42 U.S.C. § 13387 — Innovative environmental technology transfer program

(a) Establishment of program: The Secretary, through the Agency for International Development (AID) and in consultation with the interagency working group set up under section 6276(d), must establish a technology transfer program to meet the purposes in subsection (b). Within 150 days of October 24, 1992, the Secretary and the AID Administrator had to sign a written agreement covering how to run this section, including a way to resolve disputes over specific projects. For countries AID does not assist, the Secretary may agree with other federal agencies instead. If the Secretary and the Administrator (or another agency) cannot agree, each must send the President a memo with an acceptable version, and the President must pick one within 90 days. Any agreement made under this subsection must go to Congress and be made public. (b) Purposes of program: This program aims to: (1) shrink the U.S. trade deficit by exporting U.S. energy technology and expertise; (2) keep and create U.S. manufacturing and service jobs; (3) encourage exports of U.S. technologies and related services to countries needing facilities that substantially cut pollution, including greenhouse gases; (4) build markets for U.S. technologies and services that substantially cut pollution, meeting foreign countries' energy and environmental needs; (5) make sure U.S. firms and technologies take part in foreign energy projects; (6) introduce U.S. firms and expertise into foreign countries; (7) give federal financial help so U.S. firms can take part more in financing, owning, designing, building, or running pollution-cutting technology or services; and (8) help U.S. firms — especially those competing with foreign firms — get chances to transfer technology or run projects abroad. (c) Identification: Under the subsection (a) agreements, the Secretary — through AID and after consulting the interagency working group, U.S. firms, and foreign representatives — must find ways to identify potential energy projects in host countries that substantially cut pollution, including greenhouse gases, and must list such projects within 240 days of October 24, 1992, and regularly after that. (d) Financial mechanisms: (1) Under the subsection (a) agreements, the Secretary, through AID, must (A) set up financial tools to help U.S. firms take part in foreign energy projects, and related services, that substantially cut pollution, including greenhouse gases; (B) use available financial assistance to offset help foreign governments give non-U.S. firms; and (C) give financial assistance to support these projects. (2) This assistance may be (A) combined with other funding, including non-federal funding available for the project, and (B) used alongside financial assistance programs from other federal agencies. (3) U.S. obligations under the OECD's Arrangement on Guidelines for Officially Supported Export Credits apply to this section. (e) Solicitations for project proposals: (1) Under the subsection (a) agreements, within one year of October 24, 1992, and periodically after that, the Secretary — through AID — must ask U.S. firms for proposals to design, build, test, and run the projects identified under subsection (c) that would use a U.S. technology or service. Each solicitation must set a closing date. (2) As much as appropriate, the solicitation must be modeled on RFP No. DE–PS01–90FE62271, Clean Coal Technology IV, as run by the Department of Energy. (3) Every solicitation must require: (A) the U.S. firm submitting a proposal to have an ownership stake in the project; (B) the project to use a U.S. technology and related services that substantially cut pollution, including greenhouse gases, to meet the host country's needs; and (C) proposals to be submitted and carried out by a U.S. firm, though a joint venture or other team-up with a non-U.S. company is allowed. (f) Assistance to United States firms: Under the subsection (a) agreements, the Secretary — through AID and in consultation with the interagency working group — must set up a way to give U.S. firms financial assistance under this section for a subsection (c) project when the host country or a multilateral lender is running the solicitation. (g) Other program requirements: Under the subsection (a) agreements, the Secretary — through AID and in consultation with the interagency working group — must (1) set rules for which countries can host projects; (2) regularly review such countries' energy needs and export chances for U.S. firms; (3) talk with host-country officials and, as appropriate, utility representatives, to gauge interest and support; and (4) decide whether each selected project is developmentally sound, using OECD Development Assistance Committee criteria. (h) Eligible technologies: Within six months of October 24, 1992, the Secretary must prepare a list of technologies and services eligible under this section. In preparing it, the Secretary must consider fuel cell power plants, aeroderivative gas turbines and catalytic combustion technology for them, ocean thermal energy conversion technology, anaerobic digesters and storage tanks, and other renewable energy and energy-efficiency technologies. (i) Selection of projects: (1) Under the subsection (a) agreements, the Secretary — through AID — must, within 120 days of receiving proposals from an (e) solicitation, select one or more proposals. (2) In choosing, the Secretary must weigh: (A) whether the U.S. firm, working with the host country, can finish the project; (B) how much of the project's equipment is designed and made in the U.S.; (C) how technically and competitively strong the U.S. technology and related services are long-term, and whether the U.S. firm can compete for future projects using it; (D) how much the host country is technically and financially involved; (E) how well the project meets this section's purposes; (F) the participants' technical, financial, management, and marketing skills, and their commitment to a successful project that will help the technology or service gain future acceptance; and (G) any other appropriate criteria. (3) Among proposed projects, the Secretary must try to pick ones that, compared to similar projects in the host country, meet these tests: (A) cutting pollution, including greenhouse gases, below what the law already requires; (B) being cheaper over the technology's life cycle, per unit of energy or product; and (C) making overall energy use more efficient. Priority goes to projects that best meet these tests. (j) United States-Asia Environmental Partnership: Work under this section must be coordinated with the United States-Asia Environmental Partnership. (k) Buy America: In running this section, under the subsection (a) agreements, the Secretary — through AID — must ensure (1) at least 50 percent of the cost of any equipment used in a section project comes from U.S.-made components, and (2) U.S. firms participate as much as possible. When figuring whether U.S. components reach 50 percent, the cost of assembling those components in the host country does not count. (l) Report to Congress: The Secretary and the AID Administrator must report every year to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the appropriate House committees on progress introducing innovative pollution-cutting energy technologies and services, including for greenhouse gases, abroad. (m) Definitions: (1) "Host country" means a foreign country that (A) hosts or takes part in the proposed innovative energy technology project, and (B) either (i) qualifies for AID development assistance under applicable law, or (ii) is a developing country. (2) "Developing country" includes, but is not limited to, countries in Central and Eastern Europe and the states of the former Soviet Union. (n) Authorization of appropriations: Congress authorized $100,000,000 for the Secretary for each of fiscal years 1993 through 1998 to run this program.