Regional Clean Energy Innovation Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7237 To direct the Secretary of Energy to establish an Office of Advanced Clean Energy Technologies and manage a network of Regional Energy Innova- tion and Development Institutes to advance regional decarbonization strategies. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 18, 2020 Ms. BONAMICI introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee 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 direct the Secretary of Energy to establish an Office of Advanced Clean Energy Technologies and manage a network of Regional Energy Innovation and Development Institutes to advance regional decarbonization strategies. 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 ‘‘Regional Clean Energy 4 Innovation Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:45 Jul 12, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7237.IH H7237 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7237 IH SEC. 2. OFFICE OF ADVANCED CLEAN TECHNOLOGIES. 1 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Energy 2 shall establish an Office of Advanced Clean Energy Tech- 3 nologies within the Department to manage a network of 4 Regional Energy Innovation and Development Institutes 5 (in this Act, referred to as ‘‘REIDIs’’) that accelerate 6 clean energy innovation in the post-research stage to help 7 projects overcome obstacles to deployment and commer- 8 cialization, connect Federally funded research and devel- 9 opment with State and regional initiatives, and advance 10 decarbonization strategies. 11 (b) OFFICE OF ADVANCED CLEAN ENERGY TECH- 12 NOLOGIES.—The purpose of the Office of Advanced Clean 13 Energy Technologies shall be to— 14 (1) support the creation and development of 15 REIDIs and covered entities by providing incentives 16 to States, regions, academic institutions, Tribes, 17 local governments, and businesses to organize and 18 address a specific targeted clean energy technology 19 and market intersection; 20 (2) leverage existing state, local, regional, Trib- 21 al, and national initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas 22 emissions to help facilitate an effective transition to 23 more clean energy technologies, and improve resil- 24 ience and environmental outcomes, especially for 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:45 Jul 12, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7237.IH H7237 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7237 IH rural and low-income households, communities of 1 color, and Tribal communities; 2 (3) analyze and establish region-specific path- 3 ways to decarbonization and net-zero emissions and 4 use the REIDIs to advance these goals; 5 (4) facilitate development of clean energy tech- 6 nologies from laboratory research stage to market by 7 promoting collaboration and resource sharing among 8 REIDIs; 9 (5) provide technical assistance to the REIDIs 10 and verify quality of projects of REIDIs; 11 (6) assist States, regions, Tribes, local govern- 12 ments, academic institutions, and businesses in ap- 13 plying for designation as a REIDI; 14 (7) share best practices across the REIDIs net- 15 work; 16 (8) support REIDIs in the navigation of regu- 17 latory processes; 18 (9) disseminate Federal funding to REIDIs and 19 provide support for operating capabilities; 20 (10) support REIDIs that address environ- 21 mental justice and energy justices issues in geo- 22 graphically diverse regions, including efforts to im- 23 prove public health, resilience, and environmental 24 outcomes for rural and low-income households, com- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:45 Jul 12, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7237.IH H7237 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7237 IH munities of color, Tribal communities, and commu- 1 nities that are disproportionately vulnerable to the 2 effects of climate change and greenhouse gas emis- 3 sions; and 4 (11) work with other Federal offices and pro- 5 grams to complement clean energy innovation 6 projects and avoid duplication of efforts. 7 (c) DIRECTOR.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office of 9 Advanced Clean Energy Technologies shall be ap- 10 pointed by the President, with the advice and con- 11 sent of the Senate and shall report to the Secretary. 12 (2) BACKGROUND OF DIRECTOR.—The Director 13 shall have professional background and experience 14 on clean energy challenges specific to regional en- 15 ergy resources, market needs, and innovation capa- 16 bilities and have such qualifications to advise the 17 Secretary on, and manage research programs ad- 18 dressing barriers to the development of clean energy 19 technologies. 20 (3) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The responsibilities of 21 the Director shall include— 22 (A) assessing existing regional capabilities 23 and needs for clean energy technologies; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:45 Jul 12, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7237.IH H7237 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7237 IH (B) establishing goals for the REIDIs and 1 publicizing the goals to relevant local and State 2 governments, Tribes, academic institutions, and 3 the public and private sectors; 4 (C) identifying cost-sharing arrangements 5 for REIDIs with State, local, and regional part- 6 ners; 7 (D) reviewing and approving the designa- 8 tion of covered entities as REIDIs and initia- 9 tives within the Office, considering an appro- 10 priate balance of geographical interests, existing 11 innovation ecosystems, national laboratories, 12 and resources, regional variations in and resil- 13 ience of energy supply and demand, and capa- 14 bilities to support job creation; 15 (E) developing funding criteria for REIDIs 16 and assessing the success of the REIDIs 17 through the establishment of technical mile- 18 stones, including terminating the designation of 19 REIDIs that are not achieving the goals of the 20 Office; 21 (F) establishing and maintaining a staff 22 with sufficient qualifications and expertise to 23 enable the Office to carry out its responsibilities 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:45 Jul 12, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7237.IH H7237 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7237 IH in conjunction with other operations of the De- 1 partment; and 2 (G) coordinating with other programs and 3 laboratories within the Department and other 4 Federal research agencies to avoid duplication 5 and working together to address dispersed gaps 6 in energy innovation and deployment. 7 (d) REIDIS.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall establish 9 a program to designate, fund, and support REIDIs 10 in accordance with this subsection. 11 (2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of a REIDIs shall 12 be to— 13 (A) increase and leverage connectivity of 14 existing clean energy research capabilities and 15 needs at the regional level to advance mid-stage 16 and late-stage innovation; 17 (B) support clean energy technology devel- 18 opment, with a focus on regional resources to 19 advance early adoption market connections; 20 (C) connect regional market needs and 21 innovators to address regional variation in en- 22 ergy distribution, use, risks, and capabilities; 23 (D) support access to technical resources, 24 modeling, and test beds through the Office of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:45 Jul 12, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7237.IH H7237 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 7237 IH Advanced Clean Energy Technologies and De- 1 partment National Laboratories; 2 (E) create a regional innovation ecosystem 3 through mentorship, business development, edu- 4 cation, and research and development invest- 5 ments; 6 (F) identify regulatory structures that cre- 7 ate obstacles for market deployment of clean 8 energy technologies; and 9 (G) design and implement initiatives to 10 stimulate market demand for clean energy tech- 11 nologies that will substantially contribute to re- 12 gional net-zero pathways. 13 (3) FUNDING.—The Director shall require, as a 14 condition of designation of a REIDI and of funding 15 under this subsection, that each REIDI shall be 16 funded such that not less than 50 percent of Fund- 17 ing shall come from sources other than the Federal 18 government. 19 (4) APPLICATIONS.— 20 (A) IN GENERAL.—To apply for designa- 21 tion as a REIDI, a local, State, or Tribal gov- 22 ernment in coordination with regional public 23 and private partners shall submit an application 24 to the Secretary containing a description and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:45 Jul 12, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7237.IH H7237 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 7237 IH plan for the activities to be carried out by the 1 REIDI with Federal funds and opportunities 2 for regional cost-sharing. Such application shall 3 include a description— 4 (i) the local or regional partnership 5 that will be supported by the REIDI, in- 6 cluding the lead partners; 7 (ii) the clean energy sectors that will 8 be served by the REIDI, and a description 9 of how such sectors were identified in rela- 10 tion to regional market needs, and how the 11 activities of the REIDI will align with 12 State, local, regional, and Tribal policies 13 and substantially contribute to regional 14 net-zero pathways; 15 (iii) the potential of the planned 16 REIDI activities to achieve significant re- 17 ductions in carbon emissions at a declining 18 unit cost over time and increase market 19 competitiveness of the clean energy tech- 20 nologies; 21 (iv) how the partners in the REIDI 22 plan to work to support clean energy 23 projects at the post-research stage to help 24 reach proof of concept, pilot testing, dem- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:45 Jul 12, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7237.IH H7237 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 7237 IH onstration, and commercial readiness to 1 address market need in deployment of 2 clean energy technologies; 3 (v) demonstrated relationships be- 4 tween research, job creation, and tech- 5 nology deployment in the clean energy in- 6 dustry; 7 (vi) coordination with nongovern- 8 mental entities for demonstration of tech- 9 nologies and research applications; 10 (vii) mechanisms for commercial dem- 11 onstration and application of successful en- 12 ergy technology development projects, in- 13 cluding existing partnerships with commer- 14 cial entities; 15 (viii) the services that will be sup- 16 ported through Federal funds and funding 17 sources for equal regional cost sharing; 18 (ix) levels of performance with respect 19 to the purposes described in section 2(a); 20 and 21 (x) such other subjects as the Sec- 22 retary may require. 23 (B) REVIEW.—The Secretary shall review 24 applications under this paragraph in consulta- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:45 Jul 12, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7237.IH H7237 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 7237 IH tion with the Director of the Office of Advanced 1 Clean Energy Technologies. 2 (e) REPORTS AND EVALUATION.— 3 (1) ANNUAL REPORT.—As part of the annual 4 budget request submitted for each fiscal year, the 5 Director shall provide to the relevant authorizing 6 and appropriations committees of Congress a report 7 describing projects supported by each REIDI during 8 the previous fiscal year. 9 (2) STRATEGIC PLAN.—Not later than one year 10 after enactment, the Director shall provide to the 11 relevant authorizing and appropriations committees 12 of Congress a roadmap describing the strategic plan 13 that the Office will use to guide the choices of 14 REIDI investments for the following five fiscal years 15 including how they will contribute to regional net- 16 zero pathways. A revised plan shall be submitted at 17 least once every 5 years thereafter. Commercial and 18 financial information obtained and considered privi- 19 leged or confidential and not subject to disclosure, 20 including: 21 (A) Plans for commercialization of tech- 22 nologies developed by the REIDI, business 23 plans, technology-to-market plans, market stud- 24 ies, and cost and performance models. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:45 Jul 12, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7237.IH H7237 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 7237 IH (B) Investments provided to a REIDI from 1 third parties. 2 (C) Additional financial support that the 3 partner plans to or has invested into the tech- 4 nology developed under the REIDI or is seeking 5 from third parties. 6 (D) Revenue from the licensing or sale of 7 new products or services resulting from re- 8 search conducted by the REIDI. 9 (f) AUTHORIZATIONS.—There are authorized to be 10 appropriated to carry out this section $150,000,000 annu- 11 ally for fiscal years 2021 through 2025, which shall in- 12 clude— 13 (1) $125,000,000 for grants to REIDIs per 14 year; and 15 (2) $25,000,000 for administration of the Of- 16 fice under this section. 17 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 18 (1) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 19 means the Department of Energy. 20 (2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 21 the Director of the Office of Advanced Clean Energy 22 Technologies. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:45 Jul 12, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7237.IH H7237 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 7237 IH (3) OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Office’’ means the Of- 1 fice of Advanced Clean Energy Technologies estab- 2 lished under subsection (b). 3 (4) REIDIS.—The term ‘‘Regional Energy In- 4 novation and Development Institute’’ or ‘‘REIDI’’ 5 means a partnership between local, State, regional, 6 Tribal governments, academic institutions, busi- 7 nesses, DOE national laboratories, and other clean 8 energy entities that the Director designates under 9 section 2(d) to advance the development of early- 10 stage innovations and support after proof concept to 11 help clean energy innovations reach viability for 12 commercial demonstration and deployment. 13 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 14 the Secretary of Energy. 15 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:45 Jul 12, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H7237.IH H7237 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS