42 U.S.C. § 18742 — Advanced energy manufacturing and recycling grant program
submitted 5 years ago by Pub. L. 117-58 to r/title-42-THE-PUBLIC-HEALTH-AND-WELFARE · 1,214 words · no verdicts yet
The Department of Energy must create a grant program for manufacturers to build or upgrade facilities making clean energy products, in areas that lost coal jobs. Projects are chosen based on emissions cuts, job creation, and technical promise, with priority for minority-owned businesses. Congress may spend $750 million on the program from 2022 through 2026.
(a) Definitions
"Advanced energy property" covers many kinds of equipment: gear that produces energy from the sun, water, wind, geothermal, hydrothermal, or other renewable sources; fuel cells, microturbines, and energy storage systems; equipment that modernizes the electric grid; equipment that captures, removes, uses, or stores carbon oxide emissions; equipment that refines, splits (electrolyzes), or blends renewable or low-carbon fuels, chemicals, or products; equipment that conserves energy in homes, businesses, and industry; electric or fuel-cell vehicles, trains, ships, or planes (light-, medium-, or heavy-duty), their parts, and their charging or refueling infrastructure; heavy hybrid vehicles (14,000 pounds or more) and their parts; and any other equipment the Secretary* decides reduces greenhouse gas emissions. "Covered census tract" means a census tract where a coal mine closed after 1999, a coal-fired power plant retired after 2009, or a tract next to one of those. "Eligible entity" means a manufacturer with less than $100,000,000 in yearly sales, fewer than 500 employees at its plant, and yearly energy bills between $100,000 and $2,500,000. "Minority-owned" means at least 51 percent owned by U.S. citizens who are Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, African American, Hispanic, Puerto Rican, Native American, or Alaska Native. "Program" means the grant program set up under subsection (b). "Qualifying advanced energy project*" means a project that either re-equips, expands, or builds a facility to make or recycle advanced energy property, or re-equips an industrial facility to cut its greenhouse gas emissions well below current best practice using low- or zero-carbon process heat, carbon capture and storage, waste-reducing technology, or other emission-cutting industrial technology -- and that has a reasonable chance of being commercially viable and sits in a covered census tract.
(b) Establishment
Within 180 days of November 15, 2021, the Secretary must create a program to award grants to eligible entities for qualifying advanced energy projects.
(c) Applications
Each eligible entity applies with a description of its proposed project. In choosing projects, the Secretary must favor ones that cut the most greenhouse gases, create the most direct and indirect U.S. jobs, create the most jobs near the project -- especially for low-income communities and workers displaced from manufacturing, coal plants, or coal mining -- have the most potential for new technology and commercial rollout, have the lowest cost per unit of energy or emissions reduced (counting the whole supply chain), and can be finished the fastest. Among eligible entities, the Secretary must give priority to minority-owned businesses.
(d) Project completion and location; return of unobligated funds
A grant recipient must finish its project within 3 years of getting the money, and return any unspent grant funds after that. If the Secretary finds the project was actually built somewhere materially different from what the application said, the recipient must return the grant funds.
(e) Technical assistance
Within 180 days of November 15, 2021, the Secretary must offer technical assistance, chosen selectively, to entities applying for grants -- to help their projects score better against the selection criteria in (c). Entities apply separately for this help, and the Secretary gives priority to projects with the greatest potential to improve under those criteria.
(f) Publication of grants
The Secretary must publicly disclose which entities got grants and how much each received.
(g) Report
Within 4 years of November 15, 2021, the Secretary must review the grants awarded and report on them to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
(h) Authorization of appropriations
Congress may give the Secretary $750,000,000 to run the Program for fiscal years 2022 through 2026.
In this section:
The term “advanced energy property” means—
property designed to be used to produce energy from the sun, water, wind, geothermal or hydrothermal (as those terms are defined in section 17191 of this title) resources, enhanced geothermal systems (as defined in that section), or other renewable resources;
fuel cells, microturbines, or energy storage systems and components;
electric grid modernization equipment or components;
property designed to capture, remove, use, or sequester carbon oxide emissions;
equipment designed to refine, electrolyze, or blend any fuel, chemical, or product that is—
renewable; or
low-carbon and low-emission;
property designed to produce energy conservation technologies (including for residential, commercial, and industrial applications);
light-, medium-, or heavy-duty electric or fuel cell vehicles, electric or fuel cell locomotives, electric or fuel cell maritime vessels, or electric or fuel cell planes;
technologies, components, and materials of those vehicles, locomotives, maritime vessels, or planes; and
charging or refueling infrastructure associated with those vehicles, locomotives, maritime vessels, or planes;
hybrid vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of not less than 14,000 pounds; and
technologies, components, and materials for those vehicles; and
other advanced energy property designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as may be determined by the Secretary*.
The term “covered census tract” means a census tract—
in which, after December 31, 1999, a coal mine had closed;
in which, after December 31, 2009, a coal-fired electricity generating unit had been retired; or
that is immediately adjacent to a census tract described in subparagraph (A) or (B).
The term “eligible entity” means a manufacturing firm—
the gross annual sales of which are less than $100,000,000;
that has fewer than 500 employees at the plant site of the manufacturing firm; and
the annual energy bills of which total more than $100,000 but less than $2,500,000.
The term “minority-owned”, with respect to an eligible entity, means an eligible entity not less than 51 percent of which is owned by 1 or more individuals who are—
citizens of the United States; and
Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, African American, Hispanic, Puerto Rican, Native American, or Alaska Native.
The term “Program” means the grant program established under subsection (b).
The term “qualifying advanced energy project” means a project that—
re-equips, expands, or establishes a manufacturing or recycling facility for the production or recycling, as applicable, of advanced energy property; or
re-equips an industrial or manufacturing facility with equipment designed to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of that facility substantially below the greenhouse gas emissions under current best practices*, as determined by the Secretary, through the installation of—
low- or zero-carbon process heat systems;
carbon capture, transport, utilization, and storage systems;
technology relating to energy efficiency and reduction in waste from industrial processes; or
any other industrial technology that significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions, as determined by the Secretary;
has a reasonable expectation of commercial viability, as determined by the Secretary; and
is located in a covered census tract.
Not later than 180 days after November 15, 2021, the Secretary shall establish a program to award grants to eligible entities to carry out qualifying advanced energy projects.
Each eligible entity seeking a grant under the Program shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require, including a description of the proposed qualifying advanced energy project to be carried out using the grant.
In selecting eligible entities to receive grants under the Program, the Secretary shall, with respect to the qualifying advanced energy projects proposed by the eligible entities, give higher priority to projects that—
will provide higher net impact in avoiding or reducing anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases;
will result in a higher level of domestic job creation (both direct and indirect) during the lifetime of the project;
will result in a higher level of job creation in the vicinity of the project, particularly with respect to—
low-income communities (as described in section 45D(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986); and
dislocated workers who were previously employed in manufacturing, coal power plants, or coal mining;
have higher potential for technological innovation and commercial deployment;
have a lower levelized cost of—
generated or stored energy; or
measured reduction in energy consumption or greenhouse gas emission (based on costs of the full supply chain); and
have a shorter project time.
In selecting eligible entities to receive grants under the Program, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities that are minority-owned.
An eligible entity that receives a grant under the Program shall be required—
to complete the qualifying advanced energy project funded by the grant not later than 3 years after the date of receipt of the grant funds; and
to return to the Secretary any grant funds that remain unobligated at the end of that 3-year period.
If the Secretary determines that an eligible entity awarded a grant under the Program has carried out the applicable qualifying advanced energy project at a location that is materially different from the location specified in the application for the grant, the eligible entity shall be required to return the grant funds to the Secretary.
Not later than 180 days after November 15, 2021, the Secretary shall provide technical assistance on a selective basis to eligible entities that are seeking a grant under the Program to enhance the impact of the qualifying advanced energy project to be carried out using the grant with respect to the selection criteria described in subsection (c)(2)(A).
An eligible entity desiring technical assistance under paragraph (1) shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require.
In selecting eligible entities for technical assistance under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall give higher priority to eligible entities that propose a qualifying advanced energy project that has greater potential for enhancement of the impact of the project with respect to the selection criteria described in subsection (c)(2)(A).
The Secretary shall make publicly available the identity of each eligible entity awarded a grant under the Program and the amount of the grant.
Not later than 4 years after November 15, 2021, the Secretary shall—
review the grants awarded under the Program; and
submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives a report describing those grants.
There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out the Program $750,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2022 through 2026.
Source credit: (Pub. L. 117–58, div. D, title II, § 40209, Nov. 15, 2021, 135 Stat. 975.)
- 2021Enacted · Pub. L. 117-58 · 135 Stat. 975
A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 117-58 on 2021-11-15.
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