[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3606 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3606
To establish the National Institutes of Clean Energy.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 28, 2021
Mr. Levin of Michigan (for himself, Mr. Huffman, and Mr. Brendan F.
Boyle of Pennsylvania) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish the National Institutes of Clean Energy.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``National Institutes of Clean Energy
Act of 2021''.
SEC. 2. NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF CLEAN ENERGY.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Advanced energy technology.--The term ``advanced energy
technology'' means a technology that--
(A) reduces greenhouse gas emissions with high
conversion efficiency;
(B) minimizes energy, water, and material resource
use;
(C) was produced by or helps generate a renewable
energy source; and
(D) minimizes environmental harms to or negative
public health impacts on frontline, vulnerable, and
disadvantaged communities.
(2) Frontline, vulnerable, and disadvantaged community.--
The term ``frontline, vulnerable, and disadvantaged community''
means a community--
(A) in an area described in section 301(a) of the
Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 (42
U.S.C. 3161(a)); and
(B) in which climate change, pollution, or
environmental destruction have exacerbated systemic
racial, regional, social, environmental, gender, and
economic injustices by disproportionately affecting
Black, Brown, and Indigenous peoples, other communities
of color, migrant communities, deindustrialized
communities, depopulated rural communities, the poor,
low-income workers, women, the elderly, the unhoused,
people with disabilities, or youth.
(3) Institutes.--The term ``Institutes'' means the National
Institutes of Clean Energy established under subsection (b).
(4) Land-grant college or university.--The term ``land-
grant college or university'' means--
(A) an institution that is eligible to receive
funds under the Act of July 2, 1862 (commonly known as
the ``First Morrill Act'') (12 Stat. 503, chapter 130;
7 U.S.C. 301 et seq.), or the Act of August 30, 1890
(commonly known as the ``Second Morrill Act'') (26
Stat. 417, chapter 841; 7 U.S.C. 321 et seq.),
including Tuskegee University; and
(B) a 1994 Institution (as defined in section 532
of the Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of
1994 (7 U.S.C. 301 note; Public Law 103-382)).
(5) Minority-serving institution.--The term ``minority-
serving institution'' means an institution of higher education
described in section 371(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 1067q(a)).
(6) Renewable energy source.--The term ``renewable energy
source'' means energy generated from a renewable source,
including the following renewable energy sources:
(A) Solar, including electricity.
(B) Wind.
(C) Ocean, including tidal, wave, current, and
thermal.
(D) Geothermal, including electricity and heat
pumps.
(E) Hydroelectric generation capacity achieved from
increased efficiency or additions of new capacity at an
existing hydroelectric project that was placed in
service on or after January 1, 1999.
(F) Hydrogen derived from a renewable energy
source.
(G) Thermal energy generated by any of the sources
described in subparagraphs (A) through (F).
(b) Establishment.--Not later than January 1, 2025, there shall be
established the National Institutes of Clean Energy, which shall be an
agency of the Department of Energy.
(c) Activities.--
(1) In general.--The Institutes shall--
(A) invest in clean energy science, climate
science, innovation, and research and development to
reduce emissions and build climate resilience; and
(B) support--
(i) clean energy research areas,
including--
(I) demonstration projects for
clean energy and climate research and
development priorities, including
microgrids, energy storage, electric
vehicles, and advanced energy
technologies in hard-to-decarbonize
sectors, such as the aviation and
shipping sectors; and
(II) clean energy research areas
that are underrepresented in existing
Federal research and development
funding, such as long-duration grid
storage;
(ii) research and development projects
focusing on the impacts of energy production in
frontline communities, including communities of
color and low-income communities, that have
been disproportionately impacted by
environmental injustices; and
(iii) research and development projects
focused on impacts of clean energy and energy
production on job loss, job creation, and
workforce development, particularly in heavily
unionized workforce sectors.
(2) Priority.--In carrying out paragraph (1), the
Institutes shall give priority to--
(A) the development of technologies that will--
(i) minimize environmental harms to or
negative public health impacts on frontline,
vulnerable, and disadvantaged communities;
(ii) improve the public health of
frontline, vulnerable, and disadvantaged
communities; or
(iii) create high-quality jobs with strong
labor standards in frontline, vulnerable, and
disadvantaged communities;
(B) research and development of advanced energy
technologies;
(C) climate science and innovation and clean energy
technology;
(D) research and development that will be conducted
at--
(i) public universities and colleges;
(ii) land-grant colleges and universities;
(iii) minority-serving institutions,
including historically Black colleges and
universities; and
(iv) consortia comprising 1 or more of the
entities described in clauses (i) through
(iii); and
(E) research and development in geographic areas
that have seen the worst job losses between 2016 and
2021, including rural areas and areas impacted by
deindustrialization.
(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated $400,000,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2022
through 2031 to establish and operate the Institutes.
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