Two new energy efficiency-related bills have been introduced in the US Congress. Senator Shaheen (D-NH) introduced the Clean Distributed Energy Grid Integration Act (S.1201) and the Heat Efficiency through Applied Technology (HEAT) Act (S.1202) for consideration before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
The Clean Distributed Energy Grid Integration Act directs the Secretary of Energy to develop an effort focused on advancing the integration of clean distributed energy into electric grids, according to an American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy blog posting. The bill would advance combined heat and power (CHP), renewables, energy storage, fuel cells and waste heat to power (WHP) technologies.
The HEAT Act would address regulatory barriers to encourage the deployment of CHP and WHP. The HEAT Act would provide assistance to states in considering the adoption of (1) updated interconnection procedures and tariff schedules; (2) model standards for supplemental, backup, and standby power fees for CHP and WHP systems; and (3) the most recent EPA guidance on output based emission standards, according to the ACEEE blog.
