[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2365 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2365

To authorize Department of Energy programs to develop and implement an 
 accelerated research and development program for advanced clean coal 
 technologies for use in coal-based electricity generating facilities, 
so as to allow coal to help meet the growing need of the United States 
   for the generation of clean, reliable, and affordable electricity.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 28, 2001

 Mr. Costello (for himself, Mr. Akin, Mr. Whitfield, Mr. Mollohan, Mr. 
   Boucher, Mr. Shimkus, Mrs. Capito, Mr. Phelps, and Mr. Lipinski) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                                Science

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize Department of Energy programs to develop and implement an 
 accelerated research and development program for advanced clean coal 
 technologies for use in coal-based electricity generating facilities, 
so as to allow coal to help meet the growing need of the United States 
   for the generation of clean, reliable, and affordable electricity.

    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 Electricity and 
Environmental Technology Research and Development Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) reliable, affordable, increasingly clean electricity 
        will continue to power the growing United States economy;
            (2) an increasing use of electrotechnologies, the desire 
        for continuous environmental improvement, a more competitive 
        electricity market, and concerns about rising energy prices add 
        importance to the need for reliable, affordable, increasingly 
        clean electricity;
            (3) coal, which, as of the date of enactment of this Act, 
        accounts for more than \1/2\ of all electricity generated in 
        the United States, is the most abundant fossil energy resource 
        of the United States;
            (4) coal comprises more than 85 percent of all fossil 
        resources in the United States and exists in quantities 
        sufficient to supply the United States for 250 years at current 
        usage rates;
            (5) investments in electricity generating facility 
        emissions control technology over the past 30 years have 
        reduced the aggregate emissions of pollutants from coal-based 
        generating facilities by 21 percent, even as coal use for 
        electricity generation has nearly tripled;
            (6) continuous improvement in efficiency and environmental 
        performance from electricity generating facilities would allow 
        continued use of coal and preserve less abundant energy 
        resources for other energy uses;
            (7) new technologies for converting coal into electricity 
        can effectively eliminate health-threatening emissions and 
        improve efficiency by as much as 50 percent, but initial 
        commercial deployment of new coal generation technologies 
        entails significant risk that generators may be unable to 
        accept in a newly competitive electricity market; and
            (8) continued environmental improvement in coal-based 
        generation through continued research, development, and 
        demonstration toward an ultimate goal of near-zero emissions is 
        important and desirable.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Cost and performance goals.--The term ``cost and 
        performance goals'' means the cost and performance goals 
        established under section 4.
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Energy.

SEC. 4. TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall perform an assessment that 
establishes cost and performance goals with respect to technologies 
that would permit the continued cost-competitive use of coal for 
electricity generation, as chemical feedstocks, and as transportation 
fuel in 2007, 2015, and 2020.
    (b) Consultation.--In establishing the cost and performance goals, 
the Secretary shall consult with representatives of--
            (1) the United States coal industry;
            (2) State coal development agencies;
            (3) the electric utility industry;
            (4) railroads and other transportation industries;
            (5) manufacturers of equipment using advanced coal 
        technologies;
            (6) organizations representing workers;
            (7) organizations formed to--
                    (A) promote the use of coal;
                    (B) further the goals of environmental protection; 
                and
                    (C) promote the development and use of advanced 
                coal technologies; and
            (8) other appropriate Federal and State agencies.
    (c) Timing.--The Secretary shall--
            (1) not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of 
        this Act, issue a set of draft cost and performance goals for 
        public comment; and
            (2) not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 
        this Act, after taking into consideration any public comments 
        received, submit to Congress the final cost and performance 
        goals.

SEC. 5. STUDY.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, and once every 2 years thereafter through 2016, the 
Secretary, in cooperation with the Secretary of the Interior and the 
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, shall transmit to 
the Congress a report containing the results of a study to--
            (1) identify technologies that, by themselves or in 
        combination with other technologies, may be capable of 
        achieving the cost and performance goals;
            (2) assess the costs that would be incurred by, and the 
        period of time that would be required for,  the development and 
demonstration of technologies that, by themselves or in combination 
with other technologies, contribute to the achievement of the cost and 
performance goals;
            (3) develop recommendations for technology development 
        programs, which the Department of Energy could carry out in 
        cooperation with industry, to develop and demonstrate 
        technologies that, by themselves or in combination with other 
        technologies, achieve the cost and performance goals; and
            (4) develop recommendations for additional authorities 
        required to achieve the cost and performance goals.
    (b) Expert Advice.--In carrying out this section, the Secretary 
shall give due weight to the expert advice of representatives of the 
entities described in section 4(b).

SEC. 6. TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall carry out a program of 
research on and development, demonstration, and commercial application 
of coal-based technologies under--
            (1) this Act;
            (2) the Federal Nonnuclear Energy Research and Development 
        Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5901 et seq.);
            (3) the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5801 
        et seq.); and
            (4) title XIII of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 
        13331 et seq.).
    (b) Conditions.--The research, development, demonstration, and 
commercial application program described in subsection (a) shall be 
designed to achieve the cost and performance goals.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated to the 
Secretary to carry out sections 4, 5, and 6, $100,000,000 for each of 
the fiscal years 2002 through 2012, to remain available until expended.
    (b) Conditions of Authorization.--The authorization of 
appropriations under subsection (a)--
            (1) shall be in addition to authorizations of 
        appropriations in effect on the date of enactment of this Act; 
        and
            (2) shall not be a cap on Department of Energy fossil 
        energy research and development and clean coal technology 
        appropriations.

SEC. 8. CLEAN COAL POWER COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS INITIATIVE.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish a clean coal power 
commercial applications initiative that will demonstrate commercial 
applications of advanced coal-based technologies applicable to new or 
existing power plants, including coproduction plants.
    (b) Requirements.--The technologies to be demonstrated under the 
initiative--
            (1) shall be technologies that, by themselves or in 
        combination with other technologies, advance efficiency, 
        environmental performance, and cost competitiveness well beyond 
        that which is in operation or has been demonstrated as of the 
        date of enactment of this Act; and
            (2) may include technologies that have not previously been 
        envisioned for commercial applications.
    (c) Plan.--Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary shall transmit to Congress a plan to carry out 
subsection (a) that includes a description of--
            (1) the program elements and management structure to be 
        used;
            (2) the technical milestones to be achieved with respect to 
        each of the advanced coal-based technologies included in the 
        plan; and
            (3) the demonstration activities proposed to be conducted 
        at facilities that serve or are located at new or existing 
        coal-based electric generation units having at least 50 
        megawatts nameplate rating, including improvements to allow the 
        units to achieve 1 or more of the following:
                    (A) An overall design efficiency improvement of not 
                less than 3 percent as compared with the efficiency of 
                the unit as operated as of the date of enactment of 
                this Act and before any retrofit, repowering, 
                replacement, or installation.
                    (B) A significant improvement in, or new 
                alternative technology to enhance, the environmental 
                performance related to the control of sulfur dioxide, 
                nitrogen oxide, or mercury in a manner that is 
                different and well below the cost of technologies that 
                are in operation or have been demonstrated as of the 
                date of enactment of this Act.
                    (C) A means of recycling or reusing a significant 
                portion of coal combustion or gasification wastes or 
                byproducts produced by coal-based generating units, 
                excluding practices that are commercially available as 
                of the date of enactment of this Act.
                    (D) A means to capture, separate, and reuse or 
                dispose of carbon dioxide that is different and well 
                below the cost of technologies that are in operation or 
                have been demonstrated as of the date of enactment of 
                this Act.

SEC. 9. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date on which 
the Secretary transmits to Congress the plan under section 8(c), the 
Secretary shall solicit proposals for projects that serve or are 
located at new or existing facilities designed to achieve 1 or more of 
the levels of performance set forth in section 8(c)(3).
    (b) Project Criteria.--A solicitation under subsection (a) may 
include solicitation of a proposal for a project to demonstrate--
            (1) an overall design efficiency improvement of not less 3 
        percentage points as compared with the efficiency of the unit 
        as operated as of the date of enactment of this Act and with no 
        increase in the potential to emit sulfur dioxide, nitrogen 
        oxide, particulate matter, mercury, or carbon monoxide;
            (2) a reduction of emissions to a level of not more than--
                    (A)(i) in the case of sulfur dioxide--
                            (I) in the case of coal with a potential 
                        combustion concentration sulfur emission of 1.2 
                        or more pounds per million British thermal 
                        units of heat input, 5 percent of the potential 
                        combustion concentration sulfur dioxide 
                        emissions; or
                            (II) in the case of a coal with a potential 
                        combustion concentration of less than 1.2 
                        pounds of per million British thermal units of 
                        heat input, 15 percent of the potential 
                        combustion concentration of sulfur dioxide 
                        emissions;
                    (ii) in the case of nitrogen oxide--
                            (I) in the case of a boiler other than a 
                        cyclone-fired boiler, emissions of 0.1 pound 
                        per million British thermal units of heat; or
                            (II) in the case of a cyclone-fired boiler, 
                        15 percent of the uncontrolled nitrogen oxide 
                        emissions from the boiler; or
                    (iii) in the case of particulate matter, emissions 
                of 0.02 pound per million British thermal units of heat 
                input; or
                    (B) the emission levels for the pollutants 
                identified in subparagraph (A) that are specified in 
                the new source performance standards of the Clean Air 
                Act (42 U.S.C. 7411) in effect at the time of 
                construction, installation, or retrofitting of the 
                advanced coal-based technology for the category of 
                source if they are lower than the levels specified in 
                subparagraph (A); or
            (3) the production of coal combustion byproducts that are 
        capable of obtaining economic values significantly greater than 
        byproducts produced as of the date of enactment of this Act 
        with no increase in the potential to emit sulfur dioxide, 
        nitrogen oxide, particulate matter, mercury, or carbon 
        monoxide.
    (c) Financial Assistance.--The Secretary shall provide financial 
assistance to projects that--
            (1) demonstrate overall cost reductions in the utilization 
        of coal to generate useful forms of energy;
            (2) improve the competitiveness of coal among various forms 
        of energy in order to maintain a diversity of fuel choices in 
        the United States to meet electricity generation requirements;
            (3) achieve, in a cost-effective manner, 1 or more of the 
        criteria described in the solicitation; and
            (4) demonstrate technologies that are applicable to 25 
        percent of the electricity generating facilities that use coal 
        as the primary feedstock as of the date of enactment of this 
        Act.
    (d) Federal Share.--The Federal share of the cost of a project 
funded under this section shall not exceed 50 percent.
    (e) Funding.--
            (1) Authorization of appropriations.--Except as provided in 
        paragraph (2), there are authorized to be appropriated to the 
        Secretary to carry out this section $100,000,000 for each of 
        the fiscal years 2002 through 2012, to remain available until 
        expended.
            (2) Alternative funding sources.--To carry out this 
        section, the Secretary may use any unobligated funds available 
        to the Secretary for fossil energy programs, and any funds 
        obligated to any project selected under the clean coal 
        technology program that become unobligated. Appropriations 
        under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year shall be reduced by the 
        amount of any funds used under this paragraph.
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