Promoting Grid Storage Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2909 To require the Secretary of Energy to establish an energy storage research program, a demonstration program, and a technical assistance and grant program, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 22, 2019 Mr. CASTEN of Illinois (for himself, Mr. LUJA´N, Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mr. BACON, Mr. TONKO, Mr. FOSTER, and Mr. WELCH) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently deter- mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To require the Secretary of Energy to establish an energy storage research program, a demonstration program, and a technical assistance and grant program, and for other purposes. 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 ‘‘Promoting Grid Stor- 4 age Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:54 Jun 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2909.IH H2909 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 2909 IH SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘en- 3 ergy storage system’’ means equipment or facilities 4 relating to the electric grid that are capable of ab- 5 sorbing energy, storing the energy for a period of 6 time, and dispatching the energy, that— 7 (A) use mechanical, electrochemical, bio- 8 chemical, or thermal processes to store energy 9 that was generated at an earlier time for use at 10 a later time; 11 (B) use mechanical, electrochemical, bio- 12 chemical, or thermal processes to store energy 13 generated from mechanical processes that would 14 otherwise be wasted for delivery at a later time; 15 or 16 (C) store thermal energy for direct use for 17 heating or cooling at a later time in a manner 18 that avoids the need to use electricity at that 19 later time, as is offered by grid-enabled water 20 heaters. 21 (2) ISLANDING.—The term ‘‘islanding’’ means 22 a distributed generator or energy storage device con- 23 tinuing to power a location in the absence of electric 24 power from the primary source. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:54 Jun 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2909.IH H2909 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 2909 IH (3) MICROGRID.—The term ‘‘microgrid’’ means 1 an integrated energy system consisting of inter- 2 connected loads and distributed energy resources, in- 3 cluding generators and energy storage devices, with- 4 in clearly defined electrical 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 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 11 the Secretary of Energy. 12 SEC. 3. ENERGY STORAGE RESEARCH PROGRAM. 13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 14 cross-cutting national program within the Department of 15 Energy for the research of energy storage systems, compo- 16 nents, and materials. 17 (b) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—In establishing 18 the program under subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 19 (1) identify and coordinate across all relevant 20 program offices throughout the Department of En- 21 ergy key areas of existing and future research with 22 respect to a portfolio of technologies and approaches; 23 and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:54 Jun 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2909.IH H2909 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 2909 IH (2) adopt long-term cost, performance, and im- 1 plementation targets for specific applications of en- 2 ergy storage systems. 3 SEC. 4. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND GRANT PROGRAM. 4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 6 a technical assistance and grant program (referred 7 to in this section as the ‘‘program’’)— 8 (A) to disseminate information and provide 9 technical assistance directly to eligible entities 10 so the eligible entities can identify, evaluate, 11 plan, design, and develop processes to procure 12 energy storage systems; and 13 (B) to make grants to eligible entities so 14 that the eligible entities may contract to obtain 15 technical assistance to identify, evaluate, plan, 16 design, and develop processes to procure energy 17 storage systems. 18 (2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The technical assist- 20 ance described in paragraph (1) shall include 21 assistance with one or more of the following ac- 22 tivities relating to energy storage systems: 23 (i) Identification of opportunities to 24 use energy storage systems. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:54 Jun 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2909.IH H2909 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 2909 IH (ii) Assessment of technical and eco- 1 nomic characteristics. 2 (iii) Utility interconnection. 3 (iv) Permitting and siting issues. 4 (v) Business planning and financial 5 analysis. 6 (vi) Engineering design. 7 (B) EXCLUSION.—The technical assistance 8 described in paragraph (1) shall not include as- 9 sistance relating to modification of Federal, 10 State, or local regulations or policies relating to 11 energy storage systems. 12 (3) INFORMATION DISSEMINATION.—The infor- 13 mation disseminated under paragraph (1)(A) shall 14 include— 15 (A) information relating to the topics de- 16 scribed in paragraph (2), including case studies 17 of successful examples; 18 (B) computer software for assessment, de- 19 sign, and operation and maintenance of energy 20 storage systems; and 21 (C) public databases that track the oper- 22 ation of existing and planned energy storage 23 systems. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:54 Jun 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2909.IH H2909 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 2909 IH (b) ELIGIBILITY.—Any not-for-profit or for-profit en- 1 tity shall be eligible to receive technical assistance and 2 grants under the program. 3 (c) APPLICATIONS.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity desiring 5 technical assistance or grants under the program 6 shall submit to the Secretary an application at such 7 time, in such manner, and containing such informa- 8 tion as the Secretary may require. 9 (2) APPLICATION PROCESS.—The Secretary 10 shall seek applications for technical assistance and 11 grants under the program— 12 (A) on a competitive basis; and 13 (B) on a periodic basis, but not less fre- 14 quently than once every 12 months. 15 (3) PRIORITIES.—In selecting eligible entities 16 for technical assistance and grants under the pro- 17 gram, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible en- 18 tities with projects that have the greatest potential 19 for— 20 (A) strengthening the reliability and resil- 21 iency of energy infrastructure to the impact of 22 extreme weather events, power grid failures, 23 and interruptions in supply of fossil fuels; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:54 Jun 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2909.IH H2909 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 2909 IH (B) reducing the cost of energy storage 1 systems; 2 (C) facilitating the use of renewable energy 3 resources; 4 (D) minimizing environmental impact, in- 5 cluding regulated air pollutants and greenhouse 6 gas emissions; 7 (E) improving the feasibility of microgrids 8 or islanding, particularly in rural areas, includ- 9 ing high energy cost rural areas; and 10 (F) maximizing local job creation. 11 (d) GRANTS.—On application by an eligible entity, 12 the Secretary may award grants to the eligible entity to 13 provide funds to cover not more than— 14 (1) 100 percent of the costs of the initial as- 15 sessment to identify net system benefits of using en- 16 ergy storage systems; 17 (2) 75 percent of the cost of guidance relating 18 to methods to assess energy storage in long-term re- 19 source planning and resource procurement; 20 (3) 60 percent of the cost of studies to assess 21 the cost-benefit ratio of energy storage systems; and 22 (4) 50 percent of the cost of guidance on com- 23 plying with State and local regulatory technical 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:54 Jun 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2909.IH H2909 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 2909 IH standards, including siting and permitting stand- 1 ards. 2 (e) RULES AND PROCEDURES.— 3 (1) RULES.—Not later than 180 days after the 4 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 5 adopt rules and procedures for carrying out the pro- 6 gram. 7 (2) GRANTS.—Not later than 120 days after 8 the date of issuance of the rules and procedures for 9 the program, the Secretary shall issue grants under 10 this section. 11 (f) REPORTS.—The Secretary shall submit to Con- 12 gress and make available to the public— 13 (1) not less frequently than once every 2 years, 14 a report describing the performance of the program 15 under this section, including a synthesis and analysis 16 of any information the Secretary requires grant re- 17 cipients to provide to the Secretary as a condition of 18 receiving a grant; and 19 (2) on termination of the program under this 20 section, an assessment of the success of, and edu- 21 cation provided by, the measures carried out by eli- 22 gible entities under the program. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:54 Jun 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2909.IH H2909 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 2909 IH SEC. 5. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY WORKSHOPS. 1 The Secretary shall hold one or more workshops dur- 2 ing each of calendar years 2021 and 2023 to facilitate the 3 sharing, across the Department of Energy, the States, 4 local and Tribal governments, industry, and the academic 5 research community, of research developments and new 6 technical knowledge gained in carrying out sections 3 and 7 4. 8 SEC. 6. ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM DEMONSTRATION PRO- 9 GRAM. 10 (a) ENERGY STORAGE GRANT PROGRAM.— 11 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es- 12 tablish a competitive grant program for pilot energy 13 storage systems, as identified by the Secretary, that 14 use either— 15 (A) a single system; or 16 (B) aggregations of multiple systems. 17 (2) ELIGIBILITY.—Entities eligible to receive a 18 grant under paragraph (1) include— 19 (A) a State, territory, or possession of the 20 United States; 21 (B) a State energy office; 22 (C) a tribal organization (as defined in sec- 23 tion 3765 of title 38, United States Code); 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:54 Jun 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2909.IH H2909 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 2909 IH (D) an institution of higher education (as 1 defined in section 101 of the Higher Education 2 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)); 3 (E) an electric utility, including— 4 (i) a rural electric cooperative; 5 (ii) a political subdivision of a state, 6 such as a municipally owned electric util- 7 ity, or any agency, authority, corporation, 8 or instrumentality of one or more state po- 9 litical subdivisions; and 10 (iii) an investor-owned utility; and 11 (F) a private energy storage company that 12 is a small business concern (as defined in sec- 13 tion 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 14 632)). 15 (3) SELECTION REQUIREMENTS.—In selecting 16 eligible entities to receive a grant under this section, 17 the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent prac- 18 ticable— 19 (A) ensure regional diversity among eligi- 20 ble entities that receive the grants, including 21 participation by rural States and small States; 22 (B) ensure that specific projects selected 23 for grants— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:54 Jun 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2909.IH H2909 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 2909 IH (i) expand on the existing technology 1 demonstration programs of the Depart- 2 ment of Energy; and 3 (ii) are designed to achieve one or 4 more of the objectives described in para- 5 graph (4); 6 (C) prioritize projects from eligible entities 7 that do not have an energy storage system; 8 (D) give consideration to proposals from 9 eligible entities for securing energy storage 10 through competitive procurement or contract 11 for service; 12 (E) prioritize projects that coordinate with 13 the local incumbent utility for in-front-of-the- 14 meter projects that do not formally involve a 15 utility; and 16 (F) prioritize projects that leverage match- 17 ing funds from non-Federal sources. 18 (4) OBJECTIVES.—Each demonstration project 19 selected for a grant under paragraph (1) shall in- 20 clude one or more of the following objectives: 21 (A) To improve the security of critical in- 22 frastructure and emergency response systems. 23 (B) To improve the reliability of the trans- 24 mission and distribution system, particularly in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:54 Jun 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2909.IH H2909 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •HR 2909 IH rural areas, including high energy cost rural 1 areas. 2 (C) To optimize transmission or distribu- 3 tion system operation and power quality to 4 defer or avoid costs of replacing or upgrading 5 electric grid infrastructure, including trans- 6 formers and substations. 7 (D) To supply energy at peak periods of 8 demand on the electric grid or during periods of 9 significant variation of electric grid supply. 10 (E) To reduce peak loads of homes and 11 businesses, particularly to defer or avoid invest- 12 ments in new electric grid capacity. 13 (F) To advance power conversion systems 14 to make the systems smarter, more efficient, 15 able to communicate with other inverters, and 16 able to control voltage. 17 (G) To provide ancillary services for grid 18 stability and management. 19 (H) To integrate a renewable energy re- 20 source production source at the source or away 21 from the source. 22 (I) To increase the feasibility of microgrids 23 or islanding. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:54 Jun 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2909.IH H2909 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •HR 2909 IH (J) To enable the use of stored energy in 1 forms other than electricity to support the nat- 2 ural gas system and other industrial processes. 3 (5) RESTRICTION ON USE OF FUNDS.—Any eli- 4 gible entity that receives a grant under paragraph 5 (1) may only use the grant to fund programs relat- 6 ing to the demonstration of energy storage systems 7 connected to the electric grid, including e [Text truncated for display. 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