42 U.S.C. § 6345 — CHP Technical Assistance Partnership Program

(a) Renaming. (1) The Department of Energy's Clean Energy Application Centers are renamed the CHP Technical Assistance Partnership Program, called the “Program” here. (2) The Program consists of (A) the 10 regional CHP Technical Assistance Partnerships existing on December 27, 2020; (B) other regional partnerships the Secretary^* establishes, considering rural communities; and (C) supporting technical activities under the Advanced Manufacturing Office's Technical Partnership Program. (3) A reference in a law, rule, regulation, or publication to a Combined Heat and Power Application Center or Clean Energy Application Center means the Program. (b) Program. (1) The Program must encourage combined heat and power, waste-heat-to-power, and efficient district-energy technologies, called “CHP” here, through education and outreach for building, industrial, electric-utility, and natural-gas-utility professionals; State^* and local policymakers; and other interested people and organizations concerned with efficient energy use, local or opportunity fuels, resilience, energy security, microgrids, or district energy. It must also give building and industrial professionals project^*-specific economic and engineering assessments and advice. (2) (A) The Program must make funds available to higher-education institutions, research centers, and other suitable institutions to keep regional Partnerships operating effectively. (B) The funds may collect and distribute CHP and microgrid information for manufacturers, commercial and institutional facilities, and Federal sites, including continuing Department of Defense mission goals, and continue and update the CHP installation database, technology-potential analyses, State CHP resource pages, and Partnership websites. They may fund workshops, reports, seminars, internet programs, resilience resources, and other education for end users, regulators, and stakeholders that leads to CHP deployment; onsite assessments, including possible biomass CHP; identification of candidates for CHP, hybrid renewable-CHP, biomass CHP, microgrids, and clean energy; unbiased engineering support; help for organizations and communities, including rural communities, that are developing clean-energy technologies and policies; and field validation and performance evaluations for implemented CHP and other clean-energy technologies. (C) Funds must be available for five years. (c) Appropriations. Congress may appropriate $12,000,000 for each fiscal year from 2021 through 2025.