Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “E-Prize Competition Pilot Program Act of 2015”.
E-Prize Competition Pilot Program Act of 2015
A BILL
To require the Secretary of Energy to establish an e-prize competition pilot program to provide up to 4 financial awards to eligible entities that develop and verifiably demonstrate technology that reduces the cost of electricity or space heat in a high-cost region.
Sec. 2 Definitions
In this Act:
Competition Board— The term Competition Board means the competition board established under section 3(a)(2).
Eligible entity— The term eligible entity means any—
nonpublic entity; or
public-private partnership in which the private entity is more than 1/2 of the partnership.
Energy Technology Commercialization Fund— The term Energy Technology Commercialization Fund means the fund established under section 1001(e) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16391).
High-cost region— The term high-cost region means a region in which the average cost of electrical power or space heat exceeds 150 percent of the national average retail cost, as determined by the Secretary.
Secretary— The term Secretary means the Secretary of Energy.
Sec. 3 Prize Competition Pilot Program
In general— The Secretary shall—
establish a prize competition under which eligible entities compete to develop and verifiably demonstrate technology that reduces the cost of electricity or space heat in high-cost regions by at least 25 percent;
establish a Competition Board to award not more than 4 prizes, each in an amount of not more than $1,000,000; and
use for each award amounts made available to the Energy Technology Commercialization Fund.
Duration— The duration for the prize competition shall be not less than 2 years or more than 5 years.
Selection— In selecting a winner for each prize, the Competition Board shall evaluate the technology based on the following criteria:
Cost-effectiveness and ease of installation and maintenance of the technology.
Amount by which the technology will decrease electricity or space heating costs in a high-cost region.
Ability of the technology to be deployed in a variety of climates and locations.
Ease of use of the technology.
Whether the technology is designed to be of immediate or imminent use.
Potential for private sector investment in the technology.
Potential of the technology to transform an existing industry or establish a new industry.