text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``Job Creation and Energy Efficiency 
  Act''.
  
  SEC. 2. LOAN PROGRAM FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY UPGRADES TO EXISTING 
                BUILDINGS.
  
      Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16511 et 
  seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
  
  ``SEC. 1706. BUILDING RETROFIT FINANCING PROGRAM.
  
      ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
              ``(1) Credit support.--The term `credit support' means a 
          guarantee or commitment to issue a guarantee or other forms of 
          credit enhancement to ameliorate risks for efficiency 
          obligations.
              ``(2) Efficiency obligation.--The term `efficiency 
          obligation' means a debt or repayment obligation incurred in 
          connection with financing a project, or a portfolio of such 
          debt or repayment obligations.
              ``(3) Project.--The term `project' means the installation 
          and implementation of efficiency, advanced metering, 
          distributed generation, or renewable energy technologies and 
          measures for a building (or for multiple buildings on a given 
          property) that are expected to increase the energy efficiency 
          of the building (including fixtures) in accordance with 
          criteria established by the Secretary.
      ``(b) Eligible Projects.--
              ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding sections 1703 and 1705, 
          the Secretary may provide credit support under this section, in 
          accordance with section 1702.
              ``(2) Inclusions.--Buildings eligible for credit support 
          under this section include commercial, multifamily residential, 
          industrial, municipal, government, institution of higher 
          education, school, and hospital facilities that satisfy 
          criteria established by the Secretary.
      ``(c) Guidelines.--
              ``(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
          of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall--
                      ``(A) establish guidelines for credit support 
                  provided under this section;
                      ``(B) publish the guidelines in the Federal 
                  Register; and
                      ``(C) provide for an opportunity for public comment 
                  on the guidelines.
              ``(2) Requirements.--The guidelines established by the 
          Secretary under this subsection shall include--
                      ``(A) standards for assessing the energy savings 
                  that could reasonably be expected to result from a 
                  project;
                      ``(B) examples of financing mechanisms (and 
                  portfolios of such financing mechanisms) that qualify 
                  as efficiency obligations;
                      ``(C) the threshold levels of energy savings that a 
                  project, at the time of issuance of credit support, 
                  shall be reasonably expected to achieve to be eligible 
                  for credit support;
                      ``(D) the eligibility criteria the Secretary 
                  determines to be necessary for making credit support 
                  available under this section; and
                      ``(E) notwithstanding subsections (d)(3) and 
                  (g)(2)(B) of section 1702, any lien priority 
                  requirements that the Secretary determines to be 
                  necessary, in consultation with the Director of the 
                  Office of Management and Budget, which may include--
                              ``(i) mechanisms to preserve prior lien 
                          positions of mortgage lenders and other 
                          creditors in buildings eligible for credit 
                          support;
                              ``(ii) remedies available to the Secretary 
                          under chapter 176 of title 28, United States 
                          Code, in the event of default on the efficiency 
                          obligation by the borrower; and
                              ``(iii) measures to limit the exposure of 
                          the Secretary to financial risk in the event of 
                          default, such as--
                                      ``(I) the collection of a credit 
                                  subsidy fee from the borrower as a loan 
                                  loss reserve, taking into account the 
                                  limitation on credit support under 
                                  subsection (d);
                                      ``(II) minimum debt-to-income 
                                  levels of the borrower;
                                      ``(III) minimum levels of value 
                                  relative to outstanding mortgage or 
                                  other debt on a building eligible for 
                                  credit support;
                                      ``(IV) allowable thresholds for the 
                                  percent of the efficiency obligation 
                                  relative to the amount of any mortgage 
                                  or other debt on an eligible building;
                                      ``(V) analysis of historic and 
                                  anticipated occupancy levels and rental 
                                  income of an eligible building;
                                      ``(VI) requirements of third-party 
                                  contractors to guarantee energy savings 
                                  that will result from a retrofit 
                                  project, and whether financing on the 
                                  efficiency obligation will amortize 
                                  from the energy savings;
                                      ``(VII) requirements that the 
                                  retrofit project incorporate protocols 
                                  to measure and verify energy savings; 
                                  and
                                      ``(VIII) recovery of payments 
                                  equally by the Secretary and the 
                                  retrofit.
              ``(3) Efficiency obligations.--The financing mechanisms 
          qualified by the Secretary under paragraph (2)(B) may include--
                      ``(A) loans, including loans made by the Federal 
                  Financing Bank;
                      ``(B) power purchase agreements, including energy 
                  efficiency power purchase agreements;
                      ``(C) energy services agreements, including energy 
                  performance contracts;
                      ``(D) property assessed clean energy bonds and 
                  other tax assessment-based financing mechanisms;
                      ``(E) aggregate on-meter agreements that finance 
                  retrofit projects; and
                      ``(F) any other efficiency obligations the 
                  Secretary determines to be appropriate.
              ``(4) Priorities.--In carrying out this section, the 
          Secretary shall prioritize--
                      ``(A) the maximization of energy savings with the 
                  available credit support funding;
                      ``(B) the establishment of a clear application and 
                  approval process that allows private building owners, 
                  lenders, and investors to reasonably expect to receive 
                  credit support for projects that conform to guidelines;
                      ``(C) the distribution of projects receiving credit 
                  support under this section across States or 
                  geographical regions of the United States; and
                      ``(D) projects designed to achieve whole-building 
                  retrofits.
      ``(d) Limitation.--Notwithstanding section 1702(c), the Secretary 
  shall not issue credit support under this section in an amount that 
  exceeds--
              ``(1) 90 percent of the principal amount of the efficiency 
          obligation that is the subject of the credit support; or
              ``(2) $25,000,000 for any single project.
      ``(e) Aggregation of Projects.--To the extent provided in the 
  guidelines developed in accordance with subsection (c), the Secretary 
  may issue credit support on a portfolio, or pool of projects, that are 
  not required to be geographically contiguous, if each efficiency 
  obligation in the pool fulfills the requirements described in this 
  section.
      ``(f) Application.--
              ``(1) In general.--To be eligible to receive credit support 
          under this section, the applicant shall submit to the Secretary 
          an application at such time, in such manner, and containing 
          such information as the Secretary determines to be necessary.
              ``(2) Contents.--An application submitted under this 
          section shall include assurances by the applicant that--
                      ``(A) each contractor carrying out the project 
                  meets minimum experience level criteria, including 
                  local retrofit experience, as determined by the 
                  Secretary;
                      ``(B) the project is reasonably expected to achieve 
                  energy savings, as set forth in the application using 
                  any methodology that meets the standards described in 
                  the program guidelines;
                      ``(C) the project meets any technical criteria 
                  described in the program guidelines;
                      ``(D) the recipient of the credit support and the 
                  parties to the efficiency obligation will provide the 
                  Secretary with--
                              ``(i) any information the Secretary 
                          requests to assess the energy savings that 
                          result from the project, including historical 
                          energy usage data, a simulation-based 
                          benchmark, and detailed descriptions of the 
                          building work, as described in the program 
                          guidelines; and
                              ``(ii) permission to access information 
                          relating to building operations and usage for 
                          the period described in the program guidelines; 
                          and
                      ``(E) any other assurances that the Secretary 
                  determines to be necessary.
              ``(3) Determination.--Not later than 90 days after 
          receiving an application, the Secretary shall make a final 
          determination on the application, which may include requests 
          for additional information.
      ``(g) Fees.--
              ``(1) In general.--In addition to the fees required by 
          section 1702(h)(1), the Secretary may charge reasonable fees 
          for credit support provided under this section.
              ``(2) Availability.--Fees collected under this section 
          shall be subject to section 1702(h)(2).
      ``(h) Underwriting.--The Secretary may delegate the underwriting 
  activities under this section to 1 or more entities that the Secretary 
  determines to be qualified.
      ``(i) Status Report.--Not later than 1 year after commencement of 
  the program, the Secretary shall submit to the Congress a report that 
  describes in reasonable detail--
              ``(1) the manner in which this section is being carried 
          out;
              ``(2) the number and type of projects supported;
              ``(3) the types of funding mechanisms used to provide 
          credit support to projects;
              ``(4) the energy savings expected to result from projects 
          supported by this section;
              ``(5) any tracking efforts the Secretary is using to 
          calculate the actual energy savings produced by the projects; 
          and
              ``(6) any plans to improve the tracking efforts described 
          in paragraph (5).
      ``(j) Buy American Report.--The Secretary shall submit to the 
  Congress an annual report that estimates the percentage of American-
  made materials used in conducting retrofit activities funded pursuant 
  to this section.
      ``(k) Funding.--
              ``(1) Authorization of appropriations.--There are 
          authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
          $15,000,000,000 for the period encompassing fiscal years 2012 
          through 2021.
              ``(2) Administrative costs.--Not more than 1 percent of any 
          amounts made available to the Secretary for carrying out this 
          section may be used by the Secretary for administrative costs 
          incurred in carrying out this section.''.
target: Job Creation and Energy Efficiency Act - Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to authorize the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to provide credit support to ameliorate risks for a debt or repayment obligation incurred in connection with financing the installation and implementation of efficiency, advanced metering, distributed generation, or renewable energy technologies and measures that are expected to increase the energy efficiency of one or more buildings (including fixtures). Makes commercial, multifamily residential, industrial, municipal, government institutions of higher education, school, and hospital facilities eligible for such support.
  
  Includes among financing mechanisms that qualify as efficiency obligations: (1) loans, (2) power purchase agreements, (3) energy services agreements, (4) property assessed clean energy bonds and other tax assessment-based financing mechanisms, and (5) aggregate on-meter agreements that finance retrofit projects.
  
  Requires the Secretary to prioritize: (1) the maximization of energy savings with the available credit support funding; (2) the establishment of a clear application and approval process that allows private building owners, lenders, and investors to reasonably expect to receive credit support for projects that conform to guidelines; (3) the distribution of projects receiving credit support across states or geographical regions; and (4) projects designed to achieve whole-building retrofits.
  
  Prohibits the Secretary from issuing credit support that exceeds: (1) 90% of the principal amount of the obligation that is the subject of the support, or (2) $25 million for any project. Requires the Secretary to report on such support. Authorizes the Secretary to charge reasonable fees for such support.
feat_title: To authorize the Secretary of Energy to provide loan guarantees for energy efficiency upgrades to existing buildings.