Expanding Access to Sustainable Energy Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1183 To establish an energy storage and microgrid grant and technical assistance program. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 11, 2019 Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself and Mr. MORAN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Nat- ural Resources A BILL To establish an energy storage and microgrid grant and technical assistance program. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Expanding Access to 4 Sustainable Energy Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 7 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 8 ty’’ means— 9 (A) a rural electric cooperative; and 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:52 Apr 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1183.IS S1183 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 1183 IS (B) two or more rural electric cooperatives 1 working together. 2 (2) ENERGY STORAGE.—The term ‘‘energy 3 storage’’ means the use of a system, equipment, fa- 4 cility, or technology that— 5 (A) is capable of absorbing energy, storing 6 that energy for a period of time, and dis- 7 patching the stored energy; and 8 (B)(i) uses a mechanical, electrochemical, 9 or thermal process to store energy that— 10 (I) was generated at an earlier time 11 for use at a later time; or 12 (II) was generated from a mechanical 13 process, and would otherwise be wasted, 14 for delivery at a later time; or 15 (ii) stores thermal energy for direct use for 16 heating or cooling at a later time in a manner 17 that avoids the need to use electricity at that 18 later time, in the same manner as the storage 19 and use offered by a grid-enabled water heater. 20 (3) ISLAND.—The term ‘‘island’’, with respect 21 to a distributed generator or energy storage equip- 22 ment, means that the generator or equipment con- 23 tinues to power a location in the absence of electric 24 power from a primary source. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:52 Apr 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1183.IS S1183 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 1183 IS (4) MICROGRID.—The term ‘‘microgrid’’ means 1 an interconnected system of loads and distributed 2 energy resources, including generators and energy 3 storage devices, within clearly defined electrical 4 boundaries that— 5 (A) acts as a single controllable entity with 6 respect to the grid; and 7 (B) can connect and disconnect from the 8 grid to operate in both grid-connected mode 9 and island mode. 10 (5) RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCE.—The term 11 ‘‘renewable energy source’’ has the meaning given 12 the term in section 609(a) of the Public Utility Reg- 13 ulatory Policies Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 918c(a)). 14 (6) RURAL ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE.—The term 15 ‘‘rural electric cooperative’’ means an electric coop- 16 erative (as defined in section 3 of the Federal Power 17 Act (16 U.S.C. 796)) that sells electric energy to 18 persons in rural areas. 19 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 20 the Secretary of Energy. 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:52 Apr 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1183.IS S1183 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 1183 IS SEC. 3. ENERGY STORAGE AND MICROGRID ASSISTANCE 1 PROGRAM. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 3 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish 4 a program under which the Secretary shall— 5 (1) provide grants to eligible entities under sub- 6 section (c); 7 (2) provide technical assistance to eligible enti- 8 ties under subsection (d); and 9 (3) disseminate information to eligible entities 10 on— 11 (A) the activities described in subsections 12 (c)(1) and (d); and 13 (B) potential and existing energy storage 14 and microgrid projects. 15 (b) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.—The Secretary may 16 enter into a cooperative agreement with an eligible entity 17 to carry out subsection (a). 18 (c) GRANTS.— 19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 20 grants to eligible entities for identifying, evaluating, 21 and designing energy storage and microgrid projects 22 that rely on energy from renewable energy sources. 23 (2) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a 24 grant under paragraph (1), an eligible entity shall 25 submit to the Secretary an application at such time, 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:52 Apr 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1183.IS S1183 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 1183 IS in such manner, and containing such information as 1 the Secretary may require. 2 (3) USE OF GRANT.—An eligible entity that re- 3 ceives a grant under paragraph (1)— 4 (A) shall use the grant— 5 (i) to conduct feasibility studies to as- 6 sess the potential for implementation or 7 improvement of energy storage or micro- 8 grid projects; 9 (ii) to analyze and implement strate- 10 gies to overcome barriers to energy storage 11 or microgrid project implementation, in- 12 cluding financial, contracting, siting, and 13 permitting barriers; 14 (iii) to conduct detailed engineering of 15 energy storage or microgrid projects; 16 (iv) to perform a cost-benefit analysis 17 with respect to an energy storage or micro- 18 grid project; and 19 (v) to plan for both the short- and 20 long-term inclusion of energy storage or 21 microgrid projects into the future develop- 22 ment plans of the eligible entity; and 23 (B) may use the grant to obtain technical 24 assistance from experts in carrying out the ac- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:52 Apr 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1183.IS S1183 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 1183 IS tivities described in clauses (i) through (v) of 1 subparagraph (A). 2 (4) CONDITION.—As a condition of receiving a 3 grant under paragraph (1), an eligible entity shall— 4 (A) implement a public awareness cam- 5 paign about the project implemented under the 6 grant in the community in which the eligible en- 7 tity is located; and 8 (B) submit to the Secretary, and make 9 available to the public, a report that de- 10 scribes— 11 (i) any energy cost savings and envi- 12 ronmental benefits achieved under the 13 project; and 14 (ii) the results of the project, includ- 15 ing quantitative assessments to the extent 16 practicable, associated with each activity 17 described in paragraph (3)(A). 18 (5) COST-SHARE.—Activities under this sub- 19 section shall be subject to the cost-sharing require- 20 ments of section 988 of the Energy Policy Act of 21 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16352). 22 (d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:52 Apr 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1183.IS S1183 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 1183 IS (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 1 out subsection (a)(2) by providing eligible entities 2 with technical assistance relating to— 3 (A) identifying opportunities for energy 4 storage and microgrid projects; 5 (B) understanding the technical and eco- 6 nomic characteristics of energy storage or 7 microgrid projects; 8 (C) understanding financing alternatives; 9 (D) permitting and siting issues; 10 (E) obtaining case studies of similar and 11 successful energy storage or microgrid projects; 12 (F) reviewing and obtaining computer soft- 13 ware for assessment, design, and operation and 14 maintenance of energy storage or microgrid sys- 15 tems; and 16 (G) understanding and utilizing the reli- 17 ability and resiliency benefits of energy storage 18 and microgrid projects. 19 (2) EXTERNAL CONTRACTS.—In carrying out 20 subsection (a)(2), the Secretary may enter into con- 21 tracts with third-party experts, including engineer- 22 ing, finance, and insurance experts, to provide tech- 23 nical assistance to eligible entities relating to the ac- 24 tivities described in subparagraphs (A) through (G) 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:52 Apr 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1183.IS S1183 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 1183 IS of paragraph (1), or other relevant activities, as de- 1 termined by the Secretary. 2 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro- 4 priated to carry out this Act $5,000,000 for each of fiscal 5 years 2020 through 2025. 6 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Not more than 5 per- 7 cent of the amount appropriated under subsection (a) for 8 each fiscal year shall be used for administrative expenses. 9 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:52 Apr 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1183.IS S1183 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS