Sec. 8101. Regional clean energy innovation program
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In this section: The term regional clean energy innovation partnership means a group of one or more persons, including a covered consortium, who perform a collection of activities that are coordinated by such covered consortium to carry out the purposes of the program under subsection
(c)in a region of the United States. The term covered consortium means an individual or group of individuals in partnership with a government entity, including a State, local, or tribal government or unit of such government, and at least 2 or more of the following additional entities— an institution of higher education or higher education consortium; a workforce training provider, including vocational schools and community colleges; a private sector entity; a nonprofit organization; a community group; a labor group; a National Laboratory; a venture development organization; an organization focused on clean energy technology innovation or entrepreneurship; a business accelerator or incubator; a private sector entity or group of entities, including a trade or industry association; an economic development organization; a manufacturing facility or organization; a clean energy incubator or accelerator; or any other entity that the Secretary determines to be relevant. The term program means the Regional Clean Energy Innovation Program authorized in subsection (b). The term frontline community means a community with significant representation of communities of color, low-income communities, or Tribal and indigenous communities, that experiences, or is at risk of experiencing higher or more adverse human health or environmental effects. The Secretary shall establish a Regional Clean Energy Innovation Program designed to accelerate the pace of innovation of clean energy technologies through the formation or support of regional clean energy innovation partnerships that— are responsive to the energy resources, needs of industry, workforce, policy landscape, and clean energy innovation capabilities of the region of the country in which such partnership is located; enhance and accelerate clean energy innovation; are located in diverse geographic regions of the United States, including United States territories; and improve economic development outcomes in economically distressed areas. The purposes of the program established under subsection
(a)are to— improve the competitiveness of United States’ clean energy technology research, development, demonstration, and commercial application; to identify and leverage the competitive strengths of and address clean energy challenges that are particular to diverse geographic regions of the United States to stimulate innovation in clean energy technologies; support the development of clean energy innovation companies in diverse geographic regions of the United States; promote the economic development of and enhance the economic resilience of diverse geographic regions of the United States; support the development of tools and technologies best suited for use in low-income and frontline communities; and support the development of manufacturing capabilities and supply chains relevant to clean energy technologies in the United States. The Secretary shall competitively award grants to covered consortia to establish or support regional clean energy innovation partnerships that achieve the purposes of the program in subsection (c). Grants awarded under this subsection shall be used for activities determined appropriate by the Secretary to achieve the purposes of the program in subsection (c), including— facilitating the commercial application of clean energy products, processes, and services, including through research, development, demonstration, technology transfer, or support of clean energy companies; planning among participants of a regional clean energy innovation partnership to improve the strategic coordination of the partnership; improving stakeholder involvement in the development of goals and activities of a regional clean energy innovation partnership; assessing different incentive mechanisms for clean energy development and commercial application in the region; hosting events and conferences; and establishing and updating roadmaps to measure progress on relevant goals, such as those relevant to metrics developed under subsection (g). Each application submitted to the Secretary under paragraph
(1)may include— a list of members and roles of members of the covered consortia, as well as any other stakeholders supporting the activities of the regional clean energy innovation partnership; a description of the proposed outcomes of the regional clean energy innovation partnership; an assessment of the relevant clean energy innovation assets needed in a region to achieve proposed outcomes, such as education and training programs, research facilities, infrastructure or site development, access to capital, manufacturing capabilities, or other assets; a description of proposed activities that the regional clean energy innovation partnership plans to undertake and how the proposed activities will achieve the purposes described in subsection
(c)and the proposed outcomes in subparagraph (B); a description of the geographical region that will engage in the partnership; a plan for attracting additional funds and identification of funding sources from non-Federal sources to deliver the proposed outcomes of the regional clean energy innovation partnership; and a plan for sustaining activities of the regional clean energy innovation partnership after funds received under this program have been expended. In selecting covered consortia for funding under the program, the Secretary shall— give special consideration to applications from entities located in an economically distressed area; and ensure that there is geographic diversity among the covered consortia selected to receive funding. Grants given out under this Program shall be in an amount not greater than $10,000,000, with the total grant award in any year less than that in the previous year. For grants that are disbursed over the course of three or more years, the Secretary shall require, as a condition of receipt of funds under this section, that a covered consortium provide not less than 50 percent of the funding for the activities of the regional clean energy partnership under this section for years 3, 4, and 5. Each grant under paragraph
(1)shall be for a period of not longer than 5 years. A grant award made to a regional clean energy innovation partnership under this section may be renewed for a period of not more than 5 years, subject to a rigorous merit review based on the progress of a regional clean energy innovation partnership towards achieving the purposes of the program in subsection
(c)and the metrics developed under subsection (g). The Secretary may allow a covered consortium that receives funds under this section to allocate a portion of the funding received to be used for administrative or indirect costs. The Secretary may accept funds from other Federal agencies to support funding and activities under this section. The Secretary may competitively award grants in an amount no greater than $2,000,000 for a period not longer than 2 years to an entity consisting of a government entity, including a State, local, or tribal government or unit of such government or any entity listed under subsection (a)(2) to plan a regional clean energy innovation partnership or establish a covered consortium for the purpose of applying for funds under subsection (b). As part of the program, the Secretary shall support the gathering, analysis, and dissemination of information on best practices for developing and operating successful regional clean energy innovation partnerships. In evaluating a grant renewals under section (d)(8), the Secretary shall work with program evaluation experts to develop and make publicly available metrics to assess the progress of a regional clean energy innovation partnership towards achieving the purposes of the program in section (c). Such metrics may include— the number and quality of— new clean energy companies created in the region as a result of activities carried out under the regional clean energy innovation partnership; new or expanded workforce development or training programs; and support services provided to clean energy technology developers in the region. changes in clean energy employment in the region as a result of activities carried out under the regional clean energy innovation partnership ; and the amount of capital investment in clean energy companies in the region as a result of activities carried out under the regional clean energy innovation partnership grant. In carrying out the program, the Secretary may coordinate with relevant programs at other Federal agencies, including— the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship under the Economic Development Administration, including the Regional Innovation Program under section 27 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 ( 15 U.S.C. 3722 ); the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program under section 25(a) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act ( 15 U.S.C. 278k ); the Manufacturing USA Program under section 34(a) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act ( 15 U.S.C. 278s ); the Defense Manufacturing Communities Support Program under section 846 of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 ( 10 U.S.C. 2501 note); and the Office of Economic Adjustment at the Department of Defense. Not later than 3 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 3 years thereafter, the Comptroller General shall submit to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate an evaluation on the operation of the program during the most recent 3-year period, including— an assessment of the progress made towards achieving the purposes specified in subsection
(c)based on the metrics developed under subsection (g); the short-term and long-term metrics used to determine the success of the program under subsection (g), and any changes recommended to the metrics used; the regional clean energy innovation partnerships that have received grants under subsection (d); and any recommendations on how the program may be improved. In supporting technology transfer activities at the National Laboratories, the Secretary shall encourage partnerships with entities that are located in the same region or State as a National Laboratory. There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025.
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