For current federal legislation being considered with respect to clean energy, refer to the following resources:
Landmark laws that continue to impact clean energy adoption include the following:
Clean Air Act of 1970
The federal Clean Air Act of 1970 and its amendments, especially the 1990 Amendments, are the basis of most air pollution policy and regulation in the United States. The Clean Air Act is the comprehensive federal law that regulates air emissions from area, stationary, and mobile sources. One of the most important components of this law is the requirement for EPA to establish National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) to protect public health and the environment. The NAAQS, as promulgated by the EPA from time to time, form the foundation of the U.S. air quality program. The NAAQS set standards for 6 "criteria pollutants" of which NOX (a precursor to ground-level ozone or smog), CO, SO2 and PM are of the greatest relevance to distributed generation/CHP.
The NAAQS goals of health-based standards for the quality of ambient air are designed to ensure that the air everywhere in the U.S. is fit to breathe. Locations throughout the country are classified as either "in attainment" or "nonattainment" for a given pollutant.
Title V of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments requires all major sources and some minor sources of air pollution to obtain an operating permit. See Regulation section (Air Quality subsection) below for more information.
Public Utilities Regulatory Policies Act of 1978
Enacted in 1978, PURPA was intended to encourage more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly commercial energy production. PURPA defined a new class of energy producer called a qualifying facility (QF). QFs are either small-scale producers of commercial energy who normally self-generate energy for their own needs but may have occasional or frequent surplus energy, or incidental producers who happen to generate usable electric energy as a byproduct of other activities. When a facility of this type meets the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's requirements for ownership, size and efficiency, utility companies are obliged to purchase energy from these facilities based on a pricing structure referred to as avoided cost rates. These rates tend to be highly favorable to the producer, and are intended to encourage more production of this type of energy as a means of reducing emissions and dependence on other sources of energy.
Current status:
- FERC terminated the requirement that an electric utility enter into a new contract or obligation to purchase electric energy from qualifying cogeneration or small power production (SPP) facilities provided the Commission finds that the qualifying facility has nondiscriminatory access to one of three categories of markets as defined in Section 210(m)(1)(A),(B), or (C) of PURPA. (Issued October 20, 2006)
- FERC eliminated the statutory prohibition against public utility ownership of more than 50% of qualifying facilities. (Order No. 671)
Energy Policy Act of 2005
After nearly 13 years since the enactment of the original Energy Polict Act (EPAct), 2005's successor included provisions impacting clean energy. The primary driver for EPAct 2005's passage was to ensure domestic energy supplies to guard against flucutant global oil prices. Key clean energy features included:
- Grants awarded for construction or renovation of public buildings using 30% less energy than comparable buildings
- Grants for low-income community energy efficiency projects (§126)
- Promotes district heating and cooling programs (§206(b))
- Tax credit for energy systems that reduce demand (§1331)
Related resouces:
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
Due to their transformative benefits including efficiencies, cost savings, and emissions reductions, clean energy projects qualified for a number of competitive and block grants that were funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and administered largely by state and local entities. The $3.2 billion Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Program was the primary vehicle through which projects were funded, sometimes over multiple rounds.
Related resources:
Executive orders
While not considered legislation, executive orders are occasionally issued by U.S. presidents and have legislative-like effects on the operations of the federal government. Recent executive orders related to agencies' energy and environmental policies and, by extension, the clean energy industry include:
- E.O. 13514 - Signed in October 2009, EO 13514 requires federal agencies to set specific greenhouse gas reduction targets by 2020 and other sustainability goals such as:
- 26% improvement in water efficiency by 2020;
- 95% of all applicable contracts will meet sustainability requirements; and
- Implementation of a 2030 net-zero-energy building requirement.
- E.O. 13423 - Signed by President Bush in January 2007, EO 13423 ("Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Management") instructs federal agencies to conduct environmental, transportation, and energy-related activities in an efficient, sustainable manner.
- E.O. 13123 - Signed by President Clinton in June 1999, EO 13123 ("Greening the Government through Energy-Efficient Management") instructs federal agencies to reduce GHG emissions and achieve certain energy-efficiency goals by 2010.