A joint bill introduced by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and Tennessee Representative Steve Cohen, which aims to put solar photovoltaic electrical systems on 10 million American roofs (and 10 million gallons of solar-heated hot water in those same homes from 200,000 solar water heaters), has been introduced.

Officially called the 10 Million Solar Roofs and 10 Million Gallons of Solar Water Heating Act of 2010 – a name some are describing as “catchy”– the act is reportedly modeled on some highly successful solar initiatives in California (like the California Solar Initiative) and New Jersey.

There is nothing wrong with the bill, other than the lengthy name, but it looks suspiciously like another bill, also introduced by Sanders in 2008 called the 10 Million Solar Roofs Act (S. 3224).

This time around, Sanders has garnered the support of such influential individuals as Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), chair on the Energy and Public Works Committee, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA). Also supportive are U.S. Senators Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY).

This second run, at what Solar Energy Industries Association President and CEO Rhone Resch called “a bold vision for solar installations”, is something that will certainly (as Resch suggests) put the U.S. back in the lead in the solar energy field. If it can be passed.

It will also help lift the U.S. economy, by providing jobs at a time when unemployment statistics seem to be sending monthly crisis alerts across all sectors. In fact, most economists now agree that job creation, rather than bank lending or stock market gains, is the essential factor in moving the nation toward recovery after what has been the worst recession since the Great Depression.

The bill, which can be quickly referenced by calling it 10/10 Solar, proposes to offer rebates on all solar photovoltaic and solar thermal (hot water heating) systems less than 2 megawatts capacity, and would cover up to one-half of all project costs at the federal level.

The program, because it is at the federal level, would eliminate a lot of the variability in solar incentives from state to state (with California and New Jersey offering the best incentives, and Tennessee, Nebraska and Wyoming offering the poorest) by providing a proposed initial rate of $1.75 per watt for solar PV – a rate falling to $0.50 in 2018. The rate for solar hot water heating, which is technologically cheaper, would be $1 per watt maximum.

The cost, according to Sanders, is between $2 billion and $3 billion per year for 10 years, at which point the nation would be producing 30,000 megawatts of solar energy, or the equivalent of 30 nuclear power plants.