Sec. 3. Regional Clean Energy Innovation Program
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Subtitle C of title IX of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 is amended by adding at the end the following: 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 a consortium of institutions of higher education; 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; a multi-institutional collaboration; or any other entity that the Secretary determines to be relevant. The term Department means the Department of Energy. The term program means the Regional Clean Energy Innovation Program authorized in subsection (b). The term Secretary means the Secretary of the Department of Energy. The Secretary shall establish a Regional Clean Energy Innovation Program, a research, development, demonstration, and commercial application program designed to enhance the economic, environmental, and energy security of the United States and accelerate the pace of innovation of diverse clean energy technologies through the formation or support of regional clean energy innovation partnerships that— account for the diverse domestic energy resources available throughout the United States; are responsive to the needs of industry, workforce, policy landscape, and clean energy innovation capabilities of the region 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 maximize the opportunities for cooperation between institutes of higher education, industry, State and local governments, and nonprofit research institutions with shared areas of energy expertise. The purposes of the Program established under subsection
(b)are to— improve the competitiveness of United States clean energy technology research, development, demonstration, and commercial application; and support the development of tools and technologies best suited for use in diverse regions of the United States, including in rural, tribal, and low-income communities. 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, or technology transfer; planning among participants of a regional clean energy innovation partnership to improve the strategic and cost-effective 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 regional clean energy innovation 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; a plan for sustaining activities of the regional clean energy innovation partnership after funds received under this program have been expended; and a proposed budget, including financial contributions from non-Federal sources. In selecting covered consortia for funding under the Program, the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable— give special consideration to applications from rural, tribal, and low-income communities; 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 shall be for a period of not longer than 5 years. A grant awarded 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). Consistent with the existing authorities of the Department, the Secretary may terminate grant funding under this subsection to covered consortia during the performance period if the Secretary determines that the regional clean energy innovation partnership is underperforming. 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 subsection (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 subsection (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 shall coordinate with, and avoid unnecessary duplication of, the activities carried out under this section with the activities of— other research entities of the Department, including the National Laboratories, the Office of Science, the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, the Office of Technology Transitions, Energy Innovation Hubs, and Energy Frontier Research Centers; and 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 of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act ( 15 U.S.C. 278k ); the Manufacturing USA Program under section 34 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. In carrying out the program, the Secretary shall maintain conflict of interest procedures, consistent with the conflict of interest procedures of the Department. 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 established or supported by covered consortia 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 the National Laboratory. In carrying out the activities under this section, the Secretary shall ensure proper security controls are in place to protect sensitive information, as appropriate. No funds provided to the Department of Energy under this section shall be used for construction. There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026. .
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