I

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 5585

To ensure the energy self-sufficiency of the United States by 2010, and

for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OCTOBER 26, 2000

Mr. LARSON (for himself and Mr. OBERSTAR) introduced the following bill;

which was referred to the Committee on Commerce, and in addition to

the Committees on Science, and Government Reform, for a period to be

subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration

of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To ensure the energy self-sufficiency of the United States

by 2010, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Energy Independence

5 Act of 2000’’.

6 SEC. 2. DOMESTIC ENERGY SELF-SUFFICIENCY PLAN.

7 (a) STRATEGIC PLAN.—The Secretary of Energy

8 shall develop, and transmit to the Congress within 1 year
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1 after the date of the enactment of this Act, a strategic

2 plan to ensure that the United States is energy self-suffi3 cient by the year 2010. The plan shall include rec4 ommendations for legislative and regulatory actions need5 ed to accomplish that goal.

6 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

7 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of En8 ergy $20,000,000 for carrying out this section.

9 SEC. 3. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FUEL CELL PILOT PRO10 GRAM.

11 (a) PROGRAM.—The Secretary of Energy shall estab12 lish a program for the acquisition of—

13 (1) up to 100 commercially available 200 kilo14 watt fuel cell power plants;

15 (2) up to 20 megawatts of power generated

16 from commercially available fuel cell power plants;

17 or

18 (3) a combination thereof,

19 for use at federally owned or operated facilities. The Sec20 retary shall provide funding for purchase, site engineering,

21 installation, startup, training, operation, and maintenance

22 costs associated with the acquisition of such power plants,

23 along with any other necessary assistance.

24 (b) DOMESTIC ASSEMBLY.—All fuel cell systems and

25 fuel cell stacks in power plants acquired, or from which
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1 power is acquired, under subsection (a) shall be assembled

2 in the United States.

3 (c) SITE SELECTION.—In the selection of federally

4 owned or operated facilities as a site for the location of

5 power plants acquired under this section, or as a site to

6 receive power acquired under this section, priority shall

7 be given to sites with 1 or more of the following attributes:

8 (1) Location (of the Federal facility or the gen9 erating power plant) in an area classified as a non10 attainment area under title I of the Clean Air Act.

11 (2) Computer or electronic operations that are

12 sensitive to power supply disruptions.

13 (3) Need for a reliable, uninterrupted power

14 supply.

15 (4) Remote location, or other factors requiring

16 off-grid power generation.

17 (5) Critical manufacturing or other activities

18 that support national security efforts.

19 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

20 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of En21 ergy $140,000,000 for the period encompassing fiscal

22 years 2001 through 2003 for carrying out this section.

23 SEC. 4. PROTON EXCHANGE MEMBRANE DEMONSTRATION

24 PROGRAMS.

25 (a) IN GENERAL.—
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1 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President, in co2 ordination with the Secretary of Energy, the Sec3 retary of Transportation, the Secretary of Defense,

4 and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Develop5 ment, shall establish a program for the demonstra6 tion of fuel cell proton exchange membrane tech7 nology in the areas of responsibility of those Secre8 taries with respect to commercial, residential, and

9 transportation applications, including buses. Such

10 program shall specifically focus on promoting the ap11 plication of and improved manufacturing production

12 and processes for proton exchange membrane fuel

13 cell technology.

14 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For

15 the purpose of carrying out this subsection, there

16 are authorized to be appropriated $140,000,000 for

17 the period encompassing fiscal years 2001 through

18 2003.

19 (b) BUS DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM.—

20 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President, in co21 ordination with the Secretary of Energy and the

22 Secretary of Transportation, shall establish a com23 prehensive proton exchange membrane fuel cell bus

24 demonstration program to address hydrogen produc25 tion, storage, and use in transit bus applications.
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1 Such program shall cover all aspects of the introduc2 tion of this new technology, and shall include the

3 following components:

4 (A) Development, installation, and oper5 ation of a hydrogen delivery system located on6 site at transit bus terminals.

7 (B) Development, installation, and oper8 ation of on-site storage associated with the hy9 drogen delivery systems as well as storage tank

10 systems incorporated into the bus itself.

11 (C) Demonstration of use of hydrogen as a

12 practical, safe, renewable energy source in a

13 highly efficient, zero-emission power system for

14 buses.

15 (D) Development of a hydrogen proton ex16 change membrane fuel cell power system that is

17 confirmed and verified as being compatible with

18 transit bus application requirements.

19 (E) Durability testing of the fuel cell bus

20 at a national testing facility.

21 (F) Identification and implementation of

22 necessary codes and standards for the safe use

23 of hydrogen as a fuel suitable for bus applica24 tion, including the fuel cell power system and

25 related operational facilities.
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1 (G) Identification and implementation of

2 maintenance and overhaul requirements for hy3 drogen proton exchange membrane fuel cell

4 transit buses.

5 (H) Completion of fleet vehicle evaluation

6 program by bus operators along normal transit

7 routes, providing equipment manufacturers and

8 transit operators with the necessary analyses to

9 enable operation of the hydrogen proton ex10 change membrane fuel cell bus under a range of

11 operating environments.

12 (2) DOMESTIC ASSEMBLY.—All fuel cell systems

13 and fuel cell stacks in power plants acquired, or

14 from which power is acquired, under paragraph (1)

15 shall be assembled in the United States.

16 (3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For

17 the purpose of carrying out this subsection, there

18 are authorized to be appropriated $150,000,000 for

19 the period encompassing fiscal years 2001 through

20 2003.

21 SEC. 5. FEDERAL VEHICLES.

22 Each agency of the Federal Government that main23 tains a fleet of motor vehicles shall develop a plan for a

24 transition of the fleet to vehicles powered by fuel cell tech25 nology. Each such plan shall include implementation be-
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1 ginning by fiscal year 2005, to be completed by fiscal year

2 2010. Each plan shall incorporate and build on the results

3 of completed and ongoing Federal demonstration pro4 grams, including the program established under section 4,

5 and shall include additional demonstration programs and

6 pilot programs as necessary to test or investigate available

7 technologies and transition procedures.

8 SEC. 6. LIFE-CYCLE COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS.

9 Any life-cycle cost benefit analysis undertaken by a

10 Federal agency with respect to investments in products,

11 services, construction, and other projects shall include an

12 analysis of environmental and power reliability factors.

13 SEC. 7. STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT INCENTIVES.

14 (a) GRANT PROGRAM.—The Secretary of Energy

15 shall establish a program for making grants to State or

16 local governments for the use of fuel cell technology in

17 meeting their energy requirements, including the use as

18 a source of power for motor vehicles. Each grant made

19 under this section shall require at least a 10 percent

20 matching contribution from the State or local government

21 recipient.

22 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

23 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of En-
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1 ergy $110,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2001

2 through 2005 for carrying out this section.

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