[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3609 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3609

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              July 2, 2019

 Mr. Tonko (for himself, Mr. Fortenberry, Mr. Kennedy, and Mr. Bacon) 
 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 2019''.

SEC. 2. WIND ENERGY TECHNOLOGY, RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING 
              PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Energy (in this Act, referred to 
as the ``Secretary'') shall carry out a program to conduct research, 
development, testing, and evaluation of wind energy technologies. In 
carrying out such program, the Secretary shall award grants under this 
section and sections 3, 4, and 5 on a competitive, merit-reviewed basis 
to eligible entities for each of the following purposes:
            (1) To improve the energy efficiency, reliability, 
        resilience, security, and capacity of wind energy generation.
            (2) To optimize the design and control of wind energy 
        systems for the broadest practical range of atmospheric 
        conditions.
            (3) To reduce the cost and risk of permitting, 
        construction, operation, and maintenance of wind energy 
        systems, including technologies to reduce environmental and 
        community impacts, improve grid integration and reduce 
        regulatory barriers.
            (4) To improve materials, engineering, and manufacturing 
        processes for turbines, including supersized turbines.
            (5) To optimize wind plant performance and integration 
        within hybrid energy systems to enhance cost efficiency and 
        electric grid stability and resilience.
    (b) Wind Energy Research Subject Areas.--The program established 
under subsection (a) shall focus on the research, development, testing, 
and evaluation of each of the following subject areas:
            (1) Wind power plant performance and operations including--
                    (A) wind flows and turbine-to-turbine interactions;
                    (B) energy conversion potential;
                    (C) turbine and wind plant control paradigms;
                    (D) turbine and wind plant security;
                    (E) turbine components; and
                    (F) integrated hybrid plant systems.
            (2) New materials and designs related to blades, rotors, 
        towers and drivetrains including--
                    (A) higher tip speed rotor designs;
                    (B) low-noise rotor designs;
                    (C) advanced drivetrain and generator concepts;
                    (D) modular construction and onsite or near-site 
                manufacturing and assembly techniques;
                    (E) sustainable and recyclable materials and 
                manufacturing systems;
                    (F) supersized turbine design and installation 
                approaches; and
                    (G) lightweight materials.
            (3) Offshore wind-specific projects including--
                    (A) fixed and floating substructure concepts;
                    (B) projects to assess and mitigate the impacts of 
                hurricane wind flow, freshwater ice, and other United 
                States-specific conditions;
                    (C) innovative operations and maintenance 
                strategies;
                    (D) analysis of offshore meteorological, 
                geological, and oceanographic data collection; and
                    (E) offshore infrastructure monitoring.
            (4) Recycling and reuse of wind energy components.
            (5) Wind power forecasting and atmospheric measurement 
        systems, including for turbines and plant systems of varying 
        height.
            (6) The distributed wind energy sector.
            (7) Advanced transportation mechanisms for wind turbine 
        components.
            (8) Transformational technologies for harnessing wind 
        energy, including airborne wind energy concepts.
            (9) Methods to extend the operational lifetime of onshore 
        and offshore wind turbines and systems.
            (10) Other research areas as determined by the Secretary.
    (c) Coordination.--To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary 
shall coordinate activities under the program established under 
subsection (a) with other relevant programs and capabilities of the 
Department of Energy and other Federal research programs.
    (d) Conforming Repeals.--
            (1) Section 931(a)(2) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 
        U.S.C. 16231(a)(2)) is amended by striking subparagraph (B).
            (2) Section 4(a) of the Renewable Energy and Energy 
        Efficiency Technology Competitiveness Act of 1989 (42 U.S.C. 
        12003(a)) is amended by striking paragraph (1).
    (e) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) The term ``eligible entity'' means any of the following 
        entities:
                    (A) An institution of higher education.
                    (B) A National Laboratory.
                    (C) A Federal research agency.
                    (D) A State research agency.
                    (E) A nonprofit research organization.
                    (F) An industrial entity or a multi-institutional 
                consortium thereof.
            (2) The term ``institution of higher education'' has the 
        meaning given such term in section 101 of the Higher Education 
        Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001).
            (3) The term ``National Laboratory'' has the meaning given 
        such term in section 2(3) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 
        U.S.C. 15801(3)).
            (4) The term ``supersized turbine'' means a 12 megawatt or 
        greater wind turbine, typically with a tower height greater 
        than 140 meters and blades greater than 75 meters.

SEC. 3. WIND ENERGY TECHNOLOGY VALIDATION AND MARKET TRANSFORMATION 
              PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--In carrying out the program established under 
section 2(a), the Secretary shall conduct a wind energy technology 
validation and market transformation program under which the Secretary 
shall award grants on a competitive, merit-reviewed basis to eligible 
entities to support activities that demonstrate and validate new wind 
energy technologies with the potential to be cost-competitive for land-
based, offshore, and distributed applications.
    (b) Application.--An eligible entity seeking a grant under this 
section shall submit an application in such form and manner as the 
Secretary may prescribe and that contains--
            (1) a certification that any demonstration project carried 
        out using grant funds are--
                    (A) conducted in collaboration with industry and, 
                as appropriate, with institutions of higher education 
                and other Federal research programs; and
                    (B) of sufficient size and geographic diversity to 
                measure wind energy system performance under the full 
                productive range of wind conditions in the United 
                States; and
            (2) such other information as the Secretary may require.
    (c) Facility for Hybrid Energy System Research and Demonstration 
Projects.--In carrying out the program established under subsection 
(a), the Secretary shall establish or support a facility to conduct 
research and demonstration projects for wind turbines and plants in 
hybrid energy systems that incorporate diverse generation sources, 
loads, and storage technologies.

SEC. 4. WIND ENERGY INCUBATOR FUNDING.

    In carrying out the program established under section 2(a), the 
Secretary shall award grants on a competitive, merit-reviewed basis to 
eligible entities to support innovative technologies that are not 
represented in a significant way in--
            (1) the portfolio of wind energy research activities 
        carried out by the Department of Energy as of the date of the 
        enactment of this Act; or
            (2) technology roadmaps used by the Department of Energy as 
        of such date of enactment.

SEC. 5. MITIGATING REGULATORY AND MARKET BARRIERS.

    (a) In General.--In carrying out the program established under 
section 2(a), the Secretary shall award grants on a competitive, merit-
reviewed basis to eligible entities to research, develop, test, and 
evaluate ways to reduce regulatory and market barriers to the 
widespread adoption of wind power, including--
            (1) grid transmission and integration challenges; and
            (2) permitting issues associated with the potential impacts 
        of wind power systems on wildlife, radar systems, local 
        communities, military operations, and airspace.
    (b) Wildlife Impact Mitigation.--In carrying out the activities 
described in subsection (a), the Secretary shall support the 
development, testing, and evaluation of wildlife impact mitigation 
technologies or strategies to reduce the potential impacts of wind 
energy facilities on--
            (1) bald and golden eagles;
            (2) bat species;
            (3) marine wildlife; and
            (4) other impacted species.
    (c) Education and Outreach.--In carrying out the activities 
described in subsection (a), the Secretary shall support education and 
outreach activities to disseminate information and promote public 
understanding of wind technologies and the wind energy workforce, 
including the Collegiate Wind Competition.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 
out this Act--
            (1) $103,692,000 for fiscal year 2020;
            (2) $108,876,600 for fiscal year 2021;
            (3) $114,320,430 for fiscal year 2022;
            (4) $120,036,452 for fiscal year 2023; and
            (5) $126,038,274 for fiscal year 2024.
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