[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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