[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1870 Introduced in House (IH)]
114th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1870
To authorize Energy Innovation Hubs.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 16, 2015
Mr. Grayson introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize Energy Innovation Hubs.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. ENERGY INNOVATION HUBS.
(a) Authorization of Program.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Energy shall carry out a
program to enhance the Nation's economic, environmental, and
energy security by making awards to consortia for establishing
and operating Energy Innovation Hubs to conduct and support,
whenever practicable at one centralized location,
multidisciplinary, collaborative research, development,
demonstration, and commercial application of advanced energy
technologies.
(2) Technology development focus.--The Secretary shall
designate for each Hub a unique advanced energy technology
focus.
(3) Coordination.--The Secretary shall ensure the
coordination of, and avoid unnecessary duplication of, the
activities of Hubs with those of other Department of Energy
research entities, including the National Laboratories, the
Advanced Research Projects Agency--Energy, Energy Frontier
Research Centers, and within industry.
(b) Consortia.--
(1) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive an award under
this section for the establishment and operation of a Hub, a
consortium shall--
(A) be composed of no fewer than 2 qualifying
entities; and
(B) operate subject to an agreement entered into by
its members that documents--
(i) the proposed partnership agreement,
including the governance and management
structure of the Hub;
(ii) measures to enable cost-effective
implementation of the program under this
section;
(iii) a proposed budget, including
financial contributions from non-Federal
sources;
(iv) a plan for managing intellectual
property rights; and
(v) an accounting structure that enables
the Secretary to ensure that the consortium has
complied with the requirements of this section.
(2) Application.--A consortium seeking to establish and
operate a Hub under this section, acting through a prime
applicant, shall transmit to the Secretary an application at
such time, in such form, and accompanied by such information as
the Secretary shall require, including a detailed description
of the elements of the consortium agreement required under
paragraph (1)(B). If the consortium members will not be located
at one centralized location, such application shall include a
communications plan that ensures close coordination and
integration of the Hub's activities.
(c) Selection and Schedule.--The Secretary shall select consortia
for awards for the establishment and operation of Hubs through
competitive selection processes. In selecting consortia, the Secretary
shall consider the information a consortium must disclose according to
subsection (b), as well as any existing facilities a consortium will
provide for Hub activities. Awards made to a Hub shall be for a period
not to exceed 5 years, after which the award may be renewed, subject to
a rigorous merit review. A Hub already in existence on the date of
enactment of this Act may continue to receive support for a period of 5
years beginning on the date of establishment of that Hub.
(d) Hub Operations.--
(1) In general.--Each Hub shall conduct or provide for
multidisciplinary, collaborative research, development,
demonstration, and, where appropriate, commercial application
of advanced energy technologies within the technology
development focus designated under subsection (a)(2). Each Hub
shall--
(A) encourage collaboration and communication among
the member qualifying entities of the consortium and
awardees by conducting activities whenever practicable
at one centralized location;
(B) develop and publish on the Department of
Energy's website proposed plans and programs;
(C) submit an annual report to the Secretary
summarizing the Hub's activities, including detailing
organizational expenditures, and describing each
project undertaken by the Hub; and
(D) monitor project implementation and
coordination.
(2) Conflicts of interest.--
(A) Procedures.--Hubs shall maintain conflict of
interest procedures, consistent with those of the
Department of Energy, to ensure that employees and
consortia designees for Hub activities who are in
decisionmaking capacities disclose all material
conflicts of interest and avoid such conflicts.
(B) Disqualification and revocation.--The Secretary
may disqualify an application or revoke funds
distributed to a Hub if the Secretary discovers a
failure to comply with conflict of interest procedures
established under subparagraph (A).
(3) Prohibition on construction.--
(A) In general.--No funds provided pursuant to this
section may be used for construction of new buildings
or facilities for Hubs. Construction of new buildings
or facilities shall not be considered as part of the
non-Federal share of a Hub cost-sharing agreement.
(B) Test bed and renovation exception.--Nothing in
this subsection shall prohibit the use of funds
provided pursuant to this section, or non-Federal cost
share funds, for research or for the construction of a
test bed or renovations to existing buildings or
facilities for the purposes of research if the
Secretary determines that the test bed or renovations
are limited to a scope and scale necessary for the
research to be conducted.
(e) Termination.--Consistent with the existing authorities of the
Department, the Secretary may terminate an underperforming Hub for
cause during the performance period.
(f) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
(1) Advanced energy technology.--The term ``advanced energy
technology'' means--
(A) an innovative technology--
(i) that produces energy from solar, wind,
geothermal, biomass, tidal, wave, ocean, or
other renewable energy resources;
(ii) that produces nuclear energy;
(iii) for carbon capture and sequestration;
(iv) that enables advanced vehicles,
vehicle components, and related technologies
that result in significant energy savings;
(v) that generates, transmits, distributes,
utilizes, or stores energy more efficiently
than conventional technologies, including
through Smart Grid technologies; or
(vi) that enhances the energy independence
and security of the United States by enabling
improved or expanded supply and production of
domestic energy resources, including coal, oil,
and natural gas;
(B) research, development, demonstration, and
commercial application activities necessary to ensure
the long-term, secure, and sustainable supply of energy
critical elements; or
(C) another innovative energy technology area
identified by the Secretary.
(2) Energy critical element.--The term ``energy critical
element'' means any of a class of chemical elements that have a
high risk of a supply disruption and are critical to one or
more new, energy-related technologies such that a shortage of
such element would significantly inhibit large-scale deployment
of technologies that produce, transmit, store, or conserve
energy.
(3) Hub.--The term ``Hub'' means an Energy Innovation Hub
established or operating in accordance with this section,
including any Energy Innovation Hub existing as of the date of
enactment of this Act.
(4) Qualifying entity.--The term ``qualifying entity''
means--
(A) an institution of higher education;
(B) an appropriate State or Federal entity,
including the Department of Energy Federally Funded
Research and Development Centers;
(C) a nongovernmental organization with expertise
in advanced energy technology research, development,
demonstration, or commercial application; or
(D) any other relevant entity the Secretary
considers appropriate.
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