Sec. 2. Program to encourage deployment of electric school buses and vehicle-to-everything technologies and applications
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In this section: The term electric school bus means a school bus that is propelled— to a significant extent, as determined by the Secretary, by an electric motor that— draws electricity from a battery; and is capable of being recharged from an external source of electricity; and by any necessary components or equipment required to facilitate electric-powered school bus operations. The term eligible entity means— any person (including any company or other entity) or State, local, or Tribal entity that sells electric energy, including— an electric utility, including— a local distribution company or utility; and an electric cooperative; a municipality; and a retail marketer of electricity; a State public utilities commission; a third-party energy efficiency program administrator; a school bus manufacturer; a public or private school district; a supplier of charging infrastructure; a developer, provider, owner, or operator of solar, wind, or other renewable or distributed energy resources; a third-party school bus fleet or charging operator; any other entity, including a partnership, that the Secretary determines to be appropriate; and any partnership or consortium of entities described in any of subparagraphs
(A)through (I). The term Indian Tribe has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act ( 25 U.S.C. 5304 ). The term National Laboratory has the meaning given the term in section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 ( 42 U.S.C. 15801 ). The term Program means the program established under subsection (b)(1). The term project partner , with respect to a project for which a grant is sought or provided under the Program, means an eligible entity that is a member of a partnership or consortium described in paragraph (2)(J) with respect to that project. The term Regional Transmission Organization has the meaning given the term in section 3 of the Federal Power Act ( 16 U.S.C. 796 ). The term Secretary means the Secretary of Energy. Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish a program to encourage the deployment of vehicle-to-grid and vehicle-to-everything technologies and applications, as described in paragraph (2), including, at a minimum, a vehicle capable of discharging at least 10 kilowatts of power to bidirectional electric vehicle supply equipment that provides alternating current power to an electrical circuit, by providing grants to eligible entities for projects that include the use of not fewer than 1 electric school bus with bidirectional energy flow capabilities for an application described in that paragraph. An application referred to in paragraph
(1)is— a vehicle-to-grid application, such as— provision of a distribution-level service or participation in a distribution-level program; provision of wholesale market services, such as capacity, energy, and ancillary services; provision of microgrid services; or aggregations of vehicle-to-grid applications that provide distribution-level service, wholesale market services, or microgrid services; a vehicle-to-building application; or any other resilience or other application, as determined to be appropriate by the Secretary. In providing grants under the Program, the Secretary shall give priority to projects that, in the determination of the Secretary, are likely to be economically self-sustaining and replicable once established. The Secretary, to the maximum extent practicable in accordance with the priority required to be established under subparagraph (A), shall provide grants under the Program for projects across differing situations, including in a region that is experiencing congestion, shortages, transmission system constraints, or distribution system constraints that cause the cost of electricity to increase for consumers. An eligible entity desiring a grant 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, subject to this paragraph. An application submitted under subparagraph
(A)shall demonstrate how the assistance requested under the Program would help the 1 or more eligible entities submitting the application to participate in economically justifiable opportunities that recognize bidirectional electric vehicle charging as a relevant technology, including existing electric utility or Regional Transmission Organization tariffs, programs, initiatives, policies, arrangements, or other opportunities that recognize bidirectional electric vehicle charging as a relevant technology. An application submitted under subparagraph
(A)shall include a certification that any project described in the application and proposed to be carried out using a grant provided under the Program will comply with all applicable interconnection rules. Amounts provided to an eligible entity pursuant to a grant under the Program may be used for— acquiring and installing bidirectional charging stations and interconnection upgrades necessary for bidirectional energy flow; retrofitting buildings, parking facilities, and school buses for bidirectional charging; acquiring and installing any necessary metering and telemetry equipment or systems; acquiring technical assistance from the Department of Energy, National Laboratories, or other parties with relevant expertise for any participating project partners; and any application directly related to establishing, sustaining, and optimizing bidirectional energy flow, as the Secretary determines to be appropriate. Amounts provided to an eligible entity pursuant to a grant under the Program shall be used in a manner that corresponds specifically to the incremental additional cost of implementing 1 or more applications described in paragraph
(2)as compared to the costs associated with the acquisition, demonstration, or use of a typical electric school bus, as determined by the Secretary. Subject to clause (ii), an eligible entity receiving a grant under the Program shall use not less than 1 percent of the amounts received for outreach that is directed at the communities and bus users receiving or benefitting from those amounts, for the purpose of increasing awareness of the benefits of grid-integrated school buses and how grid-integrated school buses will be used. The Secretary may waive the requirement described in clause
(i)if the Secretary determines that the outreach described in that clause is unnecessary or would be of minimal benefit to the overall goal of sustained technological deployment. An eligible entity receiving a grant under the Program shall ensure that amounts derived from non-Federal sources are provided for the projects funded by the grant in a total amount that is equal to, or greater than, the amount of the grant. Of the total amount appropriated to carry out the Program, the Secretary shall use not less than 1 percent for outreach to potentially interested eligible entities, including eligible entities participating in, or with a demonstrated interest in, the clean school bus program established under section 741 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 ( 42 U.S.C. 16091 ). An eligible entity receiving a grant under the Program shall demonstrate to the Secretary that any school district participating in the applicable project is appropriately compensated for that participation in a manner approved by the Secretary, which may include— the provision of direct financial compensation to the school district; the provision or acquisition of electric school buses for the school district; or savings resulting from the implementation of an application described in paragraph (2). An eligible entity receiving a grant under the Program shall annually submit to the Secretary data from vehicles, chargers, and associated grid infrastructure necessary to determine operational and economic impacts, and additional data as determined to be necessary by the Secretary. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary may provide a grant under the Program for applicable projects, programs, or activities for which amounts are provided under the clean school bus program established under section 741 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 ( 42 U.S.C. 16091 ), and to eligible entities receiving amounts under that program, subject to all applicable requirements of this section. Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report summarizing any existing pilot programs, including State-funded and locally funded pilot programs, involving the use of school buses for the applications described in subsection (b)(2), including— any best practices, challenges, lessons learned, and promising future directions discernable from those pilot programs and applications; any challenges, opportunities, and strategies unique to the implementation of those applications in rural areas; any challenges to the commercial viability of those applications posed by State, Federal, or other regulatory barriers; and any challenges to the economic viability of projects involving those applications; and any opportunities and strategies to make projects involving those applications economically viable. There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section $500,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2022 through 2026.
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Sec. 2
Program to encourage deployment of electric school buses and vehicle-to-everything technologies and applications
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