42 U.S.C. § 5501: Congressional findings and…

Summary

Establishes a national goal to show that solar heating can be used in real buildings within a three-year period and that combined solar heating and cooling can be developed and shown to work within a five-year period. Says this because fuel and energy shortages will likely continue. Solar heating could lower demand on fuels and is near commercial use. Combined heating and cooling needs more research but no impossible technical barriers are seen. Early development and exports can help U.S. trade. Widespread solar use would help the environment, cut dependence on foreign energy, aid national defense, and save money for consumers as fuel prices rise. Faster progress can come from close work between makers and builders, careful testing, and early real-world demonstrations.

Title 42, §5501

The Public Health and Welfare, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Congress hereby finds that—

(1)the current imbalance between supply and demand for fuels and energy is likely to persist for some time;

(2)the early demonstration of the feasibility of using solar energy for the heating and cooling of buildings could help to relieve the demand upon present fuel and energy supplies;

(3)the technologies for solar heating are close to the point of commercial application in the United States;

(4)the technologies for combined solar heating and cooling still require research, development, testing and demonstration, but no insoluble technical problem is now foreseen in achieving commercial use of such technologies;

(5)the early development and export of viable solar heating equipment and combined solar heating and cooling equipment, consistent with the established preeminence of the United States in the field of high technology products, can make a valuable contribution to our balance of trade;

(6)the widespread use of solar energy in place of conventional methods for the heating and cooling of buildings would have a significantly beneficial effect upon the environment;

(7)the mass production and use of solar heating and cooling equipment will help to eliminate the dependence of the United States upon foreign energy sources and promote the national defense;

(8)the widespread introduction of low-cost solar energy will be beneficial to consumers in a period of rapidly rising fuel cost;

(9)innovation and creativity in the development of solar heating and combined solar heating and cooling components and systems can be fostered through encouraging direct contact between the manufacturers of such systems and the architects, engineers, developers, contractors, and other persons interested in installing such systems in buildings;

(10)evaluation of the performance and reliability of solar heating and combined solar heating and cooling technologies can be expedited by testing under carefully controlled conditions; and

(11)commercial application of solar heating and combined solar heating and cooling technologies can be expedited by early commercial demonstration under practical conditions.

(b)It is therefore declared to be the policy of the United States and the purpose of this subchapter to provide for the demonstration within a three-year period of the practical use of solar heating technology, and to provide for the development and demonstration within a five-year period of the practical use of combined heating and cooling technology.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Short Title

of 1978 Amendment Pub. L. 95–590, § 1, Nov. 4, 1978, 92 Stat. 2513, provided that Pub. L. 95–590 (enacting subchapter III of this chapter) could be cited as the “Solar Photovoltaic Energy Research, Development, and Demonstration Act of 1978”, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 116–260, div. Z, title III, § 3006(f), Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 2513.

Short Title

Pub. L. 93–473, § 1, Oct. 26, 1974, 88 Stat. 1431, provided that Pub. L. 93–473 (enacting subchapter II of this chapter) could be cited as the “Solar Energy Research, Development, and Demonstration Act of 1974”, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 116–260, div. Z, title III, § 3006(e)(1), Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 2513. Pub. L. 93–409, § 1, Sept. 3, 1974, 88 Stat. 1069, provided: “That this Act [enacting this subchapter and amending section 2473 of this title] may be cited as the ‘Solar Heating and Cooling Demonstration Act of 1974’.”

§5501 Congressional Findings and Declaration of Policy

Summary

Title 42, §5501

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

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