US Codex
Bill
Notes

H.R. 3609 — what changed

Wind Energy Research and Development Act of 2019

From Introduced in House to Reported in House. 4 sections amended between Introduced in House and Reported in House.

Sec. 2 Wind energy technology, research, development and testing program

(a)
changed 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, program and in accordance with subsection (b), the Secretary shall award grants and enter into contracts and cooperative agreements 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)
changed 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 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)
added Grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements—
(1)
added Grants— In carrying out the program, the Secretary shall award grants on a competitive, merit-reviewed basis to eligible entities for projects that the Secretary determines would best achieve the goals of the program.
(2)
added Contracts and cooperative agreements— In carrying out the program, the Secretary may enter into contracts and cooperative agreements with eligible entities and Federal agencies for projects that the Secretary determines would further the purposes of the program.
(3)
added Application— An entity seeking funding or a contract or agreement under this subsection shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require.
(c)
renumbered was (3) 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)
renumbered was (3)(3) Wind power plant performance and operations including—
(A)
renumbered was (3)(3)(2) wind flows and turbine-to-turbine interactions;
(B)
renumbered was (3)(3)(3) energy conversion potential;
(C)
renumbered was (3)(3)(4) turbine and wind plant control paradigms;
(D)
renumbered was (3)(3)(5) turbine and wind plant security;
(E)
renumbered was (3)(3)(6) turbine components; and
(F)
renumbered was (3)(3)(7) integrated hybrid plant systems.
(2)
renumbered was (3)(4) New materials and designs related to blades, rotors, towers and drivetrains including—
(A)
renumbered was (3)(4)(2) higher tip speed rotor designs;
(B)
added low noise rotor designs;
(B)
removed low-noise rotor designs;
(C)
renumbered was (3)(4)(4) advanced drivetrain and generator concepts;
(D)
renumbered was (3)(4)(5) modular construction and onsite or near-site manufacturing and assembly techniques;
(E)
renumbered was (3)(4)(6) sustainable and recyclable materials and manufacturing systems;
(F)
renumbered was (3)(4)(7) supersized turbine design and installation approaches; and
(G)
renumbered was (3)(4)(8) lightweight materials.
(3)
renumbered was (3)(5) Offshore wind-specific projects including—
(A)
renumbered was (3)(5)(2) fixed and floating substructure concepts;
(B)
renumbered was (3)(5)(3) projects to assess and mitigate the impacts of hurricane wind flow, freshwater ice, and other United States-specific conditions;
(C)
renumbered was (3)(5)(4) innovative operations and maintenance strategies;
(D)
added analysis of offshore meteorological, geological, and oceanographic data collection;
(E)
added offshore infrastructure monitoring; and
(F)
added analysis of corrosion and fatigue for the purpose of extending the design life of offshore wind turbine substructures.
(D)
removed analysis of offshore meteorological, geological, and oceanographic data collection; and
(E)
removed offshore infrastructure monitoring.
(4)
renumbered was (3)(6) Recycling and reuse of wind energy components.
(5)
renumbered was (3)(7) Wind power forecasting and atmospheric measurement systems, including for turbines and plant systems of varying height.
(6)
added Distributed wind-specific projects, including—
(A)
added cost-effective turbine designs, components, and manufacturing; and
(B)
added microgrid applications.
(6)
removed The distributed wind energy sector.
(7)
renumbered was (3)(9) Advanced transportation mechanisms for wind turbine components.
(8)
renumbered was (3)(10) Transformational technologies for harnessing wind energy, including airborne wind energy concepts.
(9)
renumbered was (3)(11) Methods to extend the operational lifetime of onshore and offshore wind turbines and systems.
(10)
added Storage technologies to address the transience and intermittency of wind energy resources.
(11)
renumbered was (3)(12) Other research areas as determined by the Secretary.
(d)
added Report—
(1)
added In general— Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 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 on the potential for, and technical viability of, airborne wind energy systems to provide a significant source of energy in the United States.
(2)
added Contents— The report under paragraph (1) shall include a summary of research, development, and demonstration needs, including an estimate of Federal funding requirements, to further examine and validate the technical and economic viability of airborne wind energy concepts over the 10-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act.
(e)
renumbered was (4) 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.
(f)
added Conforming repeals—
(d)
removed Conforming repeals—
(1)
renumbered was (5)(2) 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)
renumbered was (5)(3) 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).
(g)
renumbered was (6) Definitions— In this section:
(1)
added The term eligible entity means any of the following entities:
(1)
removed The term “eligible entity” means any of the following entities:
(A)
renumbered was (6)(3)(2) An institution of higher education.
(B)
renumbered was (6)(3)(3) A National Laboratory.
(C)
renumbered was (6)(3)(4) A Federal research agency.
(D)
renumbered was (6)(3)(5) A State research agency.
(E)
renumbered was (6)(3)(6) A nonprofit research organization.
(F)
renumbered was (6)(3)(7) An industrial entity or a multi-institutional consortium thereof.
(2)
added 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)
added 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)
added 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.
(2)
removed 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)
removed 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)
removed 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.
(d)
added Offshore research facility— In carrying out the program established under subsection (a), the Secretary shall establish a facility to conduct research, development, and demonstration projects for ocean and atmospheric resource characterization relevant to offshore wind energy development in coordination with the ocean and atmospheric science communities. The facility shall be an offshore area used to evaluate, test, and advance atmospheric, oceanic, biologic, and geologic monitoring technologies that improve offshore wind energy development, including the generation of benchmark data sets for testing offshore wind energy technologies and informing how such technologies can be financed, insured, and regulated.
(e)
added Offshore support structure testing facility— In carrying out the program established under subsection (a), the Secretary shall create a facility to conduct research, development, and demonstration projects for large-scale and full-scale offshore wind energy support structure components and systems.

Sec. 4 Wind energy incubator funding

changed In carrying out the program established under section 2(a), the Secretary shall award grants on a competitive, merit-reviewed basis to eligible entities conduct research, development, testing, and evaluation activities, in accordance with section 2(b), 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)
changed 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 evaluate, in accordance with section 2(b), 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.