[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5638 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
114th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5638
To provide for the establishment at the Department of Energy of a Solar
Fuels Basic Research Initiative.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 6, 2016
Mr. Knight (for himself, Mr. Lipinski, Mr. Smith of Texas, Mr. Weber of
Texas, Mr. Neugebauer, Mr. Hultgren, Mr. Posey, Mr. Moolenaar, and Mr.
Babin) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for the establishment at the Department of Energy of a Solar
Fuels Basic Research Initiative.
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 ``Solar Fuels Innovation Act''.
SEC. 2. SOLAR FUELS BASIC RESEARCH INITIATIVE.
(a) Amendment.--Section 973 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42
U.S.C. 16313) is amended to read as follows:
``SEC. 973. SOLAR FUELS BASIC RESEARCH INITIATIVE.
``(a) Initiative.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall carry out a research
initiative, to be known as the Solar Fuels Basic Research
Initiative, to expand theoretical and fundamental knowledge of
photochemistry, electrochemistry, biochemistry, and materials
science useful for the practical development of experimental
systems to convert solar energy to chemical energy.
``(2) Leveraging.--The Secretary shall leverage expertise
and resources from the Basic Energy Sciences Program and
Biological and Environmental Research Program within the Office
of Science, and the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable
Energy, as provided under subsections (b) and (c).
``(3) Teams.--The Secretary shall organize activities under
the Solar Fuels Basic Research Initiative to include
multidisciplinary teams leveraging expertise from the National
Laboratories, universities, and the private sector to the
extent practicable. These multidisciplinary teams shall pursue
aggressive, milestone-driven basic research goals. The
Secretary shall provide sufficient resources for those teams to
achieve those goals over a period of time to be determined by
the Secretary.
``(4) Additional activities.--The Secretary is authorized
to organize additional activities under this subsection through
Energy Frontier Research Centers or other organizational
structures.
``(b) Artificial Photosynthesis.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall, as part of the
Solar Fuels Basic Research Initiative, carry out a program to
support research needed to bridge scientific barriers and
discover knowledge relevant to artificial photosynthetic
systems. In carrying out activities under this subsection, the
Director of the Office of Basic Energy Sciences shall support
basic research to pursue distinct lines of scientific inquiry,
including photoinduced production of hydrogen and oxygen from
water, and the sustainable photoinduced reduction of carbon
dioxide to fuel products including hydrocarbons, alcohols,
carbon monoxide, and natural gas. The Assistant Secretary for
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy shall support
translational research, development, and validation of physical
concepts developed under this subsection.
``(2) Standard of review.--The Secretary shall review the
program activities under this subsection to determine the
achievement of technical milestones.
``(3) Authorization of appropriations.--
``(A) Authorization.--Subject to subsection (d),
there are authorized for carrying out activities under
this subsection for each of fiscal years 2017 through
2020--
``(i) $50,000,000 from funds within the
Basic Energy Sciences Program account; and
``(ii) $25,000,000 from funds within the
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy account.
``(B) Prohibition.--No funds authorized under this
subsection may be obligated or expended for commercial
application of energy technology.
``(c) Biochemistry, Replication of Natural Photosynthesis, and
Related Processes.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall, as part of the
Solar Fuels Basic Research Initiative, carry out a program to
support research needed to replicate natural photosynthetic
processes by use of artificial photosynthetic components and
materials. In carrying out activities under this subsection,
the Director of the Office of Basic Energy Sciences shall
support basic research to expand fundamental knowledge to
replicate natural synthesis processes, including the
photoinduced reduction of dinitrogen to ammonia, absorption of
carbon dioxide from ambient air, molecular-based charge
separation and storage, photoinitiated electron transfer, and
catalysis in biological or biomimetic systems. The Associate
Director of Biological and Environmental Research shall support
systems biology and genomics approaches to understand genetic
and physiological pathways connected to photosynthetic
mechanisms. The Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy shall support translational research,
development, and validation of physical concepts developed
under this subsection.
``(2) Standard of review.--The Secretary shall review the
program activities under this subsection to determine the
achievement of technical milestones.
``(3) Authorization of appropriations.--
``(A) Authorization.--Subject to subsection (d),
there are authorized for carrying out activities under
this subsection for each of fiscal years 2017 through
2020--
``(i) $50,000,000 from funds within the
Basic Energy Sciences Program and Biological
and Environmental Research Program accounts;
and
``(ii) $25,000,000 from funds within the
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy account.
``(B) Prohibition.--No funds authorized under this
subsection may be obligated or expended for commercial
application of energy technology.
``(d) Funding.--No additional funds are authorized to be
appropriated under this section. This section shall be carried out
using funds otherwise authorized by law.''.
(b) Table of Contents Amendment.--The item relating to section 973
in the table of contents of such Act is amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 973. Solar Fuels Basic Research Initiative.''.
<all>