II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1294 

To require the Secretary of Energy and the Secretary of Agriculture to 

collaborate in promoting the development of efficient, economical, and 

environmentally sustainable thermally led wood energy systems. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 12, 2015 

Mr. WYDEN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Energy and the Secretary of 

Agriculture to collaborate in promoting the development 

of efficient, economical, and environmentally sustainable 

thermally led wood energy systems. 

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 ‘‘Bioenergy Act of 

5 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


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1 (1) BIOHEAT.—The term ‘‘bioheat’’ means the 

2 use of woody biomass to generate heat. 

3 (2) BIOPOWER.—The term ‘‘biopower’’ means 

4 the use of woody biomass to generate electricity. 

5 (3) INITIATIVE.—The term ‘‘Initiative’’ means 

6 the Bioheat and Biopower Initiative established 

7 under section 3(a). 

8 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

9 the Secretary of Energy. 

10 (5) STATE WOOD ENERGY TEAM.—The term 

11 ‘‘State Wood Energy Team’’ means a collaborative 

12 group of stakeholders that— 

13 (A) carry out activities within a State to 

14 identify sustainable energy applications for 

15 woody biomass; and 

16 (B) has been designated by the State and 

17 Private Forestry organization of the Forest 

18 Service as a State Wood Energy Team. 

19 SEC. 3. BIOHEAT AND BIOPOWER INITIATIVE. 

20 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, acting jointly 

21 with the Secretary of Agriculture, shall establish a collabo22 rative working group, to be known as the ‘‘Bioheat and 

23 Biopower Initiative’’, to carry out the duties described in 

24 subsection (c). 

25 (b) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Initiative shall be led by 

2 a Board of Directors. 

3 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Board of Directors 

4 shall consist of— 

5 (A) representatives of the Department of 

6 Energy and the Department of Agriculture, 

7 who shall serve as cochairpersons of the Board; 

8 (B) a senior officer or employee, each of 

9 whom shall have a rank that is equivalent to 

10 the departmental rank of a representative de11 scribed in subparagraph (A), of each of— 

12 (i) the Department of the Interior; 

13 (ii) the Environmental Protection 

14 Agency; 

15 (iii) the National Science Foundation; 

16 and 

17 (iv) the Office of Science and Tech18 nology Policy; and 

19 (C) at the election of the Secretary and the 

20 Secretary of Agriculture, such other members 

21 as may be appointed by the Secretaries, in con22 sultation with the Board. 

23 (3) MEETINGS.—The Board of Directors shall 

24 meet not less frequently than once each quarter. 

25 (c) DUTIES.—The Initiative shall— 


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1 (1) coordinate research and development activi2 ties relating to biopower and bioheat projects— 

3 (A) between the Department of Agriculture 

4 and the Department of Energy; and 

5 (B) with other Federal departments and 

6 agencies; 

7 (2) provide recommendations to the Depart8 ment of Agriculture and the Department of Energy 

9 concerning the administration of this Act; and 

10 (3) ensure that— 

11 (A) solicitations are open and competitive 

12 with respect to applicable annual grant awards; 

13 and 

14 (B) objectives and evaluation criteria of so15 licitations for those awards are clearly stated 

16 and minimally prescriptive, with no areas of 

17 special interest. 

18 SEC. 4. GRANT PROGRAMS. 

19 (a) DEMONSTRATION GRANTS.— 

20 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es21 tablish, within the Bioenergy Technologies Office, a 

22 program under which the Secretary shall provide 

23 grants to relevant projects to support innovation and 

24 market development in bioheat and biopower. 


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1 (2) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible to receive a 

2 grant under this subsection, the owner or operator 

3 of a relevant project shall submit to the Secretary an 

4 application at such time, in such manner, and con5 taining such information as the Secretary may re6 quire. 

7 (3) ALLOCATION.—Of the amounts made avail8 able to carry out this section, the Secretary shall al9 locate— 

10 (A) $15,000,000 to projects that develop 

11 innovative techniques for preprocessing biomass 

12 for heat and electricity generation, with the 

13 goals of— 

14 (i) lowering the costs of— 

15 (I) distributed preprocessing 

16 technologies, including technologies 

17 designed to promote densification, 

18 torrefaction, and the broader 

19 commoditization of bioenergy feed20 stocks; and 

21 (II) transportation and logistics 

22 costs; and 

23 (ii) developing technologies and proce24 dures that maximize environmental integ25 rity, such as reducing greenhouse gas 


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1 emissions and local air pollutants and bol2 stering the health of forest ecosystems and 

3 watersheds; and 

4 (B) $15,000,000 to innovative bioheat and 

5 biopower demonstration projects, including— 

6 (i) district energy projects; 

7 (ii) innovation in transportation and 

8 logistics; and 

9 (iii) innovative projects addressing the 

10 challenges of retrofitting existing coal-fired 

11 electricity generation facilities to use bio12 mass. 

13 (4) REGIONAL DISTRIBUTION.—In selecting 

14 projects to receive grants under this subsection, the 

15 Secretary shall ensure, to the maximum extent prac16 ticable, diverse geographical distribution among the 

17 projects. 

18 (5) COST SHARE.—The Federal share of the 

19 cost of a project carried out using a grant under this 

20 subsection shall be 50 percent. 

21 (6) DUTIES OF RECIPIENTS.—As a condition of 

22 receiving a grant under this subsection, the owner or 

23 operator of a project shall— 

24 (A) participate in the applicable working 

25 group under paragraph (7); 


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1 (B) submit to the Secretary a report that 

2 includes— 

3 (i) a description of the project and 

4 any relevant findings; and 

5 (ii) such other information as the Sec6 retary determines to be necessary to com7 plete the report of the Secretary under 

8 paragraph (8); and 

9 (C) carry out such other activities as the 

10 Secretary determines to be necessary. 

11 (7) WORKING GROUPS.—The Secretary shall es12 tablish 2 working groups to share best practices and 

13 collaborate in project implementation, of which— 

14 (A) 1 shall be comprised of representatives 

15 of feedstock projects that receive grants under 

16 paragraph (3)(A); and 

17 (B) 1 shall comprised of representatives of 

18 demand and logistics projects that receive 

19 grants under paragraph (3)(B). 

20 (8) REPORTS.—Not later than 5 years after the 

21 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

22 submit to Congress a report describing— 

23 (A) each project for which a grant has 

24 been provided under this subsection; 


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1 (B) any findings as a result of those 

2 projects; and 

3 (C) the state of market and technology de4 velopment, including market barriers and op5 portunities. 

6 (b) THERMALLY LED WOOD ENERGY GRANTS.— 

7 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Agri8 culture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Serv9 ice, shall establish a program under which the Sec10 retary of Agriculture shall provide grants to support 

11 commercially demonstrated thermally led wood en12 ergy technologies, with priority given to projects pro13 posed by State Wood Energy Teams. 

14 (2) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible to receive a 

15 grant under this subsection, the owner or operator 

16 of a relevant project shall submit to the Secretary of 

17 Agriculture an application at such time, in such 

18 manner, and containing such information as the Sec19 retary of Agriculture may require. 

20 (3) ALLOCATION.—Of the amounts made avail21 able to carry out this section, the Secretary of Agri22 culture shall allocate $10,000,000 for feasibility as23 sessments, engineering designs, and construction of 

24 thermally led wood energy systems, including pellet 


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1 boilers, district energy systems, combined heat and 

2 power installations, and other technologies. 

3 (4) REGIONAL DISTRIBUTION.—In selecting 

4 projects to receive grants under this subsection, the 

5 Secretary of Agriculture shall ensure, to the max6 imum extent practicable, diverse geographical dis7 tribution among the projects. 

8 (5) COST SHARE.—The Federal share of the 

9 cost of a project carried out using a grant under this 

10 subsection shall be 50 percent. 

11 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

12 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this sec13 tion— 

14 (1) $30,000,000 to the Secretary to provide 

15 grants under subsection (a); and 

16 (2) $10,000,000 to the Secretary of Agriculture 

17 to provide grants under subsection (b). 

18 SEC. 5. LOAN PROGRAMS; STRATEGIC ANALYSIS AND RE19 SEARCH. 

20 (a) LOW-INTEREST LOANS.— 

21 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Agri22 culture shall establish, within the Rural Develop23 ment Office, a low-interest loan program to support 

24 construction of thermally led residential, commercial 

25 or institutional, and industrial wood energy systems. 


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1 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The program under this 

2 subsection shall be carried out in accordance with 

3 such requirements as the Secretary of Agriculture 

4 may establish, by regulation, in taking into consider5 ation best practices. 

6 (3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

7 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec8 retary of Agriculture to carry out this subsection 

9 $50,000,000. 

10 (b) ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND CONSERVATION LOAN

11 PROGRAM.—In addition to loans under subsection (a), 

12 thermally led residential, commercial or institutional, and 

13 industrial wood energy systems shall be eligible to receive 

14 loans under the energy efficiency and conservation loan 

15 program of the Department of Agriculture under section 

16 2 of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 902). 

17 (c) STRATEGIC ANALYSIS AND RESEARCH.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting jointly 

19 with the Secretary of Agriculture (acting through 

20 the Chief of the Forest Service), shall establish a 

21 bioheat and biopower research program— 

22 (A) the costs of which shall be divided 

23 equally between the Department of Energy and 

24 the Department of Agriculture; 


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1 (B) to be overseen by the Board of Direc2 tors of the Initiative; and 

3 (C) to carry out projects and activities— 

4 (i)(I) to advance research and analysis 

5 on the environmental, social, and economic 

6 costs and benefits of the United States 

7 biopower and bioheat industries, including 

8 associated lifecycle analysis of greenhouse 

9 gas emissions and net energy analysis; and 

10 (II) to provide recommendations for 

11 policy and investment in those areas; 

12 (ii) to identify and assess, through a 

13 joint effort between the Chief of the Forest 

14 Service and the regional combined heat 

15 and power groups of the Department of 

16 Energy, the feasibility of thermally led dis17 trict wood energy opportunities in all re18 gions of the Forest Service regions, includ19 ing by conducting broad regional assess20 ments, feasibility studies, and preliminary 

21 engineering assessments at individual fa22 cilities; and 

23 (iii)(I) to offer to communities tech24 nical assistance to explore thermally led 

25 wood energy opportunities; and 


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1 (II) to provide enhanced services to 

2 smaller communities that have limited re3 sources and capacity to pursue new ther4 mally led wood energy opportunities. 

5 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

6 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec7 retary and the Secretary of Agriculture— 

8 (A) $2,000,000 to carry out paragraph 

9 (1)(C)(i); 

10 (B) $1,000,000 to carry out paragraph 

11 (1)(C)(ii); and 

12 (C) $1,000,000 to carry out paragraph 

13 (1)(C)(iii). 

Æ 


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