[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2986 Reported in House (RH)]

<DOC>





                                                 Union Calendar No. 379
116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 2986

                          [Report No. 116-472]

 To amend the United States Energy Storage Competitiveness Act of 2007 
  to establish a research, development, and demonstration program for 
       grid-scale energy storage systems, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 23, 2019

 Mr. Foster (for himself, Mr. Casten of Illinois, Ms. Herrera Beutler, 
  and Mr. Gonzalez of Ohio) introduced the following bill; which was 
      referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology

                             August 7, 2020

    Additional sponsors: Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Welch, Mr. Bacon, Mr. 
 Grijalva, Mr. Crenshaw, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Gallagher, Mr. Lipinski, Mr. 
 Stivers, Mrs. Fletcher, Mr. McHenry, Mr. Case, Mr. Calvert, Mr. Weber 
of Texas, Ms. Lee of California, Ms. Spanberger, Mr. Katko, Ms. Kuster 
   of New Hampshire, Mr. Kind, Mr. Quigley, Ms. Lofgren, Mr. Cox of 
  California, Ms. Norton, Mrs. Dingell, Mr. Himes, Ms. Haaland, Mrs. 
 Luria, Mr. Lewis, Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. Larsen of Washington, Mr. Smith 
of New Jersey, Ms. Stefanik, Mr. Brindisi, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Connolly, Mr. 
Kim, Mr. Schneider, Mrs. Beatty, Mr. David Scott of Georgia, Mr. Harder 
of California, Mr. Suozzi, Mr. Keating, Mr. Meeks, Mrs. Napolitano, Ms. 
    Johnson of Texas, Ms. Pingree, Mr. Price of North Carolina, Ms. 
   Barragan, Mr. Cole, Mr. Fortenberry, Mr. Meuser, Mr. McAdams, Ms. 
Sherrill, Mr. Olson, Mr. DeFazio, Ms. Escobar, Mr. Steil, Mr. Soto, Ms. 
   Judy Chu of California, Mr. Cicilline, Miss Rice of New York, Mr. 
   Khanna, Mr. Pocan, Mr. Crist, Mr. Joyce of Ohio, Mr. Aguilar, Ms. 
 Brownley of California, Mr. Cooper, Mr. Castro of Texas, Mrs. Rodgers 
    of Washington, Mr. Phillips, Mr. San Nicolas, Ms. Bonamici, Mr. 
Thompson of California, Ms. Sanchez, Mr. Rose of New York, Mrs. Watson 
Coleman, Mr. Golden, Mr. Pappas, Mr. Langevin, Mr. Gallego, Ms. Eshoo, 
Ms. Houlahan, Mr. Michael F. Doyle of Pennsylvania, Mr. Bera, Mr. Heck, 
Mrs. Hayes, Mr. Amodei, Ms. Jayapal, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Mr. Lujan, Mr. 
 Horsford, Mr. Sherman, Mr. Curtis, Ms. Titus, Mr. Trone, Mr. Peters, 
                       Ms. Craig, and Ms. Stevens

                             August 7, 2020

  Reported with an amendment; committed to the Committee of the Whole 
       House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on May 23, 
                                 2019]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the United States Energy Storage Competitiveness Act of 2007 
  to establish a research, development, and demonstration program for 
       grid-scale energy storage systems, 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 ``Better Energy Storage Technology 
Act'' or the ``BEST Act''.

SEC. 2. ENERGY STORAGE.

    (a) In General.--The United States Energy Storage Competitiveness 
Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17231) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsections (l) through (p) as 
        subsections (p) through (t), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (k) the following:
    ``(l) Energy Storage Research and Development Program.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
        of enactment of the Better Energy Storage Technology Act, the 
        Secretary shall establish a research and development program 
        for energy storage systems, components, and materials across 
        multiple program offices of the Department.
            ``(2) Requirements.--In carrying out the program under 
        paragraph (1), the Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) coordinate across all relevant program 
                offices throughout the Department, including the Office 
                of Electricity, the Office of Energy Efficiency and 
                Renewable Energy, the Advanced Research Projects Agency 
                - Energy, the Office of Science, and the Office of 
                Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response;
                    ``(B) adopt long-term cost, performance, and 
                demonstration targets for different types of energy 
                storage systems and for use in a variety of regions, 
                including rural areas;
                    ``(C) incorporate considerations of sustainability, 
                sourcing, recycling, reuse, and disposal of materials, 
                including critical elements, in the design of energy 
                storage systems;
                    ``(D) identify energy storage duration needs;
                    ``(E) analyze the need for various types of energy 
                storage to improve electric grid resilience and 
                reliability; and
                    ``(F) support research and development of advanced 
                manufacturing technologies that have the potential to 
                improve United States competitiveness in energy storage 
                manufacturing.
            ``(3) Strategic plan.--
                    ``(A) In general.--No later than 180 days after the 
                date of enactment of the Better Energy Storage 
                Technology Act, the Secretary shall develop a 5-year 
                strategic plan identifying research, development, 
                demonstration, and commercial application goals for the 
                program in accordance with this section. The Secretary 
                shall submit this plan to the Committee on Science, 
                Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives 
                and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of 
                the Senate.
                    ``(B) Contents.--The strategic plan submitted under 
                subparagraph (A) shall--
                            ``(i) identify programs at the Department 
                        related to energy storage systems that support 
                        the research and development activities 
                        described in paragraph (4), and the 
                        demonstration projects under subsection (m); 
                        and
                            ``(ii) include timelines for the 
                        accomplishment of goals developed under the 
                        plan.
                    ``(C) Updates to plan.--Not less frequently than 
                once every 3 years, the Secretary shall submit to the 
                Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 
                House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy 
                and Natural Resources of the Senate an updated version 
                of the plan under subparagraph (A).
            ``(4) Research and development.--In carrying out the 
        program established in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall focus 
        on developing--
                    ``(A) energy storage systems that can store energy 
                and deliver stored energy for a minimum of 6 hours in 
                duration to balance electricity needs over the course 
                of a single day;
                    ``(B) long-duration energy storage systems that can 
                store energy and deliver stored energy for 10 to 100 
                hours in duration; and
                    ``(C) energy storage systems that can store energy 
                and deliver stored energy over several months and 
                address seasonal scale variations in supply and demand.
            ``(5) Testing and validation.--The Secretary shall support 
        the standardized testing and validation of energy storage 
        systems under the program through collaboration with 1 or more 
        National Laboratories, including the development of 
        methodologies to independently validate energy storage 
        technologies by--
                    ``(A) performance of energy storage systems on the 
                electric grid, including--
                            ``(i) when appropriate, testing of 
                        application-driven charge and discharge 
                        protocols;
                            ``(ii) evaluation of power capacity and 
                        energy output;
                            ``(iii) degradation of the energy storage 
                        systems from cycling and aging;
                            ``(iv) safety; and
                            ``(v) reliability testing under grid duty 
                        cycles; and
                    ``(B) prediction of lifetime metrics.
            ``(6) Coordination.--In carrying out this subsection, the 
        Secretary shall coordinate with--
                    ``(A) programs and offices that aim to increase 
                domestic manufacturing and production of energy storage 
                systems, such as those within the Department and within 
                the National Institute of Standards and Technology;
                    ``(B) other Federal agencies that are carrying out 
                initiatives to increase energy reliability through the 
                development of energy storage systems, including the 
                Department of Defense; and
                    ``(C) other stakeholders working to advance the 
                development of commercially viable energy storage 
                systems.
            ``(7) Technical assistance program.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall provide 
                technical assistance for commercial application of 
                energy storage technologies to eligible entities.
                    ``(B) Technical assistance.--Technical assistance 
                provided under this paragraph--
                            ``(i) may include assistance with--
                                    ``(I) assessment of relevant 
                                technical and geographic 
                                characteristics;
                                    ``(II) interconnection of 
                                electricity storage systems with the 
                                electric grid; and
                                    ``(III) engineering design; and
                            ``(ii) may not include assistance relating 
                        to modification of Federal, State, or local 
                        regulations or policies with respect to energy 
                        storage systems.
                    ``(C) Applications.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The Secretary shall seek 
                        applications for technical assistance and 
                        grants under the program--
                                    ``(I) on a competitive basis; and
                                    ``(II) on a periodic basis, but not 
                                less frequently than once every 12 
                                months.
                            ``(ii) Priorities.--In selecting eligible 
                        entities for technical assistance for 
                        commercial applications, the Secretary shall 
                        give priority to eligible entities with 
                        projects that have the greatest potential for--
                                    ``(I) strengthening the reliability 
                                and resilience of the electric grid to 
                                the impact of extreme weather events, 
                                power grid failures, and interruptions 
                                in supply of electricity;
                                    ``(II) reducing the cost of energy 
                                storage systems; or
                                    ``(III) facilitating the use of net 
                                zero emission energy resources.
            ``(8) Program defined.--In this subsection, the term 
        `program' means the research and development program 
        established under paragraph (1).''.
    (b) Energy Storage Demonstration Program.--The United States Energy 
Storage Competitiveness Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17231), as amended, is 
further amended by inserting after subsection (l), as added by 
subsection (a), the following:
    ``(m) Energy Storage Demonstration Program.--
            ``(1) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a 
        competitive grant program for the demonstration of energy 
        storage systems, as identified by the Secretary, that use 
        either--
                    ``(A) a single system; or
                    ``(B) aggregations of multiple systems.
            ``(2) Eligibility.--Entities eligible to receive a grant 
        under paragraph (1) include--
                    ``(A) a State, territory, or possession of the 
                United States;
                    ``(B) a State energy office;
                    ``(C) a tribal organization (as defined in section 
                3765 of title 38, United States Code);
                    ``(D) an institution of higher education (as 
                defined in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 
                1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001));
                    ``(E) an electric utility, including--
                            ``(i) a rural electric cooperative;
                            ``(ii) a political subdivision of a State, 
                        such as a municipally owned electric utility, 
                        or any agency, authority, corporation, or 
                        instrumentality of one or more State political 
                        subdivisions; and
                            ``(iii) an investor-owned utility; and
                    ``(F) a private company, such as but not limited to 
                an energy storage company.
            ``(3) Selection requirements.--In selecting eligible 
        entities to receive a grant under this section, the Secretary 
        shall, to the maximum extent practicable--
                    ``(A) ensure regional diversity among eligible 
                entities that receive the grants, including 
                participation by rural States and small States;
                    ``(B) ensure that specific projects selected for 
                grants--
                            ``(i) expand on the existing technology 
                        demonstration programs of the Department of 
                        Energy; and
                            ``(ii) are designed to achieve one or more 
                        of the objectives described in paragraph (4);
                    ``(C) give consideration to proposals from eligible 
                entities for securing energy storage through 
                competitive procurement or contract for service; and
                    ``(D) prioritize projects that leverage matching 
                funds from non-Federal sources.
            ``(4) Objectives.--Each demonstration project selected for 
        a grant under paragraph (1) shall include one or more of the 
        following objectives:
                    ``(A) To improve the security of critical 
                infrastructure and emergency response systems.
                    ``(B) To improve the reliability of the 
                transmission and distribution system, particularly in 
                rural areas, including high energy cost rural areas.
                    ``(C) To optimize transmission or distribution 
                system operation and power quality to defer or avoid 
                costs of replacing or upgrading electric grid 
                infrastructure, including transformers and substations.
                    ``(D) To supply energy at peak periods of demand on 
                the electric grid or during periods of significant 
                variation of electric grid supply or demand.
                    ``(E) To reduce peak loads of homes and businesses, 
                particularly to defer or avoid investments in new 
                electric grid capacity.
                    ``(F) To advance power conversion systems to make 
                the systems smarter, more efficient, able to 
                communicate with other inverters, and able to control 
                voltage.
                    ``(G) To provide ancillary services for grid 
                stability and management.
                    ``(H) To integrate one or more energy resources, 
                including renewable energy resources, at the source or 
                away from the source.
                    ``(I) To increase the feasibility of microgrids or 
                islanding.
                    ``(J) To enable the use of stored energy in forms 
                other than electricity to support the natural gas 
                system and other industrial processes.
            ``(5) Restriction on use of funds.--Any eligible entity 
        that receives a grant under paragraph (1) may only use the 
        grant to fund programs relating to the demonstration of energy 
        storage systems connected to the electric grid, or that 
        provides bi-directional energy storage capable of providing 
        back-up energy in the event of grid outages, including energy 
        storage systems sited behind a customer revenue meter.
            ``(6) Cost sharing.--In carrying out this section, the 
        Secretary shall require cost sharing under this section in 
        accordance with section 988 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 
        (42 U.S.C. 16352).
            ``(7) No project ownership interest.--The United States 
        shall hold no equity or other ownership interest in an energy 
        storage system for which a grant is provided under paragraph 
        (1).
            ``(8) Rules and procedures; awarding of grants.--
                    ``(A) Rules and procedures.--Not later than 180 
                days after the date of enactment of the Better Energy 
                Storage Technology Act, the Secretary shall adopt rules 
                and procedures for carrying out the grant program under 
                subsection (m).
                    ``(B) Awarding of grants.--Not later than 1 year 
                after the date on which the rules and procedures under 
                paragraph (A) are established, the Secretary shall 
                award the initial grants provided under this section.
            ``(9) Reports.--The Secretary shall submit to Congress and 
        make publicly available--
                    ``(A) not less frequently than once every 2 years 
                for the duration of the grant program under subsection 
                (m), a report describing the performance of the grant 
                program, including a synthesis and analysis of any 
                information the Secretary requires grant recipients to 
                provide to the Secretary as a condition of receiving a 
                grant; and
                    ``(B) on termination of the grant program under 
                subsection (m), an assessment of the success of, and 
                education provided by, the measures carried out by 
                grant recipients under the grant program.
            ``(10) Program defined.--In this subsection, the term 
        `program' means the demonstration program established under 
        paragraph (1).''.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--The United States Energy 
Storage Competitiveness Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17231) is amended, in 
subsection (t) (as redesignated by subsection (a)(1))--
            (1) in paragraph (5), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (6), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``;''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(7) the research and development program for energy 
        storage systems under subsection (l)--
                    ``(A) $62,000,000 for fiscal year 2020;
                    ``(B) $ 65,100,000 for fiscal year 2021;
                    ``(C) $ 68,355,000 for fiscal year 2022;
                    ``(D) $ 71,773,000 for fiscal year 2023; and
                    ``(E) $ 75,362,000 for fiscal year 2024; and
            ``(8) the demonstration program for energy storage systems 
        under subsection (m), $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 
        through 2024.''.

SEC. 3. CRITICAL MINERAL RECYCLING AND REUSE RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND 
              DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM.

    The United States Energy Storage Competitiveness Act of 2007 (42 
U.S.C. 17231) is amended by inserting after subsection (m), as added by 
section 2(b) of this Act, the following:
    ``(n) Critical Mineral Recycling and Reuse Research, Development, 
and Demonstration Program.--
            ``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Critical mineral.--The term `critical 
                mineral' means any of a class of chemical elements that 
                have a high risk of a supply disruption and are 
                critical to one or more new, energy-related 
                technologies such that a shortage of such element would 
                significantly inhibit large-scale deployment of 
                technologies that store energy.
                    ``(B) Recycling.--The term `recycling' means the 
                separation of critical minerals embedded within an 
                energy storage system through physical or chemical 
                means and reuse of those separated critical minerals in 
                other technologies.
            ``(2) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the 
        date of enactment of the BEST Act, the Secretary shall 
        establish a research, development, and demonstration program of 
        recycling of energy storage systems containing critical 
        minerals.
            ``(3) Research, development, and demonstration.--In 
        carrying out the program, the Secretary may focus research, 
        development, and demonstration activities on--
                    ``(A) technologies, process improvements, and 
                design optimizations that facilitate and promote 
                recycling, including--
                            ``(i) improvement of efficiency and rates 
                        of collection of products and scrap containing 
                        critical minerals from consumer, industrial, 
                        and other waste streams;
                            ``(ii) separation and sorting of component 
                        materials in energy storage systems containing 
                        critical minerals, including improving the 
                        recyclability of such energy storage systems;
                            ``(iii) safe storage of energy storage 
                        systems, including reducing fire risk;
                            ``(iv) safe transportation of energy 
                        storage systems and components; and
                            ``(v) development of technologies to 
                        advance energy storage recycling facility 
                        infrastructure, including integrated recycling 
                        facilities that can process multiple materials;
                    ``(B) research and development of technologies that 
                mitigate emissions and environmental impacts that arise 
                from recycling, including disposal of toxic reagents 
                and byproducts related to recycling processes;
                    ``(C) research and development of technologies to 
                enable recycling of critical materials from batteries 
                in electric vehicles;
                    ``(D) research on and analysis of non-technical 
                barriers to improving the transportation of energy 
                storage systems containing critical minerals; and
                    ``(E) research on technologies and methods to 
                enable the safe disposal of energy storage systems 
                containing critical minerals, including waste materials 
                and components recovered during the recycling process.
            ``(4) Report to congress.--Not later than 2 years after the 
        date of enactment of the BEST Act, and every 3 years 
        thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on 
        Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives 
        and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate 
        a report summarizing the activities, findings, and progress of 
        the program.
    ``(o) Definitions.--For purposes of subsections (l), (m), and (n), 
the following definitions apply:
            ``(1) Energy storage system.--The term `energy storage 
        system' means a system, equipment, facility, or technology 
        relating to the electric grid that--
                    ``(A) is capable of absorbing energy, storing such 
                energy for a period of time, and dispatching such 
                energy after storage; and
                    ``(B) uses a mechanical, electrical, chemical, 
                electrochemical, or thermal process to store such 
                energy, or any other process that the Secretary 
                determines relevant.
            ``(2) Island.--The term `island' means one or more 
        distributed generators or energy storage systems that continues 
        to power a location in the absence of electricity from the 
        electric grid.
            ``(3) Microgrid.--The term `microgrid' means an integrated 
        energy system consisting of inter-connected loads and 
        distributed energy resources, including generators and energy 
        storage systems, within clearly defined electrical boundaries 
        that--
                    ``(A) acts as a single controllable entity with 
                respect to the grid;
                    ``(B) can connect and disconnect from the grid to 
                operate in either grid-connected mode or island-mode; 
                or
                    ``(C) can operate in the absence of the grid.
            ``(4) National laboratory.--The term `national laboratory' 
        has the meaning given the term in section 2 of the Energy 
        Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15801).''.
                                                 Union Calendar No. 379

116th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                               H. R. 2986

                          [Report No. 116-472]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 To amend the United States Energy Storage Competitiveness Act of 2007 
  to establish a research, development, and demonstration program for 
       grid-scale energy storage systems, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                             August 7, 2020

  Reported with an amendment; committed to the Committee of the Whole 
       House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed