Sec. 12112. Energy workforce grant program
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Subject to the availability of appropriations for such purpose, the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Energy, acting through the Director of the Office of Economic Impact, Diversity, and Employment, shall jointly establish and carry out a program to provide grants to eligible entities to pay the eligible wages of, or eligible stipends for, individuals during the time period that such individuals are receiving training to work in the renewable energy sector, energy efficiency sector, or grid modernization sector.
Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries, in consultation with stakeholders, contractors, and organizations that work to advance existing residential energy efficiency, shall establish guidelines to identify training that is eligible for purposes of the program established pursuant to paragraph (1). To be eligible to receive a grant under the program established under subsection (a), an eligible entity shall be directly involved with energy efficiency or renewable energy technology and provide services related to— renewable electric energy generation, including solar, wind, geothermal, hydropower, and other renewable electric energy generation technologies; energy efficiency, including energy-efficient lighting, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, air source heat pumps, advanced building materials, insulation and air sealing, and other high-efficiency products and services, including auditing and inspection, architecture, design, and construction of new energy efficient buildings and building energy retrofits; grid modernization or energy storage, including smart grid, microgrid and other distributed energy solutions, demand response management, and home energy management technology; or fuel cell and hybrid fuel cell generation.
In this subsection, the following terms apply: The term eligible entity means— an employer in an industry described in paragraph (1); or a labor organization, a joint-labor management organization, a State or local workforce board, or a training program or provider that provides training to individuals to work for an employer described in clause (i), or works on behalf of any such employers. The term eligible stipend means a stipend that meets the criteria identified pursuant to the guidelines established under subsection (a)(2).
The term eligible wages means wages that meet the criteria identified pursuant to the guidelines established under subsection (a)(2). An eligible entity with— 20 or fewer employees may use a grant provided under the program established under subsection
(a)to pay up to— 45 percent of an employee’s eligible wages for the duration of the applicable training for such employee, if the training is provided by the eligible entity; and 90 percent of an employee’s eligible wages for the duration of the applicable training for such employee, if the training is provided by an entity other than the eligible entity; 21 to 99 employees may use a grant provided under the program established under subsection
(a)to pay up to— 37.5 percent of an employee’s eligible wages for the duration of the applicable training for such employee, if the training is provided by the eligible entity; and 75 percent of an employee’s eligible wages for the duration of the applicable training for such employee, if the training is provided by an entity other than the eligible entity; and 100 employees or more may use a grant provided under the program established under subsection
(a)to pay up to— 25 percent of an employee’s eligible wages for the duration of the applicable training for such employee, if the training is provided by the eligible entity; and 50 percent of an employee’s eligible wages for the duration of the applicable training for such employee, if the training is provided by an entity other than the eligible entity. An eligible entity may use a grant provided under the program established under subsection
(a)to pay up to 100 percent of an eligible stipend for an individual for the duration of the applicable training for such individual. In providing grants under the program established under subsection (a), the Secretary shall give priority to an eligible entity that— recruits or trains individuals who are— from the community that the eligible entity serves; and from underrepresented populations; or unemployed or underemployed energy workers; and will provide individuals receiving training with the opportunity to obtain or retain employment at an eligible entities. An eligible entity may not receive more than $100,000 under the program established under subsection
(a)per fiscal year. The Secretaries shall submit to Congress, annually for each year the program established under subsection
(a)is carried out, a report on such program, including— an assessment of such program for the previous year, including the number of jobs filled by individuals trained pursuant to such program; and recommendations on how to improve such program. There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025. The Secretary of Labor, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, shall collect data to monitor current and future trends and shortages within the clean energy technology industry, which includes skilled technical personnel, electric power engineers, transmission engineers, and other occupations or fields of work under— the agriculture and forestry industry; the electric utility industry; the manufacturing industry; the wholesale trade industry; the professional and business services industry; and the manufacturing and operation and maintenance industries for component parts of clean energy technologies. Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act, and on a quarterly basis thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress, based on the data collected under subsection (h), a report on— trends and shortages as of the date of such report, and recommendations to prepare the workforce to address such trends and shortages to meet the demands of a clean energy economy; and other recommendations the Secretary determines appropriate. Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress, based on the data collected under subsection (h), a report on— trends and shortages projected in the next 10 years, and recommendations to address such trends and shortages to prepare the workforce to meet the demands of a clean energy economy; and other recommendations the Secretary determines appropriate.