I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3597 

To guide and authorize basic research programs in the United States for 

research, development, and demonstration of solar energy technologies, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 28, 2019 

Mr. MCADAMS (for himself and Mr. FORTENBERRY) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

A BILL 

To guide and authorize basic research programs in the 

United States for research, development, and demonstration of solar energy technologies, 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 ‘‘Solar Energy Research 

5 and Development Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SOLAR ENERGY TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry out a 

8 solar energy program to conduct research, development, 

9 testing, and evaluation of solar energy technologies. In 


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1 carrying out such program, the Secretary shall award 

2 grants under this section and sections 3, 4, and 5 on a 

3 competitive, merit-reviewed basis to eligible entities for 

4 each of the following purposes: 

5 (1) To improve the energy efficiency, reliability, 

6 resilience, security, and capacity of solar energy gen7 eration. 

8 (2) To optimize the design and adaptability of 

9 solar energy systems to the broadest practical range 

10 of geographic and atmospheric conditions. 

11 (3) To reduce the cost of manufacturing, instal12 lation, operation, and maintenance of solar energy 

13 systems. 

14 (4) To create and improve conversion of solar 

15 energy to useful forms. 

16 (b) SOLAR ENERGY RESEARCH SUBJECT AREAS.— 

17 The program established under subsection (a) shall focus 

18 on the research, development, testing, and evaluation of 

19 each of the following subject areas: 

20 (1) Photovoltaic devices and related electronic 

21 components including converters, sensors, energy 

22 monitors, communication and control equipment, 

23 and protocols. 


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1 (2) Concentrated solar power, including solar 

2 thermal and concentrating solar photovoltaic tech3 nologies. 

4 (3) Low cost, high-quality solar energy systems. 

5 (4) Solar heating and cooling systems, including 

6 distributed solar-powered air conditioning. 

7 (5) Solar technology products that can be easily 

8 integrated into new buildings, existing buildings, ag9 ricultural and aquatic environments, and other infra10 structure. 

11 (6) Solar technology that is resilient to extreme 

12 weather events. 

13 (7) Solar technology products integrated into 

14 transportation applications in coordination with vehi15 cle technologies research and development activities 

16 supported by the Department of Energy. 

17 (8) Storage technologies to address the tran18 sience and intermittency of solar energy resources, 

19 including batteries, supercapacitors, and thermal 

20 storage. 

21 (9) Micro-grids using solar technology. 

22 (10) Solar technologies enabling safe grid oper23 ating conditions, such as fast-disconnect during an 

24 emergency. 


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1 (11) Distributed solar energy technologies, such 

2 as rooftop solar panels. 

3 (12) Technologies and designs that enable a 

4 broad range of scales for solar power production. 

5 (13) Advanced solar manufacturing technologies 

6 and best practices, including— 

7 (A) materials and processes; 

8 (B) development of industry standards; 

9 (C) design and integration practices; and 

10 (D) optimized packaging methods and new 

11 device designs. 

12 (14) Advanced analytic and computing capabili13 ties for better modeling and simulations of solar en14 ergy systems. 

15 (15) Electrical grid integration, including— 

16 (A) integration of solar technologies into 

17 smart grid, transmission, and distribution; 

18 (B) coordination of solar with other dis19 tributed and large-scale energy resources; 

20 (C) electrical power smoothing; 

21 (D) microgrid integration; 

22 (E) community solar; 

23 (F) solar resource forecasting; 

24 (G) regional and national electric system 

25 balancing and long distance transmission opVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:16 Jul 10, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3597.IH H3597

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1 tions, including direct current and super2 conducting transmission and long-term storage 

3 options; 

4 (H) ways to address system operations 

5 over minutes, hours, days, weeks, and seasons 

6 with respect to the full range of project scales; 

7 and 

8 (I) electric grid security, including cyber 

9 and physical security. 

10 (16) Non-hardware and information-based ad11 vances in solar energy system design, installation, 

12 and operation. 

13 (17) Solar energy technology as a part of strat14 egies commonly referred to as ‘‘behind-the-meter 

15 strategies’’, including with respect to electricity gen16 eration, load, energy efficiency, controls, storage, 

17 and electric vehicles. 

18 (18) Next generation demonstration facilities. 

19 (19) Other subject areas determined by the Sec20 retary. 

21 (c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND WORKFORCE DE22 VELOPMENT.—In carrying out the program established 

23 under subsection (a), the Secretary may also conduct, for 

24 purposes of supporting technical, non-hardware, and inforVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:16 Jul 10, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3597.IH H3597

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1 mation-based advances in solar energy systems develop2 ment and operations— 

3 (1) technical assistance and analysis activities 

4 with eligible entities, including activities that sup5 port expanding access to solar energy for low-income 

6 individuals and communities; and 

7 (2) workforce development and training activi8 ties, including to support the dissemination of stand9 ards and best practices for enabling solar power pro10 duction. 

11 (d) PROGRAM TARGETS.—The program established 

12 under subsection (a) shall address near-term (up to 2 

13 years), mid-term (up to 7 years), and long-term (up to 

14 15 years) challenges to the advancement of solar energy 

15 systems. 

16 (e) WILDLIFE IMPACT MITIGATION.—In carrying out 

17 the activities described in subsection (b), the program es18 tablished under subsection (a) shall support wildlife im19 pact mitigation technologies and strategies, including the 

20 use of distributed solar technologies, to reduce the poten21 tial negative impacts of solar energy systems on wildlife, 

22 including bird species and local flora and fauna. 

23 (f) STEWARDSHIP OF NATIONAL LABORATORY RE24 SOURCES.—In awarding grants under this Act, the SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:16 Jul 10, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3597.IH H3597

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1 retary shall steward relevant capabilities and programs of 

2 the National Laboratories. 

3 (g) CONFORMING REPEALS.—The following provi4 sions of law are hereby repealed: 

5 (1) The Solar Energy Research, Development, 

6 and Demonstration Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5551 et 

7 seq.), except for section 10. 

8 (2) The Solar Photovoltaic Energy Research, 

9 Development, and Demonstration Act of 1978 (42 

10 U.S.C. 5581 et seq.). 

11 (3) Paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 4(a) of 

12 the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Tech13 nology Competitiveness Act of 1989 (42 U.S.C. 

14 12003(a)). 

15 (4) Subparagraph (A) of section 931(a)(2) of 

16 the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 

17 16231(a)(2)). 

18 (5) Sections 606 and 607 of the Energy Inde19 pendence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 

20 17174 and 17175). 

21 (h) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 

22 (1) The term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means any of the 

23 following entities: 

24 (A) An institution of higher education. 

25 (B) A National laboratory. 


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1 (C) A Federal research agency. 

2 (D) A State research agency. 

3 (E) A nonprofit research organization. 

4 (F) An industrial entity or a multi-institu5 tional consortium thereof. 

6 (2) The term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ 

7 has the meaning given such term in section 101 of 

8 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

9 1001). 

10 (3) The term ‘‘National Laboratory’’ has the 

11 meaning given such term in section 2(3) of the En12 ergy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15801(3)). 

13 (4) The term ‘‘photovoltaic device’’ includes 

14 photovoltaic cells and the electronic and electrical 

15 components of such devices. 

16 (5) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

17 of Energy. 

18 SEC. 3. SOLAR ENERGY TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRATION 

19 PROJECTS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the program es21 tablished under section 2(a), the Secretary shall award 

22 grants on a competitive, merit-reviewed basis to eligible 

23 entities for demonstration projects to advance the develop24 ment of solar energy technologies and systems production. 


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1 (b) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under subsection 

2 (a), the Secretary shall give priority to projects that— 

3 (1) are located in geographically diverse regions 

4 of the United States; 

5 (2) can be replicated in a variety of regions and 

6 climates; 

7 (3) demonstrate technologies that address 

8 intermittency, variability, storage challenges, behind9 the-meter operations, and independent operational 

10 capability; 

11 (4) coordinate solar technologies with other dis12 tributed and large-scale energy resources; 

13 (5) facilitate identification of optimum ap14 proaches among competing solar energy tech15 nologies; 

16 (6) include business commercialization plans 

17 that have the potential for production of solar en18 ergy equipment at high volumes; 

19 (7) support the development of advanced manu20 facturing technologies that have the potential to im21 prove United States competitiveness in the inter22 national solar energy manufacturing sector; 

23 (8) provide the greatest potential to reduce en24 ergy costs, as well as promote accessibility and comVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:16 Jul 10, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3597.IH H3597

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1 munity implementation of demonstrated tech2 nologies, for consumers; 

3 (9) increase disclosure and transparency of in4 formation to all market participants to help in mak5 ing optimal decisions; 

6 (10) promote overall electric infrastructure reli7 ability and resilience should grid functions be dis8 rupted or damaged; and 

9 (11) satisfy any other criteria that the Sec10 retary determines appropriate. 

11 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—Grants under this section may 

12 be used, to the extent that funding is not otherwise avail13 able through other Federal programs or power purchase 

14 agreements, for— 

15 (1) any necessary site engineering study; 

16 (2) an economic assessment of site-specific con17 ditions; 

18 (3) appropriate feasibility studies to determine 

19 whether the demonstration can be replicated; 

20 (4) installation of equipment, service, and sup21 port; 

22 (5) operation for at least the minimum amount 

23 of time required to fully assess the project’s results 

24 and objectives, as determined by a peer-reviewed 

25 process; and 


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1 (6) validation of technical, economic, and envi2 ronmental assumptions and documentation of les3 sons learned. 

4 (d) SOLICITATION.—Not later than 90 days after the 

5 date of enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, the 

6 Secretary shall conduct a national solicitation for applica7 tions for grants under this section. 

8 (e) ORGANIC PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL TECH9 NOLOGIES.—At least 1 grant awarded under this section 

10 during fiscal year 2020 shall be for a project to dem11 onstrate organic photovoltaic cell technologies. 

12 SEC. 4. NEXT GENERATION SOLAR ENERGY MANUFAC13 TURING INITIATIVE. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the program es15 tablished under section 2(a), the Secretary shall provide 

16 multi-year grants on a competitive, merit-reviewed basis 

17 to eligible entities for research, development, and dem18 onstration projects to advance new solar energy manufac19 turing technologies and techniques, including those that 

20 manufacture solar cells, hardware, and enabling devices. 

21 (b) STRATEGIC VISION REPORT.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than September 1, 

23 2020, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee 

24 on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 

25 Representatives, the Committee on Energy and NatVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:16 Jul 10, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3597.IH H3597

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1 ural Resources of the Senate, and any other commit2 tees of Congress deemed appropriate by the Sec3 retary a report on the results of a study that exam4 ines the viable market opportunities available for 

5 solar energy technology manufacturing in the United 

6 States, including solar cells, hardware, and enabling 

7 technologies. 

8 (2) REPORT REQUIREMENTS.—The report 

9 under paragraph (1) shall include— 

10 (A) a description of— 

11 (i) the ability to competitively manu12 facture solar technology in the United 

13 States, including the manufacture of— 

14 (I) new and advanced materials, 

15 such as cells made with new, cost-ef16 fective, high efficiency materials; 

17 (II) solar module equipment and 

18 enabling technologies, including smart 

19 inverters, sensors, and tracking equip20 ment; 

21 (III) innovative solar module de22 signs and applications, including those 

23 that can directly integrate with new 

24 and existing buildings and other infra25 structure; and 


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1 (IV) other research areas as de2 termined by the Secretary; and 

3 (ii) opportunities and barriers within 

4 the United States and international solar 

5 energy technology supply chains; 

6 (B) policy recommendations for enhancing 

7 solar energy technology manufacturing in the 

8 United States; and 

9 (C) an aggressive 10-year target and plan, 

10 beginning in 2021, to enhance the competitive11 ness of solar energy technology manufacturing 

12 in the United States. 

13 (c) PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION.—In carrying out 

14 the research, development, and demonstration program 

15 under this section, to the extent practicable, the Secretary 

16 shall follow the recommendations included in the report 

17 under subsection (b) and make grants for solar energy 

18 manufacturing projects that— 

19 (1) reduce capital expenditures or provide 

20 lower-cost manufacturing option; 

21 (2) eliminate manufacturing process steps; 

22 (3) reduce energy, water, and material inputs; 

23 (4) establish alternative supply chains for mate24 rials and components; and 


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1 (5) take advantage of rapid prototyping, small 

2 batch manufacturing, and roll-to-roll processing. 

3 (d) PROGRAM EVALUATION.—Beginning not later 

4 than 3 years after the completion of the report under sub5 section (b), and every 4 years thereafter, the Secretary 

6 shall provide, and make available to the public and the 

7 relevant authorizing and appropriations committees of 

8 Congress, an independent review of the program author9 ized under this section to evaluate its progress toward 

10 meeting the policy recommendations and targets deter11 mined in the report. 

12 SEC. 5. PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE RECYCLING RESEARCH, 

13 DEVELOPMENT, AND DEMONSTRATION. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the program, the 

15 Secretary shall award, on a competitive, merit-reviewed 

16 basis, multiyear grants to eligible entities for research, de17 velopment, and demonstration projects to create innova18 tive and practical approaches to increase reuse and recy19 cling of photovoltaic devices. 

20 (b) PURPOSE.—The Secretary shall award grants 

21 under subsection (a) for projects that address— 

22 (1) technology to increase the efficiency of pho23 tovoltaic device recycling and maximize the recovery 

24 of valuable raw materials for use in new products 

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1 pacts such as greenhouse gas emissions and water 

2 usage; 

3 (2) expanded uses for materials from recycled 

4 photovoltaic devices; 

5 (3) development and demonstration of environ6 mentally responsible alternatives to the use of haz7 ardous materials in photovoltaic devices and the pro8 duction of such devices; 

9 (4) development of methods to separate and re10 move hazardous materials from photovoltaic devices 

11 and to recycle or dispose of those materials in a safe 

12 manner; 

13 (5) product design and construction to facilitate 

14 disassembly and recycling of photovoltaic devices; 

15 (6) tools and methods to aid in assessing the 

16 environmental impacts of the production of photo17 voltaic devices and photovoltaic device recycling and 

18 disposal; 

19 (7) product design and construction and other 

20 tools and techniques to extend the life cycle of pho21 tovoltaic devices, including methods to promote their 

22 safe reuse; 

23 (8) strategies to increase consumer acceptance 

24 and practice of recycling of photovoltaic devices; and 


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1 (9) processes to reduce the costs and environ2 mental impact of disposal of toxic materials used in 

3 photovoltaic devices. 

4 (c) APPLICATIONS.—An eligible entity seeking a 

5 grant under this section shall submit to the Secretary an 

6 application that includes a description of— 

7 (1) the project that will be undertaken and the 

8 contributions of each participating entity; 

9 (2) the applicability of the project to increasing 

10 reuse and recycling of photovoltaic devices with the 

11 least environmental impacts as measured by life12 cycle analyses, and the potential for incorporating 

13 the research results into industry practice; and 

14 (3) how the project will promote collaboration 

15 among scientists and engineers from different dis16 ciplines, such as electrical engineering, materials 

17 science, and social science. 

18 (d) DISSEMINATION OF RESULTS.—The Secretary 

19 shall publish the results of projects supported under this 

20 section through— 

21 (1) development of best practices or training 

22 materials for use in the photovoltaics manufacturing, 

23 design, installation, refurbishing, or recycling indus24 tries; 

25 (2) dissemination at industry conferences; 


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1 (3) coordination with information dissemination 

2 programs relating to recycling of electronic devices 

3 in general; 

4 (4) demonstration projects; and 

5 (5) educational materials for the public pro6 duced in conjunction with State and local govern7 ments or nonprofit organizations on the problems 

8 and solutions related to reuse and recycling of pho9 tovoltaic devices. 

10 (e) PHOTOVOLTAIC MATERIALS PHYSICAL PROP11 ERTY DATABASE.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than September 1, 

13 2021, the Secretary shall establish a comprehensive 

14 physical property database of materials for use in 

15 photovoltaic devices. Such database shall include— 

16 (A) identification of materials used in pho17 tovoltaic devices; 

18 (B) a list of commercially available 

19 amounts of these materials and their country of 

20 origin; 

21 (C) amounts of these materials projected 

22 to be available through mining or recycling of 

23 photovoltaic and other electronic devices; and 

24 (D) a list of other significant uses for each 

25 of these materials. 


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1 (2) PRIORITIES.—Not later than September 1, 

2 2020, the Secretary, working with private industry, 

3 shall develop a plan to establish priorities and re4 quirements for the database under this subsection, 

5 including the protection of proprietary information, 

6 trade secrets, and other confidential business infor7 mation. 

8 (3) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall co9 ordinate with the Director of the National Institute 

10 of Standards and Technology, the Administrator of 

11 the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Ad12 ministrator of the Department of Interior to facili13 tate the incorporation of the database under this 

14 subsection with any existing database for materials 

15 involved in electronic manufacturing and recycling. 

16 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

17 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec18 retary to carry out this Act— 

19 (1) $270,000,000 for fiscal year 2020; 

20 (2) $283,500,000 for fiscal year 2021; 

21 (3) $297,675,000 for fiscal year 2022; 

22 (4) $312,558,750 for fiscal year 2023; and 

23 (5) $328,186,688 for fiscal year 2024. 

Æ 


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