Waste heat now counts as renewable energy under federal farm law
H.R. 7080 — Waste Heat to Wattage Act of 2026 · Filed by Gabriel (Gabe) Vasquez (D-NM) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Jan 14, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill amends the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to recognize waste energy recovery—heat or pressure normally discarded from industrial, commercial, or residential processes—as a qualifying source of renewable energy. It adds a formal definition and includes waste energy recovery in the list of eligible renewable energy sources, potentially making projects that capture and convert waste heat into electricity eligible for federal renewable energy programs and incentives.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative function is to add waste energy recovery to the statutory definition of renewable energy sources under existing federal farm and renewable energy law. It is a technical definitional amendment with no hidden mechanisms or riders.
What the text implies
- Waste energy recovery projects may now qualify for USDA renewable energy grants, loans, and tax incentives previously limited to wind, solar, geothermal, and hydroelectric sources.
- Industrial and commercial facilities with waste heat streams (refineries, data centers, manufacturing plants, power plants) gain a new pathway to federal support for efficiency retrofits.
- The definition is broad enough to include both thermal waste (heat) and pressure waste, potentially covering a wide range of industrial processes not previously eligible.
- State and local renewable energy portfolio standards that reference federal definitions may automatically expand to include waste energy recovery projects.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill expands the definition of renewable energy to include a legitimate efficiency technology (waste heat recovery) that reduces energy waste and can lower overall energy costs. Citizens and businesses gain access to federal renewable energy incentives for a technology that improves efficiency without imposing new restrictions or costs on the public.
Who stands to gain
- industrial manufacturers with waste heat streams
- data center operators
- power generation facilities
- commercial HVAC and refrigeration operators
- renewable energy equipment manufacturers and installers
- engineering and consulting firms specializing in waste heat recovery
Named in the bill
USDA, Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, Section 9001, renewable energy programs, waste heat to power systems, waste pressure to power systems
Where it stands
1 cosponsor: 1 Republicans.
- Jan 14, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jan 14, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Agriculture · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $10,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 4 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.
Gabriel (Gabe) Vasquez, the sponsor, reported $1,043,736 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Heat Is Power Association — $10,000 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (756 characters) on Aug 17, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Waste heat now counts as renewable energy under federal farm law” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr7080 Report an error
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