- ASHRAE
means the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers.
- biomass
means any organic matter that is available on a renewable or recurring basis, including agricultural crops and trees, wood and wood wastes and residues, plants (including aquatic plants), grasses, residues, fibers, and animal wastes, municipal wastes, and other waste materials.
- building
means any structure to be constructed which includes provision for a heating or cooling system, or both, or for a hot water system.
- building code
means a legal instrument which is in effect in a State or unit of general purpose local government, the provisions of which must be adhered to if a building is to be considered to be in conformance with law and suitable for occupancy and use.
- CABO
means the Council of American Building Officials.
- commercial building
means any building other than a residential building, including any building developed for industrial or public purposes.
- Comptroller General
means the Comptroller General of the United States.
- Director
means the Director of the Community Services Administration.
- elderly
means any individual who is 60 years of age or older.
- electric utility
means any person, State agency, or Federal agency which sells electric energy.
- eligible entity
means—
- Federal agency
means any department, agency, corporation, or other entity or instrumentality of the executive branch of the Federal Government, including the United States Postal Service, the Federal National Mortgage Association, and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation.
- Federal building
means any building to be constructed by, or for the use of, any Federal agency.
- Federal building energy standards
means energy consumption objectives to be met without specification of the methods, materials, or equipment to be employed in achieving those objectives, but including statements of the requirements, criteria, and evaluation methods to be used, and any necessary commentary.
- Federal financial assistance
means (A) any form of loan, grant, guarantee, insurance, payment, rebate, subsidy, or any other form of direct or indirect Federal assistance (other than general or special revenue sharing or formula grants made to States) approved by any Federal officer or agency;
- Governor
means the chief executive officer of a State (including the Mayor of the District of Columbia).
- handicapped person
means any individual (A) who is an individual with a disability, as defined in section 705 of title 29, (B) who is under a disability as defined in section 1614(a)(3)(A) or 223(d)(1) of the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 1382c(a)(3)(A), 423(d)(1)] or in section 102(7) 1 of the Developmental Disabilities Services and Facilities Construction Act [42 U.S.C. 6001(7)], or (C) who is receiving benefits under chapter 11 or 15 of title 38.
- low-income
means that income in relation to family size which (A) is at or below 200 percent of the poverty level determined in accordance with criteria established by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, except that the Secretary may establish a higher level if the Secretary, after consulting with the Secretary of Agriculture and the Director of the Community Services Administration, determines that such a higher level is necessary to carry out the purposes of this part and is consistent with the eligibility criteria established for the weatherization program under section 2809(a)(12) of this title, (B) is the basis on which cash assistance payments have been paid during the preceding 12-month period under titles IV and XVI of the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 601 et seq., 1381 et seq.] or applicable State or local law, or (C) if a State elects, is the basis for eligibility for assistance under the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8621), provided that such basis is at least 200 percent of the poverty level determined in accordance with criteria established by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
- National Institute of Building Sciences
means the institute established by section 1701j–2 of title 12.
- partnership
means a partnership between an eligible entity described in paragraph (1)(A) and 1 or more of the following entities:
- renewable energy system
means a system which—
- residential building
means any structure which is constructed and developed for residential occupancy.
- Secretary
means the Secretary of Energy.
- State
includes each of the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any territory and possession of the United States.
- State agency
means a State, political subdivision thereof, or any agency or instrumentality of either.
- State utility regulatory commission
means (A) any utility regulatory commission which is a State agency or (B) the Tennessee Valley Authority.
- unit of general purpose local government
means any city, county, town, municipality, or other political subdivision of a State (or any combination thereof), which has a building code or similar authority over a particular geographic area.
- utility regulatory commission
means any State agency or Federal agency which has authority to fix, modify, approve, or disapprove rates for the sale of electric energy by any electric utility (other than by such agency).
- voluntary building energy code
means a building energy code developed and updated through a consensus process among interested persons, such as that used by the Council of American Building Officials;
- weatherization materials
means—