[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2782 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2782

  To provide for a program of wind energy research, development, and 
                 demonstration, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 1, 2011

  Mr. Tonko introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
              Committee on Science, Space, and Technology

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To provide for a program of wind energy research, development, and 
                 demonstration, 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 ``Wind Energy Research and Development 
Act of 2011''.

SEC. 2. WIND ENERGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Energy shall carry out a program 
of research and development to--
            (1) improve the energy efficiency, reliability, and 
        capacity of wind turbines;
            (2) optimize the design and adaptability of wind energy 
        systems to the broadest practical range of atmospheric 
        conditions; and
            (3) reduce the cost of construction, generation, and 
        maintenance of wind energy systems.
    (b) Program.--The program under this section shall focus on 
research and development of--
            (1) new materials and designs to make larger, lighter, less 
        expensive, and more reliable and longer lifecycle rotor blades;
            (2) technologies to improve gearbox performance, 
        reliability, and lifecycle;
            (3) automation, materials, and assembly of large-scale 
        components to reduce manufacturing costs;
            (4) low-cost transportable towers greater than 100 meters 
        in height to capitalize on improved wind conditions at higher 
        elevations;
            (5) wind technology for offshore applications, including 
        improvement of analysis, testing, verification, and 
        certification to reduce up front time and cost;
            (6) advanced computational modeling tools to improve--
                    (A) the reliability of aeroelastic simulations of 
                wind energy systems;
                    (B) understanding of the interaction between each 
                wind turbine component;
                    (C) understanding the loads and lifecycle of each 
                wind turbine component;
                    (D) siting of wind energy systems to maximize 
                efficiency and minimize variable generation;
                    (E) integration of wind energy systems into the 
                existing electric grid to ensure reliability; and
                    (F) understanding of the wake effect between upwind 
                and downwind turbine operations;
            (7) advanced control systems and blade sensors to improve 
        performance and reliability under a wide variety of wind 
        conditions;
            (8) advanced generators, including--
                    (A) automated system and drive train sensors to 
                predict and manage maintenance process;
                    (B) medium-speed and low-speed generators;
                    (C) direct-drive technology; and
                    (D) the use of advanced magnets in generator 
                rotors;
            (9) methods to assess and mitigate the effects of wind 
        energy systems on radar and electromagnetic fields;
            (10) technical processes to enable--
                    (A) scalability of transmission from remotely 
                located renewable resource rich areas; and
                    (B) optimization of advanced infrastructure design, 
                including high voltage transmission; and
            (11) other research areas as determined by the Secretary.

SEC. 3. WIND ENERGY DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Energy shall conduct a wind 
energy demonstration program. In carrying out this section, the 
Secretary shall ensure that--
            (1) the program is of sufficient size and geographic 
        diversity to measure wind energy system performance under the 
        full productive range of wind conditions in the United States;
            (2) demonstration projects carried out under this program 
        are--
                    (A) conducted in collaboration with industry and, 
                as appropriate, with academic institutions; and
                    (B) located in various geographic areas 
                representing various wind class regimes; and
            (3) data collected from demonstration projects carried out 
        under this program is useful for carrying out section 2(b).
    (b) Cost-Sharing.--The Secretary shall carry out the program under 
this section in compliance with section 988(a) through (d) and section 
989 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16352(a) through (d) 
and 16353).

SEC. 4. EQUAL OPPORTUNITY.

    In carrying out this Act, the Secretary of Energy shall--
            (1) coordinate with the Office of Minority Economic Impact 
        and with the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business 
        Utilization; and
            (2) provide special consideration to applications submitted 
        by institutions, businesses, or entities containing majority 
        representation by individuals identified in section 33 or 34 of 
        the Science and Engineering Equal Opportunities Act (42 U.S.C. 
        1885a or 1885b).

SEC. 5. COMPETITIVE AWARDS.

    Awards under section 2 and section 3 shall be made on a competitive 
basis with an emphasis on technical merit.

SEC. 6. COORDINATION AND NONDUPLICATION.

    To the maximum extent practicable the Secretary of Energy shall 
coordinate activities under this Act with other programs of the 
Department of Energy and other Federal research programs.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Energy 
to carry out this Act $200,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2012 
through 2016.
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