--- kind: "diff" citation: "H.R. 2986" bill: "116-hr-2986" heading: "Better Energy Storage Technology Act" from: "ih" from_label: "Introduced in House" to: "rh" to_label: "Reported in House" sections_amended: 1 sections_added: 1 sections_removed: 0 url: "https://uscodex.org/bills/116/hr/2986/changes/rh" --- # H.R. 2986 — what changed H.R. 2986, Better Energy Storage Technology Act — 1 section amended and 1 added between Introduced in House and Reported in House. Edits are marked `struck` and `inserted`. ## 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 (m) (p) through (q), (t), respectively; and - (2) by inserting after subsection (k) the following: - “(l) Grid-Scale energy Energy storage system research, development, research and demonstration development program - “(1) Definitions—In this subsection: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. - “(A) Energy storage system—The term energy storage system means a system, equipment, facility, or technology that—“(2) Requirements—In carrying out the program under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— - “(i) is capable “(A) coordinate across all relevant program offices throughout the Department, including the Office of absorbing energy, storing that energy for a period Electricity, the Office of time, Energy Efficiency and dispatching Renewable Energy, the stored energy; andAdvanced Research Projects Agency – Energy, the Office of Science, and the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response; - “(ii)“(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; - “(I) uses a mechanical, electrical, chemical, electrochemical, or thermal process to store “(C) incorporate considerations of sustainability, sourcing, recycling, reuse, and disposal of materials, including critical elements, in the design of energy that—storage systems; - “(aa) was generated at an earlier time for use at a later time; or“(D) identify energy storage duration needs; - “(bb) was generated from a mechanical process, and would otherwise be wasted, “(E) analyze the need for delivery at a later time; orvarious types of energy storage to improve electric grid resilience and reliability; and - “(II) stores thermal energy for direct use for heating or cooling at a later time in a manner “(F) support research and development of advanced manufacturing technologies that avoids have the need potential to use electricity at that later time, improve United States competitiveness in the same manner as the energy storage and use offered by a grid-enabled water heater.manufacturing. - “(B) Program—The term “program” means the research, development, and demonstration program established under paragraph (2)(A). - “(2) Establishment - “(A) In general—Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the BEST Act, the Secretary shall establish within the Office of Electricity of the Department of Energy a research, development, and demonstration program of grid-scale energy storage systems, in accordance with this subsection. - “(B) Goals, priorities, cost targets—The Secretary shall develop goals, priorities, and cost targets for the program. - “(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. - “(A) In general—Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the BEST Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives a 10-year strategic plan for the program. - “(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— - “(i) identify Department “(A) energy storage systems that can store energy and deliver stored energy for a minimum of Energy programs that—6 hours in duration to balance electricity needs over the course of a single day; - “(I) support the research “(B) long-duration energy storage systems that can store energy and development activities described deliver stored energy for 10 to 100 hours in paragraph (4) and the demonstration projects under paragraph (6); duration; and - “(II)“(C) energy storage systems that can store energy and deliver stored energy over several months and address seasonal scale variations in supply and demand. - “(aa) do not “(5) Testing and validation—The Secretary shall support the activities standardized testing and validation of energy storage systems under the program through collaboration with 1 or projects described in subclause (I); butmore National Laboratories, including the development of methodologies to independently validate energy storage technologies by— - “(bb) are important to the development “(A) performance of grid-scale energy storage systems and the mission of the Office of Electricity of the Department of Energy, as determined by on the Secretary; andelectric grid, including— - “(ii) include expected timelines for—“(i) when appropriate, testing of application-driven charge and discharge protocols; - “(I) the accomplishment of relevant objectives under current programs of the Department “(ii) evaluation of Energy relating to grid-scale power capacity and energy storage systems; andoutput; - “(II) the commencement “(iii) degradation of any new initiatives within the Department of Energy relating to grid-scale energy storage systems to accomplish those objectives.from cycling and aging; - “(C) Updates to plan—Not less frequently than once every 2 years, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives an updated 10-year strategic plan, which shall identify, and provide a justification for, any major deviation from a previous strategic plan submitted under this paragraph.“(iv) safety; and - “(4) Research and development—In carrying out the program, the Secretary shall focus research and development activities on developing cost-effective energy storage systems that—“(v) reliability testing under grid duty cycles; and - “(A)“(B) prediction of lifetime metrics. - “(i) to balance day-scale needs, are capable of highly flexible power output for not less than 6 hours; and“(6) Coordination—In carrying out this subsection, the Secretary shall coordinate with— - “(ii) have a lifetime of—“(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; - “(I) not less than 8,000 cycles “(B) other Federal agencies that are carrying out initiatives to increase energy reliability through the development of discharge at full output; energy storage systems, including the Department of Defense; and - “(II) 20 years “(C) other stakeholders working to advance the development of operation;commercially viable energy storage systems. - “(B)“(7) Technical assistance program - “(i) can “(A) In general—The Secretary shall provide power to the electric grid technical assistance for durations commercial application of approximately 10 energy storage technologies to 100 hours; andeligible entities. - “(ii) have a lifetime of—“(B) Technical assistance—Technical assistance provided under this paragraph— - “(I) not less than 1,500 cycles of discharge at full output; and“(i) may include assistance with— - “(II) 20 years “(I) assessment of operation; andrelevant technical and geographic characteristics; - “(C) can store energy over several months and address seasonal scale variations in supply and demand.“(II) interconnection of electricity storage systems with the electric grid; and - “(5) Cost targets“(III) engineering design; and - “(A) In general—Cost targets developed by the Secretary under paragraph (2)(B) shall—“(ii) may not include assistance relating to modification of Federal, State, or local regulations or policies with respect to energy storage systems. - “(i) be for energy storage costs across all types of energy storage technology; and“(C) Applications - “(ii) include technology costs, installation costs, balance of services costs, “(i) In general—The Secretary shall seek applications for technical assistance and soft costs.grants under the program— - “(B) Target updates; subtargets—Not less frequently than once every 5 years during the 10-year period beginning “(I) on the date of enactment of the BEST Act, the Secretary shall—a competitive basis; and - “(i) revise the cost targets developed under paragraph (2)(B) to be more stringent, based on—“(II) on a periodic basis, but not less frequently than once every 12 months. - “(I) a technology-neutral approach “(ii) Priorities—In selecting eligible entities for technical assistance for commercial applications, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities with projects that considers all types of energy storage deployment scenarios, including individual technologies, technology combination use profiles, and integrated control system applications;have the greatest potential for— - “(II) input from a variety “(I) strengthening the reliability and resilience of stakeholders, including the stakeholders described electric grid to the impact of extreme weather events, power grid failures, and interruptions in subsection (i)(3);supply of electricity; - “(III) “(II) reducing the inclusion and use cost of existing infrastructure; andenergy storage systems; or - “(IV) the ability to optimize “(III) facilitating the integration use of intermittent renewable energy generation technology and distributed net zero emission energy resources; andresources. - “(ii) establish cost subtargets for technologies and applications relating to “(8) Program defined—In this subsection, the energy storage systems described in term program means the research and development program established under paragraph (4), taking into consideration—(1).” - “(I) electricity market prices; and - “(II) the goal of being cost-competitive in specific markets for electric grid products and services. - “(6) Demonstration projects - “(A) In general—Not later than September 30, 2023, under the program, the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, enter into agreements to carry out not more than 5 grid-scale energy storage system demonstration projects. - “(B) Objectives—Each demonstration project carried out under subparagraph (A) shall be designed to further the development of the energy storage systems described in paragraph (4). - “(C) No ownership interest—The Federal Government shall not hold any equity or other ownership interest in any grid-scale energy storage system that is part of a demonstration project under this paragraph. - “(7) Testing and validation—The Secretary shall accelerate the standardized testing and validation of grid-scale energy storage systems under the program through collaboration with 1 or more National Laboratories (as defined in section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15801)), including by developing testing and evaluation methodologies for— - “(A) standardized grid performance testing for energy storage systems, materials, and technologies during each stage of development, beginning with the research stage and ending with the deployment stage, including performance testing with charge and discharge protocols to evaluate power capability, energy output, and degradation during cycling and calendar aging on earliest stage commercially viable prototypes (commonly less than 100 kilowatts); and - “(B) accelerated life testing protocols to predict estimated lifetime metrics with accuracy. - “(8) Coordination—To accelerate the development of grid-scale energy storage systems under the program, and pursuant to subsection (n), the Secretary shall coordinate with— - “(A) offices within the Department of Energy conducting energy storage research, such as the Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy, the Office of Science, and the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy; - “(B) Federal agencies that are carrying out initiatives to increase energy security or reliability, such as the Department of Defense, the National Science Foundation, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the Department of Homeland Security; - “(C) program offices that aim to increase domestic manufacturing and production, such as the Office of Advanced Manufacturing in the Department of Energy and the National Institute of Standards and Technology in the Department of Commerce; and - “(D) members of private industry to advance the development of commercially viable grid-scale energy storage systems.” - (b) Authorization of appropriations—Energy storage demonstration program— The United States Energy Storage Competitiveness Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17231) is 17231), as amended, in is further amended by inserting after subsection (q) (as redesignated (l), as added by subsection (a)(1))—(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) [was (3)(3)] in paragraph (5), by striking “and” at the end; - (2) in paragraph (6), by striking the period at the end and inserting “;”; and - (2) in paragraph (6), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and - (3) [was (3)(5)] 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.” - “(7) the research, development, and demonstration program of grid-scale energy storage systems under subsection (l) $60,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024.” ## Sec. 3 Critical mineral recycling and reuse research, development, and demonstration program — added - 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).”