Promoting Grid Storage Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1593 To require the Secretary of Energy to establish an energy storage research program, a demonstration program, and a technical assistance and grant program, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 22, 2019 Ms. SMITH (for herself, Ms. COLLINS, Ms. HIRONO, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. HEINRICH, Mr. GARDNER, and Ms. HASSAN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources A BILL To require the Secretary of Energy to establish an energy storage research program, a demonstration program, and a technical assistance and grant program, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Promoting Grid Stor- 4 age Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:48 May 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1593.IS S1593 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 1593 IS (1) ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘en- 1 ergy storage system’’ means equipment or facilities 2 relating to the electric grid that are capable of ab- 3 sorbing energy, storing the energy for a period of 4 time, and dispatching the energy, that— 5 (A) use mechanical, electrochemical, bio- 6 chemical, or thermal processes to store energy 7 that was generated at an earlier time for use at 8 a later time; 9 (B) use mechanical, electrochemical, bio- 10 chemical, or thermal processes to store energy 11 generated from mechanical processes that would 12 otherwise be wasted for delivery at a later time; 13 or 14 (C) store thermal energy for direct use for 15 heating or cooling at a later time in a manner 16 that avoids the need to use electricity at that 17 later time, as is offered by grid-enabled water 18 heaters. 19 (2) ISLANDING.—The term ‘‘islanding’’ means 20 a distributed generator or energy storage device con- 21 tinuing to power a location in the absence of electric 22 power from the primary source. 23 (3) MICROGRID.—The term ‘‘microgrid’’ means 24 an integrated energy system consisting of inter- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:48 May 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1593.IS S1593 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 1593 IS connected loads and distributed energy resources, in- 1 cluding generators and energy storage devices, with- 2 in clearly defined electrical boundaries that— 3 (A) acts as a single controllable entity with 4 respect to the grid; and 5 (B) can connect and disconnect from the 6 grid to operate in both grid-connected mode 7 and island mode. 8 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 9 the Secretary of Energy. 10 SEC. 3. ENERGY STORAGE RESEARCH PROGRAM. 11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 12 cross-cutting national program within the Department of 13 Energy for the research of energy storage systems, compo- 14 nents, and materials. 15 (b) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—In establishing 16 the program under subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 17 (1) identify and coordinate across all relevant 18 program offices throughout the Department of En- 19 ergy key areas of existing and future research with 20 respect to a portfolio of technologies and approaches; 21 and 22 (2) adopt long-term cost, performance, and im- 23 plementation targets for specific applications of en- 24 ergy storage systems. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:48 May 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1593.IS S1593 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 1593 IS SEC. 4. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND GRANT PROGRAM. 1 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 3 a technical assistance and grant program (referred 4 to in this section as the ‘‘program’’)— 5 (A) to disseminate information and provide 6 technical assistance directly to eligible entities 7 so the eligible entities can identify, evaluate, 8 plan, design, and develop processes to procure 9 energy storage systems; and 10 (B) to make grants to eligible entities so 11 that the eligible entities may contract to obtain 12 technical assistance to identify, evaluate, plan, 13 design, and develop processes to procure energy 14 storage systems. 15 (2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The technical assist- 17 ance described in paragraph (1) shall include 18 assistance with 1 or more of the following ac- 19 tivities relating to energy storage systems: 20 (i) Identification of opportunities to 21 use energy storage systems. 22 (ii) Assessment of technical and eco- 23 nomic characteristics. 24 (iii) Utility interconnection. 25 (iv) Permitting and siting issues. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:48 May 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1593.IS S1593 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 1593 IS (v) Business planning and financial 1 analysis. 2 (vi) Engineering design. 3 (B) EXCLUSION.—The technical assistance 4 described in paragraph (1) shall not include as- 5 sistance relating to modification of Federal, 6 State, or local regulations or policies relating to 7 energy storage systems. 8 (3) INFORMATION DISSEMINATION.—The infor- 9 mation disseminated under paragraph (1)(A) shall 10 include— 11 (A) information relating to the topics de- 12 scribed in paragraph (2), including case studies 13 of successful examples; 14 (B) computer software for assessment, de- 15 sign, and operation and maintenance of energy 16 storage systems; and 17 (C) public databases that track the oper- 18 ation of existing and planned energy storage 19 systems. 20 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—Any not-for-profit or for-profit en- 21 tity shall be eligible to receive technical assistance and 22 grants under the program. 23 (c) APPLICATIONS.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:48 May 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1593.IS S1593 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 1593 IS (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity desiring 1 technical assistance or grants under the program 2 shall submit to the Secretary an application at such 3 time, in such manner, and containing such informa- 4 tion as the Secretary may require. 5 (2) APPLICATION PROCESS.—The Secretary 6 shall seek applications for technical assistance and 7 grants under the program— 8 (A) on a competitive basis; and 9 (B) on a periodic basis, but not less fre- 10 quently than once every 12 months. 11 (3) PRIORITIES.—In selecting eligible entities 12 for technical assistance and grants under the pro- 13 gram, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible en- 14 tities with projects that have the greatest potential 15 for— 16 (A) strengthening the reliability and resil- 17 iency of energy infrastructure to the impact of 18 extreme weather events, power grid failures, 19 and interruptions in supply of fossil fuels; 20 (B) reducing the cost of energy storage 21 systems; 22 (C) facilitating the use of renewable energy 23 resources; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:48 May 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1593.IS S1593 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 1593 IS (D) minimizing environmental impact, in- 1 cluding regulated air pollutants and greenhouse 2 gas emissions; 3 (E) improving the feasibility of microgrids 4 or islanding, particularly in rural areas, includ- 5 ing high energy cost rural areas; and 6 (F) maximizing local job creation. 7 (d) GRANTS.—On application by an eligible entity, 8 the Secretary may award grants to the eligible entity to 9 provide funds to cover not more than— 10 (1) 100 percent of the costs of the initial as- 11 sessment to identify net system benefits of using en- 12 ergy storage systems; 13 (2) 75 percent of the cost of guidance relating 14 to methods to assess energy storage in long-term re- 15 source planning and resource procurement; 16 (3) 60 percent of the cost of studies to assess 17 the cost-benefit ratio of energy storage systems; and 18 (4) 50 percent of the cost of guidance on com- 19 plying with State and local regulatory technical 20 standards, including siting and permitting stand- 21 ards. 22 (e) RULES AND PROCEDURES.— 23 (1) RULES.—Not later than 180 days after the 24 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:48 May 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1593.IS S1593 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 1593 IS adopt rules and procedures for carrying out the pro- 1 gram. 2 (2) GRANTS.—Not later than 120 days after 3 the date of issuance of the rules and procedures for 4 the program, the Secretary shall issue grants under 5 this section. 6 (f) REPORTS.—The Secretary shall submit to Con- 7 gress and make available to the public— 8 (1) not less frequently than once every 2 years, 9 a report describing the performance of the program 10 under this section, including a synthesis and analysis 11 of any information the Secretary requires grant re- 12 cipients to provide to the Secretary as a condition of 13 receiving a grant; and 14 (2) on termination of the program under this 15 section, an assessment of the success of, and edu- 16 cation provided by, the measures carried out by eli- 17 gible entities under the program. 18 SEC. 5. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY WORKSHOPS. 19 The Secretary shall hold 1 or more workshops during 20 each of calendar years 2021 and 2023 to facilitate the 21 sharing, across the Department of Energy, the States, 22 local and Tribal governments, industry, and the academic 23 research community, of research developments and new 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:48 May 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1593.IS S1593 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 1593 IS technical knowledge gained in carrying out sections 3 and 1 4. 2 SEC. 6. ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM DEMONSTRATION PRO- 3 GRAM. 4 (a) ENERGY STORAGE GRANT PROGRAM.— 5 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es- 6 tablish a competitive grant program for pilot energy 7 storage systems, as identified by the Secretary, that 8 use either— 9 (A) a single system; or 10 (B) aggregations of multiple systems. 11 (2) ELIGIBILITY.—Entities eligible to receive a 12 grant under paragraph (1) include— 13 (A) a State, territory, or possession of the 14 United States; 15 (B) a State energy office; 16 (C) a tribal organization (as defined in sec- 17 tion 3765 of title 38, United States Code); 18 (D) an institution of higher education (as 19 defined in section 101 of the Higher Education 20 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)); 21 (E) an electric utility, including— 22 (i) a rural electric cooperative; 23 (ii) a political subdivision of a State, 24 such as a municipally owned electric util- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:48 May 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1593.IS S1593 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 1593 IS ity, or any agency, authority, corporation, 1 or instrumentality of one or more State po- 2 litical subdivisions; and 3 (iii) an investor-owned utility; and 4 (F) a private energy storage company that 5 is a small business concern (as defined in sec- 6 tion 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 7 632)). 8 (3) SELECTION REQUIREMENTS.—In selecting 9 eligible entities to receive a grant under this section, 10 the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent prac- 11 ticable— 12 (A) ensure regional diversity among eligi- 13 ble entities that receive the grants, including 14 participation by rural States and small States; 15 (B) ensure that specific projects selected 16 for grants— 17 (i) expand on the existing technology 18 demonstration programs of the Depart- 19 ment of Energy; and 20 (ii) are designed to achieve 1 or more 21 of the objectives described in paragraph 22 (4); 23 (C) prioritize projects from eligible entities 24 that do not have an energy storage system; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:48 May 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1593.IS S1593 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 1593 IS (D) give consideration to proposals from 1 eligible entities for securing energy storage 2 through competitive procurement or contract 3 for service; 4 (E) prioritize projects that coordinate with 5 the local incumbent utility for in-front-of-the- 6 meter projects that do not formally involve a 7 utility; and 8 (F) prioritize projects that leverage match- 9 ing funds from non-Federal sources. 10 (4) OBJECTIVES.—Each demonstration project 11 selected for a grant under paragraph (1) shall in- 12 clude 1 or more of the following objectives: 13 (A) To improve the security of critical in- 14 frastructure and emergency response systems. 15 (B) To improve the reliability of the trans- 16 mission and distribution system, particularly in 17 rural areas, including high energy cost rural 18 areas. 19 (C) To optimize transmission or distribu- 20 tion system operation and power quality to 21 defer or avoid costs of replacing or upgrading 22 electric grid infrastructure, including trans- 23 formers and substations. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:48 May 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1593.IS S1593 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 1593 IS (D) To supply energy at peak periods of 1 demand on the electric grid or during periods of 2 significant variation of electric grid supply. 3 (E) To reduce peak loads of homes and 4 businesses, particularly to defer or avoid invest- 5 ments in new electric grid capacity. 6 (F) To advance power conversion systems 7 to make the systems smarter, more efficient, 8 able to communicate with other inverters, and 9 able to control voltage. 10 (G) To provide ancillary services for grid 11 stability and management. 12 (H) To integrate a renewable energy re- 13 source production source at the source or away 14 from the source. 15 (I) To increase the feasibility of microgrids 16 or islanding. 17 (J) To enable the use of stored energy in 18 forms other than electricity to support the nat- 19 ural gas system and other industrial processes. 20 (5) RESTRICTION ON USE OF FUNDS.—Any eli- 21 gible entity that receives a grant under paragraph 22 (1) may only use the grant to fund programs relat- 23 ing to the demonstration of energy storage systems 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:48 May 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1593.IS S1593 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •S 1593 IS connected to the electric grid, including energy stor- 1 age systems sited behind a customer revenue meter. 2 (6) FUNDING LIMITATIONS.— 3 (A) FEDERAL COST SHARE.—The Federal 4 cost share of a project carried out with a grant 5 under paragraph (1) shall be not more than 50 6 percen [Text truncated for display. 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