Sec. 5. Vehicle-to-Grid Integration (VGI) Demonstration Grant Program
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In this section: The term eligible entity means— an electric utility; a private commercial entity, including vehicle manufacturers; an institution of higher education; a unit of State or local government; a nonprofit organization; and a National Laboratory. The term program means the vehicle-to-grid demonstration grant program established under subsection (b)(1). Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in cooperation with the Secretary of Transportation, shall establish a vehicle-to-grid integration demonstration grant program of research, development, and demonstration activities— to advance the co-optimization of electrified transportation and electricity systems, including by identifying ways to increase the resilience, efficiency, and environmental performance of the electric grid and the transportation system; to advance the technical understanding of— the manner in which vehicle charging systems are controlled and optimized, including by advancing vehicle and charging station telemetry and embedded metrology; and the practices of transmitting secure data over the Internet, a utility system, or other mechanism, with a means for implementation, such as a standard; to optimize electric vehicles for the integration of renewable energy technologies and the reduction of greenhouse gases and other pollutants; to investigate the technical, economic, and legal details of using fleet, transit, and municipal vehicle batteries for a range of electric grid services, including— demand response; frequency regulation and other ancillary services; and energy output, or full-scale vehicle-to-electric grid, operations; to investigate the co-optimization of the electrification of transportation with advancements in autonomous vehicles and the use of vehicles for ride sharing, including by— studying consumer participation and other behavioral challenges, including incentives that promote co-optimization; and researching challenges and opportunities relating to the optimization of electric grid operations in the context of autonomous vehicle and ride-sharing usage patterns, including the use of energy storage in charging systems; to investigate, in collaboration with the Commission, approaches to the aggregation, wholesale electricity marketing, and, to the maximum extent practicable, retail electricity marketing of electric grid services provided by electric vehicles, including research into the use of transactive energy systems as a means of enabling vehicle-electric grid integration; to implement innovative consumer marketing and contracting models, including pricing approaches (including consumer access to wholesale market pricing signals), that co-optimize transportation benefits and electric grid benefits, including by maximizing the value of the vehicle services to the electric grid while also maximizing value to the consumer (including by maximizing the flexibility of use of the vehicle to the driver or rider); to investigate and implement user-friendly electric vehicle and related equipment financing models linked to the marketing of electric grid services, including the means by which the electric grid services provided by an electric vehicle can help finance the cost of the vehicle; to investigate and implement programs to improve the access to, and affordability of, electric vehicles for low-income populations; to advance best practices for manufacturers of electric vehicles, charging equipment, and systems; and to embed those practices in programs and grant opportunities of the Department of Energy to leverage competitive market electric vehicle products and incentivize more rapid and widespread adoption; to assist electric utilities and transit agencies in collaboratively planning an electrified fleet; to investigate the use of fleet, transit, and municipal vehicle batteries as power sources for community shelter facilities during emergencies; to develop analytical tools and financial models to assist electric utilities and transit agencies in assessing electric utility and infrastructure requirements to support selected transit vehicle technologies and charging profiles, including analytic tools— to optimize the total cost of ownership; to develop electrification route maps and transition plans, with quantitative estimates of the population-weighted reductions in pollutant exposure from electrification of specific routes, including criteria pollutants and new pollutants of concern; and to articulate the strategy and timelines for transitioning to zero-emission vehicles; to investigate scenarios for the sharing of battery assets for the purpose of maximizing cost-performance and battery use, including— scenarios that optimize shared usage between transit agencies and electric utilities over the lifecycle of the battery; incentives for an entity (such as an electric utility) to provide funding to reduce initial premium costs by— owning the battery of a transit agency transit vehicle; and charging the battery using smart charging; and enabling the entity to reposition the battery into stationary use after the battery has served the expected life of the battery in mobility use; to develop a methodology for modeling load increases expected from electrifying the transportation sector; and to investigate the deployment of electric vehicle technologies and charging infrastructure within scalable and integrated energy management systems as part of community energy infrastructure development.
As soon as practicable after the date of enactment of this Act, in carrying out the activities under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall consult with stakeholders, including— vehicle manufacturers, including— manufactures of light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicles; and transit vehicle manufacturers; electric utilities, such as investor-owned electric utilities, publicly owned electric utilities, and electric cooperatives; third-party energy service providers; transit agencies; fleet operators; private companies, including energy technology manufacturers and battery manufacturers; other Federal agencies; the National Laboratories;
States; tribal governments; units of local government; nonprofit organizations; institutions of higher education; electric vehicle supply equipment and charging infrastructure manufacturers; and battery manufacturers. The program shall include grants for projects relating to— light-duty consumer vehicles; fleet and municipal vehicles; and transit vehicles. To be eligible to receive a grant under the program, an eligible entity shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require, including a commitment by the eligible entity to participate in a working group in accordance with section 9(a) relating to light-duty consumer vehicles or fleet and municipal vehicles and transit vehicles, as appropriate.
An eligible entity shall submit as part of the application required under paragraph
(1)a proposal that includes— an interoperability plan for the proposed project; a cybersecurity plan for the proposed project; a privacy plan for the proposed project, including a provision relating to— the protection of the privacy of individual customer information; the secure storage, handling, and destruction of data; and the access of energy use data by third parties; and a plan for leveraging existing market product offerings. There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section— for projects relating to light-duty consumer vehicles, $20,000,000; and for projects relating to fleet and municipal vehicles and transit vehicles, $20,000,000. Amounts made available under paragraph
(1)shall remain available for a period of 10 years following the fiscal year for which the amounts were appropriated.