[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4025 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4025
To direct the Secretary of Energy to establish an initiative to provide
grants to fund the development of resilient energy systems in remote
communities, island communities, and Tribal communities, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 17, 2025
Mr. Case introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Energy to establish an initiative to provide
grants to fund the development of resilient energy systems in remote
communities, island communities, and Tribal communities, and for other
purposes.
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 ``Energy Transitions Initiative
Authorization Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Remote communities, island communities, and Tribal
communities are commonly characterized by the unique challenges
arising from isolation and the resultant difficulties in
achieving economies of scale in the delivery of critical goods
and services.
(2) With respect to energy, such challenges include high
energy costs, limited and non-resilient energy infrastructure,
and increased vulnerability to natural disasters.
(3) Self-sufficient renewable energy solutions are required
to ensure energy security for these communities.
(4) These communities require specialized assistance, which
they have difficulty procuring on their own, in acquiring and
building necessary infrastructure, such as energy storage,
solar energy facilities, hydropower plants, distributed energy
resources, microgrids, and necessary transportation.
(5) Such specialized assistance should be provided in
partnership with remote communities, island communities, and
Tribal communities because their unique expertise and deep
knowledge of local challenges and needs are necessary for the
success of resulting solutions.
SEC. 3. ENERGY TRANSITIONS INITIATIVE GRANT.
(a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Energy shall establish an
initiative to provide grants to eligible entities to fund eligible
projects for the development of resilient energy systems in remote
communities, island communities, and Tribal communities.
(b) Terms.--
(1) Grants.--In carrying out the initiative, the Secretary
may make a grant of not more than $5,000,000 to an eligible
entity for an eligible project.
(2) Cost-share.--The Secretary may not make a grant under
this section in an amount that is more than 90 percent of the
cost of an eligible project.
(c) Technical Assistance.--Upon the request of a grantee, the
Secretary shall provide technical assistance to such grantee for a
period of not less than 1 year and not more than 2 years through the
Energy Transitions Initiative Partnership Program.
(d) GAO Audit.--Not later than 1 year after the establishment of
the initiative described in this section, and annually thereafter, the
Comptroller General of the United States shall--
(1) conduct an audit of the initiative established under
this section to ensure proper use of funds and compliance with
applicable regulations; and
(2) submit a report that includes the results of such audit
and recommendations for improving the efficiency and
effectiveness of the initiative to--
(A) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the
House of Representatives;
(B) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives;
(C) the Committee on Energy and Public Works of the
Senate; and
(D) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate.
(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to the Secretary $31,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026
through 2030 to carry out this section.
(f) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
(1) Alaska native corporation.--The term ``Alaska Native
Corporation'' has the meaning given the term ``Native
Corporation'' in section 3 of the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act (42 U.S.C. 1602).
(2) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means--
(A) a State that includes a remote community, an
island community, or a Tribal community;
(B) a unit of local government serving or that
includes a remote community or an island community;
(C) a Tribal community; or
(D) a community organization that serves a remote
community, an island community, or a Tribal community.
(3) Eligible project.--The term ``eligible project'' means
any of the following projects:
(A) A project to implement energy efficiency
measures in buildings.
(B) A project for a resilient energy system that is
a project to develop--
(i) a hydropower, solar power, wind energy,
geothermal energy, tidal power, or wave energy
system;
(ii) a microgrid; or
(iii) infrastructure necessary for the
transmission and distribution of electricity.
(4) Federally recognized tribe.--The term ``federally
recognized tribe'' has the meaning given the term in section
102(2) of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of
1994 (25 U.S.C. 5130(2)).
(5) Island community.--The term ``island community'' means
a group of individuals living on an area of land isolated from
the mainland by oceans or lakes, that is not connected to a
larger regional grid network, and experiences resilience
challenges, including energy disruptions or threats to
infrastructure from natural disasters.
(6) Native hawaiian organization.--The term ``Native
Hawaiian Organization'' means an organization listed by the
Department of the Interior in the Native Hawaiian Organization
Notification List maintained by the Office of Native Hawaiian
Relations.
(7) Remote community.--The term ``remote community'' means
a group of individuals living in an area isolated from a larger
regional grid network, with limited access to centralized
energy sources due to environmental or geographical
impediments.
(8) Resilient energy system.--The term ``resilient energy
system'' means a facility or equipment that--
(A) can generate and deliver energy; and
(B) can withstand or quickly recover from an energy
disruption.
(9) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the 50 States,
the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands,
Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands.
(10) Tribal community.--The term ``Tribal community'' means
a federally recognized Tribe, an Alaska Native Corporation, or
a Native Hawaiian Organization.
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