Sec. 33114. Promoting grid storage
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In this section: The term energy storage system means equipment or facilities relating to the electric grid that are capable of absorbing and converting energy, as applicable, storing the energy for a period of time, and dispatching the energy, that— use mechanical, electrochemical, biochemical, or thermal processes, to convert and store energy that was generated at an earlier time for use at a later time; use mechanical, electrochemical, biochemical, or thermal processes to convert and store energy generated from mechanical processes that would otherwise be wasted for delivery at a later time; or convert and store energy in an electric, thermal, or gaseous state for direct use for heating or cooling at a later time in a manner that avoids the need to use electricity or other fuel sources at that later time, as is offered by grid-enabled water heaters.
The term eligible entity means— a State, territory, or possession of the United States; a State energy office (as defined in section 124(a) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 ( 42 U.S.C. 15821(a) )); a tribal organization (as defined in section 3765 of title 38, United States Code); an institution of higher education (as defined in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1001 )); an electric utility, including— a rural electric cooperative; a political subdivision of a State, such as a municipally owned electric utility, or any agency, authority, corporation, or instrumentality of one or more State political subdivisions; and an investor-owned utility; and a private energy storage company that is a small business concern (as defined in section 3 of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 632 )).
The term island mode means a mode in which a distributed generator or energy storage system continues to power a location in the absence of electric power from the primary source. The term microgrid means an integrated energy system consisting of interconnected loads and distributed energy resources, including generators and energy storage systems, within clearly defined electrical boundaries that— acts as a single controllable entity with respect to the electric grid; and can connect to, and disconnect from, the electric grid to operate in both grid-connected mode and island mode.
The term Secretary means the Secretary of Energy. The Secretary shall establish a cross-cutting national program within the Department of Energy for the research of energy storage systems, including components and materials of such systems. In establishing the program under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— identify and coordinate across all relevant program offices throughout the Department of Energy key areas of existing and future research with respect to a portfolio of technologies and approaches; adopt long-term cost, performance, and demonstration targets for different types of energy storage systems and for use in a variety of regions, including rural areas; incorporate considerations of sustainability, sourcing, recycling, reuse, and disposal of materials, including critical elements, in the design of energy storage systems; identify energy storage duration needs; analyze the need for various types of energy storage to improve electric grid resilience and reliability; and support research and development of advanced manufacturing technologies that have the potential to improve United States competitiveness in energy storage manufacturing.
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish within the Office of Electricity of the Department of Energy a research, development, and demonstration program of grid-scale energy storage systems, in accordance with this subsection. The Secretary shall develop goals, priorities, and cost targets for the program. Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives a 10-year strategic plan for the program.
The strategic plan submitted under subparagraph
(A)shall— identify Department of Energy programs that— support the research and development activities described in paragraph
(5)and the demonstration projects under paragraph
(3)under subsection (e); and do not support the activities or projects described in subclause (I); but are important to the development of grid-scale energy storage systems and the mission of the Office of Electricity of the Department of Energy, as determined by the Secretary; and include expected timelines for— the accomplishment of relevant objectives under current programs of the Department of Energy relating to grid-scale energy storage systems; and the commencement of any new initiatives within the Department of Energy relating to grid-scale energy storage systems to accomplish those objectives. Not less frequently than once every 2 years, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives an updated 10-year strategic plan, which shall identify, and provide a justification for, any major deviation from a previous strategic plan submitted under this paragraph. In carrying out the program, the Secretary shall focus research and development activities on developing cost effective energy storage systems that— to balance day-scale needs, are capable of highly flexible power output for not less than 6 hours; and have a lifetime of— not less than 8,000 cycles of discharge at full output; and 20 years of operation; can provide power to the electric grid for durations of approximately 10 to 100 hours; and have a lifetime of— not less than 1,500 cycles of discharge at full output; and 20 years of operation; and can store energy over several months and address seasonal scale variations in supply and demand. Cost targets developed by the Secretary under paragraph (3)(B) shall— be for energy storage costs across all types of energy storage technology; and include technology costs, installation costs, balance of services costs, and soft costs. The Secretary shall support the standardized testing and validation of energy storage systems under the program through collaboration with 1 or more National Laboratories, including the development of methodologies to independently validate energy storage technologies by performance of energy storage systems on the electric grid, including when appropriate, testing of application-driven charge and discharge protocols. Not less frequently than once every 5 years during the 10-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall— revise the cost targets developed under paragraph (3)(B) to be more stringent, based on— a technology-neutral approach that considers all types of energy storage deployment scenarios, including individual technologies, technology combination use profiles, and integrated control system applications; input from a variety of stakeholders; the inclusion and use of existing infrastructure; and the ability to optimize the integration of intermittent renewable energy generation technology and distributed energy resources; and establish cost subtargets for technologies and applications relating to the energy storage systems described in paragraph (5), taking into consideration— electricity market prices; and the goal of being cost-competitive in specific markets for electric grid products and services. The Secretary shall establish a technical assistance and grant program (referred to in this subsection as the program )— to disseminate information and provide technical assistance directly to eligible entities so the eligible entities can identify, evaluate, plan, design, and develop processes to procure energy storage systems; and to make grants to eligible entities so that the eligible entities may contract to obtain technical assistance to identify, evaluate, plan, design, and develop processes to procure energy storage systems. The technical assistance described in subparagraph
(A)shall include assistance with one or more of the following activities relating to energy storage systems: Identification of opportunities to use energy storage systems. Assessment of technical and economic characteristics. Utility interconnection. Permitting and siting issues. Business planning and financial analysis. Engineering design. The technical assistance described in subparagraph
(A)shall not include assistance relating to modification of Federal, State, or local regulations or policies relating to energy storage systems. The information dissemination under subparagraph (A)(i) shall include dissemination of— information relating to the topics described in subparagraph (B), including case studies of successful examples; computer software for assessment, design, and operation and maintenance of energy storage systems; and public databases that track the operation of existing and planned energy storage systems. An eligible entity desiring technical assistance or grants under the program shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require. The Secretary shall seek applications for technical assistance and grants under the program— on a competitive basis; and on a periodic basis, but not less frequently than once every 12 months. In selecting eligible entities for technical assistance and grants under the program, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities with projects that have the greatest potential for— strengthening the reliability of energy infrastructure and the resilience of energy infrastructure to the effects of extreme weather events, power grid failures, and interruptions in supply of fossil fuels; reducing the cost of energy storage systems; facilitating the use of renewable energy resources; minimizing environmental impact, including regulated air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions; improving the feasibility of microgrids or islanding, particularly in rural areas, including rural areas with high energy costs; and maximizing local job creation. On application by an eligible entity, the Secretary may award grants to the eligible entity to provide funds to cover not more than— 100 percent of the costs of carrying out an initial assessment to identify net system benefits of using energy storage systems; 75 percent of the cost of obtaining guidance relating to methods to assess energy storage in long-term resource planning and resource procurement; 60 percent of the cost of carrying out studies to assess the cost-benefit ratio of energy storage systems; and 50 percent of the cost of obtaining guidance on complying with State and local regulatory technical standards, including siting and permitting standards. Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall, by rule, establish procedures for carrying out the program. Not later than 120 days after the date on which the Secretary establishes procedures for the program under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall issue grants under this subsection. The Secretary shall submit to Congress and make available to the public— not less frequently than once every 2 years, a report describing the performance of the program under this subsection, including a synthesis and analysis of any information the Secretary requires grant recipients to provide to the Secretary as a condition of receiving a grant; and on termination of the program under this subsection, an assessment of the success of, and education provided by, the measures carried out by eligible entities under the program. The Secretary shall hold one or more workshops during each of calendar years 2021 and 2023 to facilitate the sharing, across the Department of Energy, the States, local and Tribal governments, industry, and the academic research community, of research developments and new technical knowledge gained in carrying out subsections
(b)and (c). The Secretary shall establish a competitive grant program for pilot energy storage systems, as identified by the Secretary, that use either— a single system; or aggregations of multiple systems. In selecting eligible entities to receive a grant under this subsection, the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable— ensure regional diversity among eligible entities that receive the grants, including participation by rural States and small States; ensure that specific projects selected for grants— expand on the existing technology demonstration programs of the Department of Energy; and are designed to achieve one or more of the objectives described in subparagraph (C); prioritize projects from eligible entities that do not have an energy storage system; give consideration to proposals from eligible entities for securing energy storage through competitive procurement or contracts for service; prioritize projects that coordinate with the local incumbent electric utility for in-front-of-the-meter projects that do not formally involve an electric utility; and prioritize projects that leverage matching funds from non-Federal sources. Each demonstration project selected for a grant under subparagraph
(A)shall include one or more of the following objectives: To improve the security and resiliency of critical infrastructure and emergency response systems. To improve the reliability of the electricity transmission and distribution system, particularly in rural areas, including rural areas with high energy costs. To optimize electricity transmission or distribution system operation and power quality to defer or avoid costs of replacing or upgrading electric grid infrastructure, including transformers and substations. To supply energy at peak periods of demand on the electric grid or during periods of significant variation of electric grid supply. To reduce peak residential and commercial loads, particularly to defer or avoid investments in new electric grid capacity. To advance power conversion systems to make the systems internet-connected, more efficient, able to communicate with other inverters, and able to control voltage. To provide ancillary services for grid stability and management. To integrate a renewable energy resource production source into the grid at the source or away from the source. To increase the feasibility of microgrids or islanding. To enable the use of stored energy in forms other than electricity to support the natural gas system and other industrial processes. Any eligible entity that receives a grant under subparagraph
(A)may only use the grant to fund programs relating to the demonstration of energy storage systems connected to the electric grid, including energy storage systems sited behind a customer revenue meter. The Federal cost share of a project carried out with a grant under subparagraph
(A)shall be not more than 50 percent of the total costs incurred in connection with the development, construction, acquisition of components for, or engineering of a demonstration project. The maximum amount of a grant awarded under subparagraph
(A)shall be $5,000,000. The United States shall hold no equity or other ownership interest in an energy storage system for which a grant is provided under subparagraph (A). Each laborer and mechanic employed by a contractor or subcontractor in performance of construction work financed, in whole or in part, by the grant shall be paid wages at rates not less than the rates prevailing on similar construction in the locality as determined by the Secretary of Labor in accordance with subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United States Code. Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall, by rule, establish procedures for carrying out the grant program under paragraph (1). Not later than 1 year after the date on which the Secretary establishes procedures under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall award the initial grants provided under this subsection. The Secretary shall submit to Congress and make publicly available— not less frequently than once every 2 years for the duration of the grant program under paragraph (1), a report describing the performance of the grant program, including a synthesis and analysis of any information the Secretary requires grant recipients to provide to the Secretary as a condition of receiving a grant; and on termination of the grant program under paragraph (1), an assessment of the success of, and education provided by, the measures carried out by grant recipients under the grant program. Not later than September 30, 2023, under the program, the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, enter into agreements to carry out not more than 5 grid-scale energy storage system demonstration projects. Each demonstration project carried out under subparagraph
(A)shall be designed to further the development of the energy storage systems described in subsection (b)(5). There are authorized to be appropriated— for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025, $175,000,000 to carry out subsection (b); for the period of fiscal years 2021 through 2025, $100,000,000 to carry out subsection (c), to remain available until expended; and for the period of fiscal years 2021 through 2025, $150,000,000 to carry out subsection (e), to remain available until expended.
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