42 U.S.C. § 13331 — Coal research, development, demonstration, and commercial application programs

(a) Establishment: The Secretary of Energy must run programs to research, develop, demonstrate, and commercially apply coal-based technologies, following sections 13541 and 13542. These programs include the programs set up in this part. They have eight goals: (1) keep the electricity supply reliable; (2) follow all environmental laws; (3) control sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, air toxics, solid and liquid waste, greenhouse gases, and other emissions from using or converting coal, at least as well as current commercial technology does; (4) make converting coal into transportation fuel cost-competitive; (5) demonstrate turning coal into synthetic gas, liquid, and solid fuels; (6) work with other federal and state agencies to demonstrate coal-derived fuels in vehicles, letting industry share the costs; (7) get cost-effective coal technologies into commercial use quickly, if they are more efficient than current commercial technology and control emissions; and (8) make sure these technologies are ready for commercial use by 2010. (b) Demonstration and commercial application programs: (1) When picking a demonstration or commercial project for funding, the Secretary must try to choose projects that, compared to similar commercial technology, meet one or more of these tests: (A) it cuts pollution below what the law already requires; (B) it makes coal use more efficient, including energy conversion and making coal-based products; or (C) it costs less over its full life, per unit of energy or product made. Projects that best meet these tests get priority. (2) The Secretary must set up accounting and project management controls to keep costs under control. (3)(A) Within 180 days of October 24, 1992, the Secretary must create rules for recovering the federal government's share of the cost of each shared project. This recovery must happen within a reasonable time after the project ends, but no later than 20 years after that date. The Secretary must consider how recovery affects: (i) the project's ability to compete commercially; (ii) the project's profits; and (iii) whether the coal technology can survive commercially. (B) The Secretary may waive or delay part or all of this repayment if needed to keep the project commercially viable. (4) Any project the Secretary picks for demonstration or commercial use must, in the Secretary's judgment, be able to advance the state of the art for that technology. (c) Report: Within 240 days of October 24, 1992, the Secretary must send Congress — specifically the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, and the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee — a report covering: (1) a detailed description of current coal-technology research, development, demonstration, and commercial-application work being done by the Department of Energy, other government agencies, and other public or private groups here and abroad, so far as that information is public; (2) a list and analysis of current federal and state rules and financial incentives that could help these programs; (3) recommendations for changing and extending current coal demonstration programs so the goals in subsection (a) are met and the technologies are ready for commercial use by 2010; (4) recommendations, if any, for changing and extending the cost-sharing demonstrations under the Clean Coal Program (Public Law 98–473); and (5) a detailed plan for the research, development, demonstration, and commercial-application programs to meet subsection (a)'s goals, describing (A) the program parts and how they will be managed, (B) the technical milestones for each advanced coal technology in the plan, and (C) the deadlines for setting up more cost-sharing demonstrations. (d) Status reports: Starting one year after the Secretary sends the report described in subsection (c), and every two years after that for six years, the Secretary must send Congress a report describing in detail how the advanced coal technologies are developing and what research, development, demonstration, and commercial-application work has been done. (e) Consultation: While running these programs, the Secretary must consult with the National Coal Council and other public and private representatives as the Secretary thinks appropriate.