications, and refrigeration, and others, and
            (ii) marketing information about export and export financing 
        opportunities shall be available to the domestic renewable 
        energy industry and related service industries.

    (3) Necessary funds required for carrying out such program shall be 
requested in connection with fiscal years beginning after September 30, 
1984.

(d) Interagency working group

                          (1) Establishment

        (A) There shall be established an interagency working group 
    that, in consultation with the representative industry groups and 
    relevant agency heads, shall make recommendations to coordinate the 
    actions and programs of the Federal Government affecting exports of 
    renewable energy and energy efficiency products and services. The 
    interagency working group shall establish a program to inform 
    foreign countries of the benefits of policies that would increase 
    energy efficiency or would allow facilities that use renewable 
    energy to compete effectively with producers of energy from 
    nonrenewable sources.
        (B) There shall be established an Interagency Working Subgroup 
    on Renewable Energy and an Interagency Working Subgroup on Energy 
    Efficiency that shall, in consultation with representative industry 
    groups, nonprofit organizations, and relevant Federal agencies, make 
    recommendations to coordinate the actions and programs of the 
    Federal Government to promote the export of domestic renewable 
    energy and energy efficiency products and services, respectively.
        (C) The Secretary of Energy, or the Secretary's designee, shall 
    chair the interagency working group and each subgroup established 
    under this paragraph. The Administrator of the Agency for 
    International Development and the Secretary of Commerce, or their 
    designees, shall be members of both subgroups established under this 
    paragraph. The Secretary shall provide staff for carrying out the 
    functions of the interagency working group and each subgroup 
    established under this paragraph. The heads of appropriate agencies 
    may detail such personnel and may furnish such services to such 
    group and subgroups, with or without reimbursement, as may be 
    necessary to carry out their functions.

           (2) Duties of the interagency working subgroups

        (A) The interagency working subgroups established under 
    paragraph (1)(B), through the member agencies of the interagency 
    working group, shall promote the development and application in 
    foreign countries of renewable energy and energy efficiency products 
    and services, respectively, that--
            (i) reduce dependence on unreliable sources of energy by 
        encouraging the use of sustainable biomass, wind, small-scale 
        hydroelectric, solar, geothermal, and other renewable energy and 
        energy efficiency products and services; and
            (ii) use hybrid fossil-renewable energy systems.

        (B) In addition, the interagency working subgroups shall explore 
    mechanisms for assisting domestic firms, particularly small 
    businesses, with the export of their renewable energy and energy 
    efficiency products and services and with the identification of 
    potential projects.

                     (3) Training and assistance

        The interagency working subgroups shall encourage the member 
    agencies of the interagency working group to--
            (A) provide technical training and education for 
        international development personnel and local users in their own 
        country;
            (B) provide financial and technical assistance to nonprofit 
        institutions that support the marketing and export efforts of 
        domestic companies that provide renewable energy and energy 
        efficiency products and services;
            (C) develop environmentally sustainable renewable energy and 
        energy efficiency projects in foreign countries;
            (D) provide technical assistance and training materials to 
        loan officers of the World Bank, international lending 
        institutions, commercial and energy attaches at embassies of the 
        United States and other appropriate personnel in order to 
        provide information about renewable energy and energy efficiency 
        products and services to foreign governments or other potential 
        project sponsors;
            (E) support, through financial incentives, private sector 
        efforts to commercialize and export renewable energy and energy 
        efficiency products and services; and
            (F) augment budgets for trade and development programs in 
        order to support pre-feasibility or feasibility studies for 
        projects that utilize renewable energy and energy efficiency 
        products and services.

               (4) Study of export promotion practices

        The interagency working group shall conduct a study of 
    subsidies, incentives, and policies that foreign countries use to 
    promote exports of their own renewable energy and energy efficiency 
    technologies and products. Such study shall also identify foreign 
    trade barriers to the import of renewable energy and energy 
    efficiency technologies and products produced in the United States. 
    The interagency working group shall report to the appropriate 
    committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate the 
    results of such study within 18 months after October 24, 1992.

(e) Annual report to Congress by interagency working group

    The interagency working group established under subsection (d) of 
this section shall annually report to Congress, describing the actions 
of each agency represented by a member of the working group taken during 
the previous fiscal year to achieve the purposes of such working group 
and of this section. Such report shall describe the exports of renewable 
energy technology that have occurred as a result of such agency actions.

(f) Functions of interagency working group; plan to increase United 
        States exports of renewable energy and energy efficiency 
        technologies

    (1) The interagency working group shall--
        (A) establish, in consultation with representatives of affected 
    industries, a plan to increase United States exports of renewable 
    energy and energy efficiency technologies, and include in such plan 
    recommended guidelines for agencies that are represented on the 
    working group with respect to the financing of, or other actions 
    they can take within their programs to promote, exports of such 
    renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies;
        (B) develop, in consultation with representatives of affected 
    industries, recommended administrative guidelines for Federal export 
    loan programs to simplify application by firms seeking export 
    assistance for renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies 
    from agencies implementing such programs; and
        (C) recommend specific renewable energy and energy efficiency 
    technology markets for primary emphasis by Federal export loan 
    programs, development programs, and private sector assistance 
    programs.

    (2) The interagency working group shall include a description of the 
plan established under paragraph (1)(A) in no later than the second 
report submitted under subsection (e) of this section, and shall include 
in subsequent reports a description of any modifications to such plan 
and of the progress in implementing the plan.

(g) Repealed. Pub. L. 102-486, title XII, Sec. 1207(c), Oct. 24, 1992, 
        106 Stat. 2963

(h) Authorization of appropriations

    There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for 
purposes of carrying out the programs under subsections (d) and (e) of 
this section $10,000,000, to be divided equitably between the 
interagency working subgroups based on program requirements, for each of 
the fiscal years 1993 and 1994, and such sums as may be necessary for 
fiscal year 1995 to carry out the purposes of this subtitle.\1\ There 
are authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 1997 such sums as may 
be necessary to carry out this part.
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    \1\ See References in Text note below.
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(Pub. L. 94-163, title II, Sec. 256, as added Pub. L. 98-370, Sec. 2, 
July 18, 1984, 98 Stat. 1211; amended Pub. L. 101-218, Sec. 7, Dec. 11, 
1989, 103 Stat. 1867; Pub. L. 102-486, title XII, Secs. 1207, 1208, Oct. 
24, 1992, 106 Stat. 2962, 2964; Pub. L. 104-306, Sec. 1(3), Oct. 14, 
1996, 110 Stat. 3810.)

                       References in Text

    This subtitle, referred to in subsec. (h), is unidentifiable in the 
original because neither title XII of Pub. L. 102-486 which added 
subsec. (h) of this section, nor title II of Pub. L. 94-163, which 
enacted this section, contains subtitles.


                               Amendments

    1996--Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 104-306 inserted at end ``There are 
authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 1997 such sums as may be 
necessary to carry out this part.''
    1992--Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 102-486, Sec. 1207(a), amended subsec. 
(d) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (d) read as follows:
    ``(1) There shall be established an interagency working group which, 
in consultation with the representative industry groups and relevant 
agency heads, shall make recommendations to coordinate the actions and 
programs of the Federal Government affecting commerce in renewable 
energy products and related services. The Secretary of Energy shall be 
the chairman of such group. The heads of appropriate agencies may detail 
such personnel and may furnish such services to such working group, with 
or without reimbursement, as may be necessary to carry out its 
functions.
    ``(2) The interagency group shall establish a program to inform 
other countries of the benefits of policies that would allow small 
facilities which produce renewable energy to compete effectively with 
producers of energy from nonrenewable sources.''
    Subsec. (d)(4). Pub. L. 102-486, Sec. 1208, added par. (4).
    Subsec. (f)(1). Pub. L. 102-486, Sec. 1207(b), inserted ``and energy 
efficiency'' after ``renewable energy'' wherever appearing.
    Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 102-486, Sec. 1207(c), struck out subsec. (g) 
which read as follows: ``For purposes of this section, the term 
`renewable energy' includes energy efficiency to the extent it is a part 
of a renewable energy system or technology.''
    Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 102-486, Sec. 1207(d), amended subsec. (h) 
generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (h) read as follows: ``There are 
authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for activities of the 
interagency working group established under subsection (d) of this 
section not to exceed--
        ``(1) $3,000,000 for fiscal year 1991;
        ``(2) $3,300,000 for fiscal year 1992; and
        ``(3) $3,600,000 for fiscal year 1993.''
    1989--Subsec. (c)(2)(D)(i). Pub. L. 101-218, Sec. 7(a)(1), inserted 
``and to potential end users, including other industry sectors in 
foreign countries such as health care, rural development, 
communications, and refrigeration, and others,'' after ``commerce,''.
    Subsec. (c)(2)(D)(ii). Pub. L. 101-218, Sec. 7(a)(2), substituted 
``export and export financing opportunities'' for ``export 
opportunities''.
    Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 101-218, Sec. 7(b), designated existing 
provisions as par. (1) and added par. (2).
    Subsecs. (e) to (h). Pub. L. 101-218, Sec. 7(c), added subsecs. (e) 
to (h).


                             Effective Date

    Section 3 of Pub. L. 98-370 provided that: ``The amendments made by 
this Act [enacting this section and a provision set out as a note under 
section 6201 of this title] shall take effect on the date of the 
enactment of this Act [July 18, 1984].''

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 13315, 13316, 13387 of this 
title.
