IB 

Union Calendar No. 410 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3607 

[Report No. 116–510] 

To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to direct Federal research in 

fossil energy and to promote the development and demonstration of 

environmentally responsible coal and natural gas technologies, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 2, 2019 

Mr. VEASEY (for himself, Mr. SCHWEIKERT, Mr. LAMB, Mrs. FLETCHER, and 

Ms. JOHNSON of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

SEPTEMBER 17, 2020 

Additional sponsors: Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. MCKINLEY, Ms. TORRES SMALL

of New Mexico, Mr. MALINOWSKI, and Mr. MCADAMS

SEPTEMBER 17, 2020 

Reported with an amendment; committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on July 2, 2019] 


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A BILL 

To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to direct Federal 

research in fossil energy and to promote the development 

and demonstration of environmentally responsible coal 

and natural gas technologies, and for other purposes. 


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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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fos5 sil Energy Research and Development Act of 2019’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

Sec. 3. Fossil energy objectives. 

Sec. 4. Carbon capture technologies. 

Sec. 5. Natural gas carbon capture research, development, and demonstration program. 

Sec. 6. Carbon storage validation and testing. 

Sec. 7. Carbon utilization. 

Sec. 8. Advanced energy systems. 

Sec. 9. Rare earth elements. 

Sec. 10. Methane hydrate research amendments. 

Sec. 11. Carbon removal. 

Sec. 12. Methane leak detection and mitigation. 

Sec. 13. Waste gas utilization. 

Sec. 14. National energy technology laboratory reforms. 

Sec. 15. Climate Solutions Challenges. 

Sec. 16. Table of contents amendments. 

8 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

9 For purposes of this Act: 

10 (1) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

11 means the Department of Energy. 

12 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

13 the Secretary of Energy. 

14 SEC. 3. FOSSIL ENERGY OBJECTIVES. 

15 Section 961 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

16 U.S.C. 16291) is amended— 

17 (1) in subsection (a)— 


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1 (A) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘(2) Decreasing the cost of emissions control 

4 technologies for fossil energy production, generation, 

5 and delivery.’’; 

6 (B) by striking paragraph (7) and inserting 

7 the following: 

8 ‘‘(7) Increasing the export of emissions control 

9 technologies from the United States for fossil energy10 related equipment, technology, and services.’’; and 

11 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(8) Improving the conversion, use, and storage 

13 of carbon oxides. 

14 ‘‘(9) Lowering greenhouse gas emissions for all 

15 fossil fuel production, generation, delivery, and utili16 zation, to the maximum extent possible. 

17 ‘‘(10) Preventing, predicting, monitoring, and 

18 mitigating the unintended leaking of methane, carbon 

19 dioxide, or other fossil fuel-related emissions into the 

20 atmosphere. 

21 ‘‘(11) Improving the separation and purification 

22 of helium from fossil fuel resources. 

23 ‘‘(12) Reducing water use, improving water 

24 reuse, and minimizing the surface and subsurface enVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:49 Sep 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3607.RH H3607

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1 vironmental impact in the development of unconven2 tional domestic oil and natural gas resources. 

3 ‘‘(13) Developing carbon removal and utilization 

4 technologies, products, and methods that result in net 

5 reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, including di6 rect air capture and storage and carbon use and reuse 

7 for commercial application.’’; 

8 (2) in subsection (b), by striking paragraphs (1) 

9 through (3) and inserting the following: 

10 ‘‘(1) $825,000,000 for fiscal year 2020; 

11 ‘‘(2) $866,250,000 for fiscal year 2021; 

12 ‘‘(3) $909,563,000 for fiscal year 2022; 

13 ‘‘(4) $955,041,000 for fiscal year 2023; and 

14 ‘‘(5) $1,002,793,000 for fiscal year 2024.’’; and 

15 (3) by striking subsections (c) through (e) and 

16 inserting the following: 

17 ‘‘(c) PRIORITIZATION.—In carrying out this section, 

18 the Secretary shall prioritize technologies and strategies 

19 that have the potential to meet emissions reduction goals 

20 in the agreement of the twenty-first session of the Conference 

21 of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention 

22 on Climate Change. 

23 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION.—None of the funds authorized under 

24 this section may be used for Fossil Energy Environmental 

25 Restoration or Import/Export Authorization.’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. CARBON CAPTURE TECHNOLOGIES. 

2 (a) CARBON CAPTURE PROGRAM.—Section 962 of the 

3 Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16292) is amended 

4 to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 962. CARBON CAPTURE TECHNOLOGIES. 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct a pro7 gram of research, development, demonstration, and commer8 cial application of carbon capture technologies, which shall 

9 include facilitation of the development and use of— 

10 ‘‘(1) carbon capture technologies for coal and 

11 natural gas; 

12 ‘‘(2) innovations to significantly decrease emis13 sions at existing power plants; and 

14 ‘‘(3) advanced separation technologies. 

15 ‘‘(b) INVESTMENT.—As a part of the program under 

16 subsection (a), the Secretary shall maintain robust invest17 ments in carbon capture technologies for coal and natural 

18 gas applications. 

19 ‘‘(c) LARGE-SCALE PILOTS.—In carrying out this sec20 tion, the Secretary is encouraged to support pilot projects 

21 that test carbon capture technologies on coal and natural 

22 gas power and industrial systems below the 100 megawatt 

23 scale, consistent with section 988(b). 

24 ‘‘(d) COST AND PERFORMANCE GOALS.—In carrying 

25 out the program under subsection (a), the Secretary shall 

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1 tion of carbon capture research to commercially viable tech2 nologies. 

3 ‘‘(e) CARBON CAPTURE PILOT TEST CENTERS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—As a part of the program 

5 under subsection (a), not later than 1 year after the 

6 date of the enactment of the Fossil Energy Research 

7 and Development Act of 2019, the Secretary shall 

8 award grants to eligible entities for the operation of 

9 not less than three Carbon Capture Test Centers (in 

10 this subsection, known as the ‘Centers’) to provide 

11 unique testing capabilities for innovative carbon cap12 ture technologies for power and industrial systems. 

13 ‘‘(2) PURPOSE.—Each Center shall— 

14 ‘‘(A) advance research, development, dem15 onstration, and commercial application of car16 bon capture technologies for power and indus17 trial systems; and 

18 ‘‘(B) test technologies that represent the 

19 scale of technology development beyond labora20 tory testing, but not yet advanced to testing 

21 under operational conditions at commercial 

22 scale. 

23 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.—An entity seeking to operate 

24 a Center under this subsection shall submit to the 


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1 Secretary an application at such time and in such 

2 manner as the Secretary may require. 

3 ‘‘(4) PRIORITY CRITERIA.—In selecting applica4 tions to operate a Center under this subsection, the 

5 Secretary shall prioritize applicants that— 

6 ‘‘(A) have access to existing or planned re7 search facilities with modular technology capa8 bilities; 

9 ‘‘(B) are institutions of higher education 

10 with established expertise in engineering and de11 sign for carbon capture technologies, or partner12 ships with such institutions; 

13 ‘‘(C) have access to existing research and 

14 test facilities for pre-combustion, post-combus15 tion, or oxy-combustion technologies; or 

16 ‘‘(D) have test capabilities to address scal17 ing challenges of integrating carbon capture tech18 nologies with utility scale power plants. 

19 ‘‘(5) CONSIDERATIONS.—In awarding grants for 

20 the operation of the Centers under this subsection, the 

21 Secretary shall ensure that— 

22 ‘‘(A) the portfolio of Centers includes a di23 verse representation of regional and resource 

24 characteristics; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) each new Center demonstrates unique 

2 research capabilities, unique regional benefits, or 

3 new technology development opportunities. 

4 ‘‘(6) SCHEDULE.—Each grant to operate a Cen5 ter under this subsection shall be awarded for a term 

6 of not more than 5 years, subject to the availability 

7 of appropriations. The Secretary may renew such 5- 

8 year term without limit, subject to a rigorous merit 

9 review. 

10 ‘‘(7) TERMINATION.—To the extent otherwise au11 thorized by law, the Secretary may eliminate a Cen12 ter during any 5-year term described in paragraph 

13 (6) if such Center is underperforming. 

14 ‘‘(f) DEMONSTRATIONS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—As a part of the program 

16 under subsection (a), the Secretary may provide 

17 grants for large-scale demonstration projects for 

18 power and industrial systems that test the scale of 

19 technology necessary to gain the operational data 

20 needed to understand the technical and performance 

21 risks of the technology before the application of the 

22 technology at commercial scale, in accordance with 

23 this subsection. 

24 ‘‘(2) ENGINEERING AND DESIGN STUDIES.—The 

25 Secretary is authorized to fund front-end engineering 


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1 and design studies in addition to, or in advance of, 

2 issuing an award for a demonstration project under 

3 this subsection. 

4 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.—An entity seeking an award 

5 to conduct a demonstration project under this sub6 section shall submit to the Secretary an application 

7 at such time and in such manner as the Secretary 

8 may require. 

9 ‘‘(4) LIMITATIONS.—The Secretary shall only 

10 provide an award under this subsection after review11 ing each applicant and application regarding— 

12 ‘‘(A) financial strength; 

13 ‘‘(B) construction schedule; 

14 ‘‘(C) market risk; and 

15 ‘‘(D) contractor history. 

16 ‘‘(5) REQUIREMENTS.—A demonstration project 

17 funded under this subsection shall— 

18 ‘‘(A) utilize technologies that have completed 

19 pilot-scale testing or the equivalent, as deter20 mined by the Secretary; 

21 ‘‘(B) secure and maintain agreements for 

22 the utilization or sequestration of captured car23 bon dioxide; and 

24 ‘‘(C) upon completion, demonstrate carbon 

25 capture technologies on a power or industrial 


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1 system capable of capturing not less than 

2 100,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually. 

3 ‘‘(g) DEFINITION OF POWER SYSTEM.—In this section, 

4 the term ‘power system’ means any electricity generating 

5 unit that utilizes fossil fuels to generate electricity provided 

6 to the electric grid or directly to a consumer. 

7 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Of the 

8 amounts made available under section 961, there are au9 thorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for activities 

10 under this section— 

11 ‘‘(1) $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2020; 

12 ‘‘(2) $315,000,000 for fiscal year 2021; 

13 ‘‘(3) $330,750,000 for fiscal year 2022; 

14 ‘‘(4) $347,288,000 for fiscal year 2023; and 

15 ‘‘(5) $364,652,000 for fiscal year 2024.’’. 

16 (b) GAO STUDY.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

18 the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 

19 General of the United States shall submit to the Com20 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

21 House of Representatives and the Committee on En22 ergy and Natural Resources of the Senate a report on 

23 the results of a study of the Department’s successes, 

24 failures, practices, and improvements in carrying out 

25 demonstration projects for carbon capture technologies 


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1 for power and industrial systems. In conducting the 

2 study, the Comptroller General shall consider— 

3 (A) applicant and contractor qualifications; 

4 (B) project management practices at the 

5 Department; 

6 (C) economic or market changes and other 

7 factors impacting project viability; 

8 (D) completion of third-party agreements, 

9 including power purchase agreements and carbon 

10 dioxide offtake agreements; 

11 (E) regulatory challenges; and 

12 (F) construction challenges. 

13 (2) CONSIDERATION.—The Secretary shall con14 sider any relevant recommendations, as determined 

15 by the Secretary, provided in the report required 

16 under paragraph (1), and shall adopt such rec17 ommendations as the Secretary considers appropriate. 

18 (3) POWER SYSTEM DEFINED.—In this section, 

19 the term ‘‘power system’’ means any electricity gener20 ating unit that utilizes fossil fuels to generate elec21 tricity provided to the electric grid or directly to a 

22 consumer. 


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1 SEC. 5. NATURAL GAS CARBON CAPTURE RESEARCH, DE2 VELOPMENT, AND DEMONSTRATION PRO3 GRAM. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle F of title IX of the Energy 

5 Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16291 et seq.) is amended 

6 by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 969. NATURAL GAS CARBON CAPTURE RESEARCH, DE8 VELOPMENT, AND DEMONSTRATION PRO9 GRAM. 

10 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

11 ‘‘(1) NATURAL GAS.—The term ‘natural gas’ in12 cludes any fuel consisting in whole or in part of— 

13 ‘‘(A) natural gas; 

14 ‘‘(B) liquid petroleum gas; 

15 ‘‘(C) synthetic gas derived from petroleum 

16 or natural gas liquids; 

17 ‘‘(D) any mixture of natural gas and syn18 thetic gas; or 

19 ‘‘(E) any product derived directly from nat20 ural gas, including hydrogen. 

21 ‘‘(2) QUALIFYING ELECTRIC GENERATION FACIL22 ITY.—The term ‘qualifying electric generation facil23 ity’ means a facility that generates electric energy 

24 through the use of natural gas. 

25 ‘‘(3) QUALIFYING TECHNOLOGY.—The term 

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1 ture carbon dioxide produced during the generation of 

2 electricity from natural gas power systems 

3 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, 

4 AND DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

6 a program under which the Secretary shall, through 

7 a competitive, merit-reviewed process, award grants 

8 to eligible entities to conduct research, development, 

9 and demonstration of qualifying technologies. 

10 ‘‘(2) OBJECTIVES.—The objectives of the program 

11 established under paragraph (1) shall be— 

12 ‘‘(A) to conduct research to accelerate the 

13 development of qualifying technologies to reduce 

14 the quantity of carbon dioxide emissions released 

15 from qualifying electric generation facilities, in16 cluding— 

17 ‘‘(i) pre- and post-combustion capture 

18 technologies; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) technologies to improve the ther20 modynamics, kinetics, scalability, dura21 bility, and flexibility of carbon capture 

22 technologies for use during the generation of 

23 electricity from natural gas power systems; 

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1 fying technologies in partnership with qualifying 

2 electric generation facilities in order to dem3 onstrate the technical feasibility and economic 

4 potential for commercial deployment of tech5 nologies developed pursuant to subparagraph 

6 (A); and 

7 ‘‘(C) to identify any barriers to the com8 mercial deployment of any qualifying tech9 nologies under development pursuant to research 

10 conducted pursuant to subparagraph (A). 

11 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.— An entity eligible to 

12 receive a grant under this subsection is— 

13 ‘‘(A) a National Laboratory; 

14 ‘‘(B) an institution of higher education; 

15 ‘‘(C) a research facility; 

16 ‘‘(D) a multi-institutional collaboration; or 

17 ‘‘(E) another appropriate entity or com18 bination of any of the entities specified in sub19 paragraphs (A) through (D). 

20 ‘‘(c) CARBON CAPTURE FACILITIES DEMONSTRATION

21 PROGRAM.— 

22 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—As part of the program 

23 established under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 

24 establish a demonstration program under which the 

25 Secretary shall, through a competitive, merit-reviewed 


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1 process, enter into cooperative agreements with enti2 ties that submit applications pursuant to paragraph 

3 (4) for demonstration or pilot projects to construct 

4 and operate, by not later than September 30, 2025, 

5 up to five facilities to capture carbon dioxide from 

6 qualifying electric generation facilities. The Secretary 

7 shall, to the maximum extent practicable, provide 

8 technical assistance to any entity seeking to enter into 

9 such a cooperative agreement in obtaining any nec10 essary permits and licenses to demonstrate qualifying 

11 technologies. 

12 ‘‘(2) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The Sec13 retary may enter into a cooperative agreement under 

14 this subsection with industry stakeholders, including 

15 any such industry stakeholder operating in partner16 ship with National Laboratories, institutions of high17 er education, multi-institutional collaborations, and 

18 other appropriate entities. 

19 ‘‘(3) GOALS.—Each demonstration or pilot 

20 project carried out pursuant to the demonstration 

21 program under this subsection shall— 

22 ‘‘(A) be designed to further the development 

23 of qualifying technologies that may be used by a 

24 qualifying electric generation facility; 


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1 ‘‘(B) be financed in part by the private sec2 tor; 

3 ‘‘(C) if necessary, secure agreements for the 

4 offtake of carbon dioxide emissions captured by 

5 qualifying technologies during the project; and 

6 ‘‘(D) support energy production in the 

7 United States. 

8 ‘‘(4) REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS.—Not later 

9 than 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

10 the Secretary shall solicit applications for cooperative 

11 agreements for projects— 

12 ‘‘(A) to demonstrate qualifying technologies 

13 at up to five qualifying electric generation facili14 ties; and 

15 ‘‘(B) to construct and operate three or more 

16 facilities to capture carbon dioxide from a quali17 fying electric generation facility. 

18 ‘‘(5) REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS.—In considering 

19 applications submitted under paragraph (4), the Sec20 retary, to the maximum extent practicable, shall— 

21 ‘‘(A) ensure a broad geographic distribution 

22 of project sites; 

23 ‘‘(B) ensure that a broad selection of quali24 fying electric generation facilities are rep25 resented; 


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1 ‘‘(C) ensure that a broad selection of quali2 fying technologies are represented; 

3 ‘‘(D) require information and knowledge 

4 gained by each participant in the demonstration 

5 program to be transferred and shared among all 

6 participants in the demonstration program; and 

7 ‘‘(E) leverage existing— 

8 ‘‘(i) public-private partnerships; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) Federal resources. 

10 ‘‘(d) COST SHARING.—In carrying out this section, the 

11 Secretary shall require cost sharing in accordance with sec12 tion 988. 

13 ‘‘(e) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

14 on which the Secretary solicits applications under sub15 section (c)(3), and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall 

16 submit to the appropriate committees of jurisdiction of the 

17 Senate and the House of Representatives a report that in18 cludes— 

19 ‘‘(1) a detailed description of how applications 

20 for cooperative agreements under subsection (b) will 

21 be solicited and evaluated, including— 

22 ‘‘(A) a list of any activities carried out by 

23 the Secretary to solicit or evaluate applications; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(B) a process for ensuring that any 

2 projects carried out under a cooperative agree3 ment are designed to result in the development or 

4 demonstration of qualifying technologies; 

5 ‘‘(2)(A) in the case of the first report under this 

6 subsection, a detailed list of technical milestones for 

7 the development and demonstration of each qualifying 

8 technology pursued under subsection (b); and 

9 ‘‘(B) in the case of each subsequent report under 

10 this subsection, the progress made towards achieving 

11 such technical milestones during the period covered by 

12 the report; and 

13 ‘‘(3) with respect to the demonstration program 

14 established under subsection (c), includes— 

15 ‘‘(A) an estimate of the cost of licensing, 

16 permitting, constructing, and operating each 

17 carbon capture facility expected to be constructed 

18 under that demonstration program; 

19 ‘‘(B) a schedule for the planned construction 

20 and operation of each demonstration or pilot 

21 project; and 

22 ‘‘(C) an estimate of any financial assist23 ance, compensation, or incentives proposed to be 

24 paid by the host State, Indian Tribe, or local 

25 government with respect to each facility. 


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1 ‘‘(f) FUNDING.—For each of fiscal years 2020 through 

2 2025, out of any amounts appropriated to the Department 

3 to carry out fossil energy research and development activi4 ties and not otherwise obligated, the Secretary may use to 

5 carry out this section not more than $50,000,000.’’. 

6 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents for 

7 the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public Law 109–58; 119 

8 Stat. 600) is amended by inserting after the item relating 

9 to section 968 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 969. Natural gas carbon capture research, development, and demonstration 

program.’’. 

10 SEC. 6. CARBON STORAGE VALIDATION AND TESTING. 

11 Section 963 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

12 U.S.C. 16293) is amended to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 963. CARBON STORAGE VALIDATION AND TESTING. 

14 ‘‘(a) CARBON STORAGE.—The Secretary, in consulta15 tion with the Administrator of the Environmental Protec16 tion Agency, shall carry out a program of research, develop17 ment, and demonstration for carbon storage. The program 

18 shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) in coordination with relevant Federal agen20 cies, develop and maintain mapping tools and re21 sources that assess the capacity of geologic storage for22 mations in the United States; 

23 ‘‘(2) develop monitoring tools, modeling of geo24 logic formations, and analyses to predict and verify 


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1 carbon dioxide containment and account for seques2 tered carbon dioxide in geologic storage sites; 

3 ‘‘(3) research potential environmental, safety, 

4 and health impacts in the event of a leak to the at5 mosphere or to an aquifer, and any corresponding 

6 mitigation actions or responses to limit harmful con7 sequences; 

8 ‘‘(4) evaluate the interactions of carbon dioxide 

9 with formation solids and fluids, including the pro10 pensity of injections to induce seismic activity; 

11 ‘‘(5) assess and ensure the safety of operations 

12 related to geologic sequestration of carbon dioxide; 

13 ‘‘(6) determine the fate of carbon dioxide concur14 rent with and following injection into geologic forma15 tions; 

16 ‘‘(7) support cost and business model assessments 

17 to examine the economic viability of technologies and 

18 systems developed under this program; and 

19 ‘‘(8) provide information to State, local, and 

20 Tribal governments, the Environmental Protection 

21 Agency, and other appropriate entities, to support de22 velopment of a regulatory framework for commercial23 scale sequestration operations that ensure the protec24 tion of human health and the environment. 


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1 ‘‘(b) GEOLOGIC SETTINGS.—In carrying out research 

2 activities under this section, the Secretary shall consider a 

3 variety of candidate geologic settings, both onshore and off4 shore, including— 

5 ‘‘(1) operating oil and gas fields; 

6 ‘‘(2) depleted oil and gas fields; 

7 ‘‘(3) residual oil zones; 

8 ‘‘(4) unconventional reservoirs and rock types; 

9 ‘‘(5) unmineable coal seams; 

10 ‘‘(6) saline formations in both sedimentary and 

11 basaltic geologies; 

12 ‘‘(7) geologic systems that may be used as engi13 neered reservoirs to extract economical quantities of 

14 brine from geothermal resources of low permeability 

15 or porosity; and 

16 ‘‘(8) geologic systems containing in situ carbon 

17 dioxide mineralization formations. 

18 ‘‘(c) REGIONAL CARBON SEQUESTRATION PARTNER19 SHIPS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 

21 out large-scale carbon sequestration demonstrations 

22 for geologic containment of carbon dioxide to collect 

23 and validate information on the cost and feasibility 

24 of commercial deployment of technologies for the geo25 logic containment of carbon dioxide. The Secretary 


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1 may fund new demonstrations or expand the work 

2 completed at one or more of the existing regional car3 bon sequestration partnerships. 

4 ‘‘(2) DEMONSTRATION COMPONENTS.—Each dem5 onstration described in paragraph (1) shall include 

6 longitudinal tests involving carbon dioxide injection 

7 and monitoring, mitigation, and verification oper8 ations. 

9 ‘‘(3) CLEARINGHOUSE.—The National Energy 

10 Technology Laboratory shall act as a clearinghouse of 

11 shared information and resources for the regional car12 bon sequestration partnerships and any new dem13 onstrations funded under this section. 

14 ‘‘(4) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

15 date of enactment of the Fossil Energy Research and 

16 Development Act of 2019, the Secretary shall provide 

17 to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

18 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

19 Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a report 

20 that— 

21 ‘‘(A) assesses the progress of all regional 

22 carbon sequestration partnerships; 

23 ‘‘(B) identifies the remaining challenges in 

24 achieving carbon sequestration that is reliable 


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1 and safe for the environment and public health; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(C) creates a roadmap for Department of 

4 Energy carbon storage research and development 

5 activities through 2030 with the goal of reducing 

6 economic and policy barriers to commercial car7 bon sequestration. 

8 ‘‘(5) LARGE-SCALE CARBON SEQUESTRATION.— 

9 For purposes of this subsection, ‘large-scale carbon se10 questration’ means a scale that demonstrates the abil11 ity to inject and sequester several million metric tons 

12 carbon dioxide for at least 10 years. 

13 ‘‘(d) INTEGRATED STORAGE PROJECTS.—The Sec14 retary may carry out a program for the purpose of 

15 transitioning the large-scale carbon sequestration dem16 onstration projects under subsection (c) into integrated, 

17 commercial storage complexes. The program shall focus 

18 on— 

19 ‘‘(1) qualifying geologic storage sites in order to 

20 accept large volumes of carbon dioxide acceptable for 

21 commercial contracts; 

22 ‘‘(2) understanding the technical and commercial 

23 viability of storage sites; 


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1 ‘‘(3) developing the qualification processes that 

2 will be necessary for a diverse range of geologic stor3 age sites to commercially accept carbon dioxide; and 

4 ‘‘(4) any other activities the Secretary deter5 mines necessary to transition the large scale dem6 onstration storage projects into commercial ventures. 

7 ‘‘(e) COST SHARING.—The Secretary shall require cost 

8 sharing under this section in accordance with section 988. 

9 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Of the 

10 amounts made available under section 961, there are au11 thorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for activities 

12 under this section— 

13 ‘‘(1) $120,000,000 for fiscal year 2020; 

14 ‘‘(2) $126,000,000 for fiscal year 2021; 

15 ‘‘(3) $132,300,000 for fiscal year 2022; 

16 ‘‘(4) $138,915,000 for fiscal year 2023; and 

17 ‘‘(5) $145,860,750 for fiscal year 2024.’’. 

18 SEC. 7. CARBON UTILIZATION. 

19 (a) PROGRAM.—Subtitle F of title IX of the Energy 

20 Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16291 et seq.) is amended 

21 by inserting after section 963 (42 U.S.C. 16293) the fol22 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 963A. CARBON UTILIZATION. 

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

3 program of research, development, and demonstration for 

4 carbon utilization. The program shall— 

5 ‘‘(1) assess and monitor potential changes in life 

6 cycle carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emis7 sions, and other environmental safety indicators of 

8 new technologies, practices, processes, or methods, 

9 used in enhanced hydrocarbon recovery as part of the 

10 activities authorized in section 963 of the Energy Pol11 icy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16293); 

12 ‘‘(2) identify and evaluate novel uses for carbon, 

13 including the conversion of carbon oxides, in a man14 ner that, on a full life-cycle basis, achieves a perma15 nent reduction in, or avoidance of a net increase in 

16 carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, for use in commer17 cial and industrial products, such as— 

18 ‘‘(A) chemicals; 

19 ‘‘(B) plastics; 

20 ‘‘(C) building materials; 

21 ‘‘(D) fuels; 

22 ‘‘(E) cement; 

23 ‘‘(F) products of coal utilization in power 

24 systems (as such term is defined in section 

25 962(e)), or other applications; or 


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1 ‘‘(G) other products with demonstrated 

2 market value; 

3 ‘‘(3) carbon capture technologies for industrial 

4 systems; 

5 ‘‘(4) identify and assess alternative uses for coal 

6 that result in no net emissions of carbon dioxide or 

7 other pollutants, including products derived from car8 bon engineering, carbon fiber, and coal conversion 

9 methods. 

10 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Of the 

11 amounts made available under section 961, there are au12 thorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for activities 

13 under this section— 

14 ‘‘(1) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2020; 

15 ‘‘(2) $26,250,000 for fiscal year 2021; 

16 ‘‘(3) $27,562,500 for fiscal year 2022; 

17 ‘‘(4) $28,940,625 for fiscal year 2023; and 

18 ‘‘(5) $30,387,656 for fiscal year 2024.’’. 

19 (b) STUDY.—The Secretary shall enter into an agree20 ment with the National Academies to conduct a study as21 sessing the barriers, and opportunities related to the com22 mercial application of carbon dioxide in the United States. 

23 Such study shall— 


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1 (1) analyze the technical feasibility, related chal2 lenges, and impacts to commercializing carbon diox3 ide, including— 

4 (A) creating a national system of carbon di5 oxide pipelines and geologic sequestration sites; 

6 (B) mitigating environmental and land7 owner impacts; and 

8 (C) regional economic challenges and oppor9 tunities; 

10 (2) identify potential markets, industries, or sec11 tors that may benefit from greater access to commer12 cial carbon dioxide; 

13 (3) assess the current state of infrastructure and 

14 any necessary updates to allow for the integration of 

15 safe and reliable carbon dioxide transportation, utili16 zation, and storage; 

17 (4) estimate the economic, climate, and environ18 mental impacts of any well-integrated national car19 bon dioxide pipeline system, including suggestions for 

20 policies that could improve the economic impact of 

21 the system; 

22 (5) assess the global status and progress of car23 bon utilization technologies (both chemical and bio24 logical) in practice today that utilize waste carbon 

25 (including carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane, 


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1 and biogas) from power generation, biofuels produc2 tion, and other industrial processes; 

3 (6) identify emerging technologies and ap4 proaches for carbon utilization that show promise for 

5 scale-up, demonstration, deployment, and commer6 cialization; 

7 (7) analyze the factors associated with making 

8 carbon utilization technologies viable at a commercial 

9 scale, including carbon waste stream availability, eco10 nomics, market capacity, energy and lifecycle require11 ments; 

12 (8) assess the major technical challenges associ13 ated with increasing the commercial viability of car14 bon reuse technologies, and identify the research and 

15 development questions that will address those chal16 lenges; 

17 (9) assess current research efforts, including en18 gineering and computational, that are addressing 

19 these challenges and identify gaps in the current re20 search portfolio; and 

21 (10) develop a comprehensive research agenda 

22 that addresses both long- and short-term research 

23 needs and opportunities. 


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1 SEC. 8. ADVANCED ENERGY SYSTEMS. 

2 Subtitle F of title IX of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 

3 (42 U.S.C. 16291 et seq.) is further amended by adding at 

4 the end the following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 969A. ADVANCED ENERGY SYSTEMS. 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct a pro7 gram, with the purpose of reducing emissions from fossil 

8 fuel power generation by not less than 50 percent, of re9 search, development, demonstration, and commercial appli10 cation with respect to the following: 

11 ‘‘(1) High-efficiency turbines in accordance with 

12 the program under section 969A–1. 

13 ‘‘(2) Supercritical and ultrasupercritical carbon 

14 dioxide, with an emphasis on developing directly-fired 

15 and indirectly fired cycles in the next 10 years. 

16 ‘‘(3) Advanced combustion systems, including 

17 oxy-combustion systems and chemical looping. 

18 ‘‘(4) Fuel cell technologies for low-cost, high-effi19 ciency, fuel-flexible, modular power systems, including 

20 solid oxide fuel cell technology for commercial, resi21 dential, and distributed generation systems, using im22 proved manufacturing production and processes. 

23 ‘‘(5) Gasification systems to enable carbon cap24 ture, improve efficiency, and reduce capital and oper25 ating costs. 


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1 ‘‘(6) Thermal cycling with ramping or rapid 

2 black start capabilities that do not compromise effi3 ciency or environmental performance. 

4 ‘‘(7) Small-scale and modular coal-fired tech5 nologies with reduced carbon outputs or carbon cap6 ture that can support incremental power generation 

7 capacity additions. 

8 ‘‘(b) PRIORITY.—In carrying out the program under 

9 subsection (a), the Secretary is encouraged to prioritize 

10 transformational technologies that enable a step change in 

11 reduction of emissions as compared to the technology in ex12 istence on the date of enactment of this section. 

13 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Of the 

14 amounts made available under section 961, there are au15 thorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for activities 

16 under this section and section 969A–1— 

17 ‘‘(1) $150,000,000 for fiscal year 2020; 

18 ‘‘(2) $157,500,000 for fiscal year 2021; 

19 ‘‘(3) $165,375,000 for fiscal year 2022; 

20 ‘‘(4) $173,643,750 for fiscal year 2023; and 

21 ‘‘(5) $182,325,938 for fiscal year 2024. 

22 ‘‘SEC. 969A–1. HIGH EFFICIENCY GAS TURBINES. 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy, through 

24 the Office of Fossil Energy, shall carry out a multiyear, 

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1 nology demonstration to improve the efficiency of gas tur2 bines used in power generation systems and to identify the 

3 technologies that ultimately will lead to gas turbine com4 bined cycle efficiency of 67 percent or simple cycle efficiency 

5 of 50 percent. 

6 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM ELEMENTS.—The program under this 

7 section shall— 

8 ‘‘(1) support first-of-a-kind engineering and de9 tailed gas turbine design for megawatt-scale and util10 ity-scale electric power generation, including— 

11 ‘‘(A) high temperature materials, including 

12 superalloys, coatings, and ceramics; 

13 ‘‘(B) improved heat transfer capability; 

14 ‘‘(C) manufacturing technology required to 

15 construct complex three-dimensional geometry 

16 parts with improved aerodynamic capability; 

17 ‘‘(D) combustion technology to produce 

18 higher firing temperature while lowering nitro19 gen oxide and carbon monoxide emissions per 

20 unit of output; 

21 ‘‘(E) advanced controls and systems inte22 gration; 

23 ‘‘(F) advanced high performance compressor 

24 technology; and 


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1 ‘‘(G) validation facilities for the testing of 

2 components and subsystems; 

3 ‘‘(2) include technology demonstration through 

4 component testing, subscale testing, and full-scale test5 ing in existing fleets; 

6 ‘‘(3) include field demonstrations of the developed 

7 technology elements so as to demonstrate technical 

8 and economic feasibility; and 

9 ‘‘(4) assess overall combined cycle and simple 

10 cycle system performance. 

11 ‘‘(c) PROGRAM GOALS.—The goals of the multiphase 

12 program established under subsection (a) shall be— 

13 ‘‘(1) in phase I— 

14 ‘‘(A) to develop the conceptual design of ad15 vanced high efficiency gas turbines that can 

16 achieve at least 65-percent combined cycle effi17 ciency or 47-percent simple cycle efficiency on a 

18 lower heating value basis; and 

19 ‘‘(B) to develop and demonstrate the tech20 nology required for advanced high efficiency gas 

21 turbines that can achieve at least 65-percent 

22 combined cycle efficiency or 47-percent simple 

23 cycle efficiency on a lower heating value basis; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(2) in phase II, to develop the conceptual design 

2 for advanced high efficiency gas turbines that can 

3 achieve at least 67-percent combined cycle efficiency 

4 or 50-percent simple cycle efficiency on a lower heat5 ing value basis. 

6 ‘‘(d) PROPOSALS.—Within 180 days after the date of 

7 enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall solicit grant and 

8 contract proposals from industry, small businesses, univer9 sities, and other appropriate parties for conducting activi10 ties under this Act. In selecting proposals, the Secretary 

11 shall emphasize— 

12 ‘‘(1) the extent to which the proposal will stimu13 late the creation or increased retention of jobs in the 

14 United States; and 

15 ‘‘(2) the extent to which the proposal will pro16 mote and enhance United States technology leader17 ship. 

18 ‘‘(e) COMPETITIVE AWARDS.—The provision of fund19 ing under this section shall be on a competitive basis with 

20 an emphasis on technical merit. 

21 ‘‘(f) COST SHARING.—Section 988 of the Energy Pol22 icy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16352) shall apply to an award 

23 of financial assistance made under this section. 

24 ‘‘(g) LIMITS ON PARTICIPATION.—The limits on par25 ticipation applicable under section 999E of the Energy PolVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:49 Sep 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00034 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3607.RH H3607

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1 icy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16375) shall apply to financial 

2 assistance awarded under this section.’’. 

3 SEC. 9. RARE EARTH ELEMENTS. 

4 Subtitle F of title IX of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 

5 (42 U.S.C. 16291 et seq.) is further amended by adding at 

6 the end the following: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 969B. RARE EARTH ELEMENTS. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In coordination with the relevant 

9 Federal agencies, the Secretary shall conduct research to de10 velop and assess methods to separate and recover rare earth 

11 elements and other strategic minerals and coproducts from 

12 coal and coal byproduct streams. The program shall— 

13 ‘‘(1) develop advanced rare earth element separa14 tion and extraction processes using coal-based re15 sources as feedstock materials; 

16 ‘‘(2) assess the technical and economic feasibility 

17 of recovering rare earth elements from coal-based re18 sources and validate such feasibility with prototype 

19 systems producing salable, high-purity rare earth ele20 ments from coal-based resources; and 

21 ‘‘(3) assess and mitigate any environmental and 

22 public health impacts of recovering rare earth ele23 ments from coal-based resources. 

24 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Of the 

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1 thorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for activities 

2 under this section— 

3 ‘‘(1) $23,000,000 for fiscal year 2020; 

4 ‘‘(2) $24,150,000 for fiscal year 2021; 

5 ‘‘(3) $25,357,500 for fiscal year 2022; 

6 ‘‘(4) $26,625,375 for fiscal year 2023; and 

7 ‘‘(5) $27,956,644 for fiscal year 2024.’’. 

8 SEC. 10. METHANE HYDRATE RESEARCH AMENDMENTS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4(b) of the Methane Hy10 drate Research and Development Act of 2000 (30 U.S.C. 

11 2003(b)) is amended to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(b) GRANTS, CONTRACTS, COOPERATIVE AGREE13 MENTS, INTERAGENCY FUNDS TRANSFER AGREEMENTS, 

14 AND FIELD WORK PROPOSALS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) ASSISTANCE AND COORDINATION.—In car16 rying out the program of methane hydrate research 

17 and development authorized by this section, the Sec18 retary may award grants, or enter into contracts or 

19 cooperative agreements to— 

20 ‘‘(A) conduct research to identify the envi21 ronmental, health, and safety impacts of meth22 ane hydrate development; 

23 ‘‘(B) assess and develop technologies to miti24 gate environmental impacts of the exploration 

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1 drates as an energy resource, including the use 

2 of seismic testing, and to reduce the public health 

3 and safety risks of drilling through methane hy4 drates; 

5 ‘‘(C) conduct research to assess and mitigate 

6 the environmental impact of hydrate degassing 

7 (including natural degassing and degassing asso8 ciated with commercial development); or 

9 ‘‘(D) expand education and training pro10 grams in methane hydrate resource research and 

11 resource development through fellowships or other 

12 means for graduate education and training. 

13 ‘‘(2) ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND RE14 SEARCH.—The Secretary shall conduct a long-term 

15 environmental monitoring and research program to 

16 study the effects of production from methane hydrate 

17 reservoirs. 

18 ‘‘(3) COMPETITIVE PEER REVIEW.—Funds made 

19 available to carry out paragraphs (1) and (2) shall 

20 be made available based on a competitive process 

21 using external scientific peer review of proposed re22 search.’’. 

23 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 4(e) of such 

24 Act (30 U.S.C. 2003(e)) is amended in the matter preceding 


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1 paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘subsection (b)(1)’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (b)’’. 

3 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 7 

4 of such Act (30 U.S.C. 2006) is amended to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

6 ‘‘Of the amounts made available under section 961 of 

7 the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16291), there are 

8 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out 

9 this Act $15,000,000, to remain available until expended, 

10 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024.’’. 

11 SEC. 11. CARBON REMOVAL. 

12 Subtitle F of title IX of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 

13 (42 U.S.C. 16291 et seq.) is further amended by adding at 

14 the end the following: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 969C. CARBON REMOVAL. 

16 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, in coordina17 tion with the appropriate Federal agencies, shall establish 

18 a research, development, and demonstration program to re19 move carbon dioxide from the atmosphere on a large scale. 

20 The program may include activities in— 

21 ‘‘(1) direct air capture and storage technologies; 

22 ‘‘(2) enhanced carbon mineralization; 

23 ‘‘(3) bioenergy with carbon capture and seques24 tration; 

25 ‘‘(4) agricultural and grazing practices; 


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1 ‘‘(5) forest management and afforestation; and 

2 ‘‘(6) planned or managed carbon sinks, includ3 ing natural and artificial. 

4 ‘‘(b) PRIORITIZATION.—In carrying out the program 

5 established in subsection (a), the Secretary shall 

6 prioritize— 

7 ‘‘(1) the activities described in paragraphs (1) 

8 and (2) of subsection (a), acting through the Assistant 

9 Secretary for Fossil Energy; and 

10 ‘‘(2) the activities described in subsection (a)(3), 

11 acting through the Assistant Secretary for Energy Ef12 ficiency and Renewable Energy and the Assistant 

13 Secretary for Fossil Energy. 

14 ‘‘(c) CONSIDERATIONS.—The program under this sec15 tion shall identify and develop carbon removal technologies 

16 and strategies that consider the following: 

17 ‘‘(1) Land use changes, including impacts on 

18 natural and managed ecosystems. 

19 ‘‘(2) Ocean acidification. 

20 ‘‘(3) Net greenhouse gas emissions. 

21 ‘‘(4) Commercial viability. 

22 ‘‘(5) Potential for near-term impact. 

23 ‘‘(6) Potential for carbon reductions on a gigaton 

24 scale. 

25 ‘‘(7) Economic co-benefits. 


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1 ‘‘(d) ACCOUNTING.—The Department shall collaborate 

2 with the Environmental Protection Agency and other rel3 evant agencies to develop and improve accounting frame4 works and tools to accurately measure carbon removal and 

5 sequestration methods and technologies across the Federal 

6 Government. 

7 ‘‘(e) AIR CAPTURE TECHNOLOGY PRIZE.—Not later 

8 than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, as part 

9 of the program carried out under this section, the Secretary 

10 shall carry out a program to award competitive technology 

11 prizes for carbon dioxide capture from ambient air or 

12 water. In carrying out this subsection, the Secretary shall— 

13 ‘‘(1) in accordance with section 24 of the Steven14 son-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 

15 U.S.C. 3719), develop requirements for— 

16 ‘‘(A) the prize competition process; 

17 ‘‘(B) minimum performance standards for 

18 projects eligible to participate in the prize com19 petition; and 

20 ‘‘(C) monitoring and verification procedures 

21 for projects selected to receive a prize award; 

22 ‘‘(2) establish minimum levels for the capture of 

23 carbon dioxide from ambient air or water that are re24 quired to qualify for a prize award; and 

25 ‘‘(3) offer prize awards for any of the following: 


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1 ‘‘(A) A design for a promising capture tech2 nology that will— 

3 ‘‘(i) be operated on a demonstration 

4 scale; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) have the potential to achieve sig6 nificant reduction in the level of carbon di7 oxide in the atmosphere. 

8 ‘‘(B) A successful bench-scale demonstration 

9 of a capture technology. 

10 ‘‘(C) An operational capture technology on 

11 a commercial scale. 

12 ‘‘(f) DIRECT AIR CAPTURE TEST CENTER.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

14 the date of enactment of the Fossil Energy Research 

15 and Development Act of 2019, the Secretary shall 

16 award grants to one or more eligible entities for the 

17 operation of one or more test centers (in this sub18 section, known as ‘Centers’) to provide unique testing 

19 capabilities for innovative direct air capture and 

20 storage technologies. 

21 ‘‘(2) PURPOSE.—Each Center shall— 

22 ‘‘(A) advance research, development, dem23 onstration, and commercial application of direct 

24 air capture and storage technologies; 


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1 ‘‘(B) support pilot plant and full-scale dem2 onstration projects and test technologies that rep3 resent the scale of technology development beyond 

4 laboratory testing but not yet advanced to test 

5 under operational conditions at commercial 

6 scale; 

7 ‘‘(C) develop front-end engineering design 

8 and economic analysis; and 

9 ‘‘(D) maintain a public record of pilot and 

10 full-scale plant performance. 

11 ‘‘(3) PRIORITY CRITERIA.—In selecting applica12 tions to operate a Center under this subsection, the 

13 Secretary shall prioritize applicants that— 

14 ‘‘(A) have access to existing or planned re15 search facilities; 

16 ‘‘(B) are institutions of higher education 

17 with established expertise in engineering for di18 rect air capture technologies, or partnerships 

19 with such institutions; or 

20 ‘‘(C) have access to existing research and 

21 test facilities for bulk materials design and test22 ing, component design and testing, or profes23 sional engineering design. 

24 ‘‘(4) SCHEDULE.—Each grant to operate a Cen25 ter under this subsection shall be awarded for a term 


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1 of not more than 5 years, subject to the availability 

2 of appropriations. The Secretary may renew such 5- 

3 year term without limit, subject to a rigorous merit 

4 review. 

5 ‘‘(5) TERMINATION.—To the extent otherwise au6 thorized by law, the Secretary may eliminate the cen7 ter during any 5-year term described in the last 

8 paragraph if it is underperforming. 

9 ‘‘(g) LARGE-SCALE PILOTS AND DEMONSTRATIONS.— 

10 In supporting the technology development activities under 

11 this section, the Secretary is encouraged to support carbon 

12 removal pilot and demonstration projects, including— 

13 ‘‘(1) pilot projects that test direct air capture 

14 systems capable of capturing 10 to 100 tonnes of car15 bon oxides per year to provide data for demonstra16 tion-scale projects; and 

17 ‘‘(2) direct air capture demonstration projects 

18 capable of capturing greater than 1,000 tonnes of car19 bon oxides per year. 

20 ‘‘(h) INTRA-AGENCY RESEARCH.—In carrying out the 

21 program established in (a), the Secretary shall encourage 

22 and promote collaborations among relevant offices and 

23 agencies within the Department. 

24 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Of the 

25 amounts made available under section 961, there are auVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:49 Sep 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00043 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3607.RH H3607

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1 thorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for activities 

2 under this section— 

3 ‘‘(1) $75,000,000 for fiscal year 2020, 

4 $15,000,000 of which are authorized to carry out sub5 section (e); 

6 ‘‘(2) $63,000,000 for fiscal year 2021; 

7 ‘‘(3) $66,150,000 for fiscal year 2022; 

8 ‘‘(4) $69,458,000 for fiscal year 2023; and 

9 ‘‘(5) $72,930,000 for fiscal year 2024.’’. 

10 SEC. 12. METHANE LEAK DETECTION AND MITIGATION. 

11 Subtitle F of title IX of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 

12 (42 U.S.C. 16291 et seq.) is further amended by adding at 

13 the end the following: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 969D. METHANE LEAK DETECTION AND MITIGATION. 

15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 

16 with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 

17 Agency and other appropriate Federal agencies, shall carry 

18 out a program of methane leak detection and mitigation 

19 research, development, demonstration, and commercial ap20 plication for technologies and methods that significantly re21 duce emissions. In carrying out the program, the Secretary 

22 shall— 

23 ‘‘(1) develop cooperative agreements with State 

24 or local governments or private entities to provide 

25 technical assistance to— 


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1 ‘‘(A) prevent or respond to methane leaks, 

2 including detection, mitigation, and identifica3 tion of leaks throughout the natural gas infra4 structure (which includes natural gas storage, 

5 pipelines, and natural gas production sites); and 

6 ‘‘(B) protect public health in the event of a 

7 major methane leak; 

8 ‘‘(2) promote demonstration and adoption of ef9 fective methane emissions-reduction technologies in 

10 the private sector; 

11 ‘‘(3) in coordination with representatives from 

12 private industry, State and local governments, and 

13 institutions of higher education, create a publicly ac14 cessible resource for best practices in the design, con15 struction, maintenance, performance, monitoring, and 

16 incident response for— 

17 ‘‘(A) pipeline systems; 

18 ‘‘(B) wells; 

19 ‘‘(C) compressor stations; 

20 ‘‘(D) storage facilities; and 

21 ‘‘(E) other vulnerable infrastructure; 

22 ‘‘(4) identify high-risk characteristics of pipe23 lines, wells, and materials, geologic risk factors, or 

24 other key factors that increase the likelihood of meth25 ane leaks; and 


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1 ‘‘(5) in collaboration with private entities and 

2 institutions of higher education, quantify and map 

3 significant geologic methane seeps across the United 

4 States. 

5 ‘‘(b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out the program 

6 under this section, the Secretary shall consider the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(1) Historical data of methane leaks. 

9 ‘‘(2) Public health consequences. 

10 ‘‘(3) Public safety. 

11 ‘‘(4) Novel materials and designs for pipelines, 

12 compressor stations, components, and wells (including 

13 casing, cement, wellhead). 

14 ‘‘(5) Regional geologic traits. 

15 ‘‘(6) Induced and natural seismicity. 

16 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Of the 

17 amounts made available under section 961, there are au18 thorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for activities 

19 under this section— 

20 ‘‘(1) $22,000,000 for fiscal years 2020; 

21 ‘‘(2) $23,100,000 for fiscal years 2021; 

22 ‘‘(3) $24,255,000 for fiscal years 2022; 

23 ‘‘(4) $25,467,750 for fiscal years 2023; and 

24 ‘‘(5) $26,741,138 for fiscal years 2024.’’. 


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1 SEC. 13. WASTE GAS UTILIZATION. 

2 Subtitle F of title IX of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 

3 (42 U.S.C. 16291 et seq.) is further amended by adding at 

4 the end the following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 969E. WASTE GAS UTILIZATION. 

6 ‘‘The Secretary shall carry out a program of research, 

7 development, and demonstration for waste gas utilization. 

8 The program shall— 

9 ‘‘(1) identify and evaluate novel uses for light 

10 hydrocarbons, such as methane, ethane, propane, bu11 tane, pentane and hexane, produced during oil and 

12 shale gas production, including the production of 

13 chemicals or transportation fuels; 

14 ‘‘(2) develop advanced gas conversion tech15 nologies that are modular and compact, and may le16 verage advanced manufacturing technologies; 

17 ‘‘(3) support demonstration activities at oper18 ating oil and gas facilities to test the performance 

19 and cost-effectiveness of new gas conversion tech20 nologies; and 

21 ‘‘(4) assess and monitor potential changes in life 

22 cycle greenhouse gas emissions that may result from 

23 the use of technologies developed under this pro24 gram.’’. 


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1 SEC. 14. NATIONAL ENERGY TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY 

2 REFORMS. 

3 (a) SPECIAL HIRING AUTHORITY FOR SCIENTIFIC, EN4 GINEERING, AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 

6 Energy Technology Laboratory shall have the author7 ity to— 

8 (A) make appointments to positions in the 

9 Laboratory to assist in meeting a specific project 

10 or research need, without regard to civil service 

11 laws, of individuals who— 

12 (i) have an advanced scientific or engi13 neering background; or 

14 (ii) have a business background and 

15 can assist in specific technology-to-market 

16 needs; 

17 (B) fix the basic pay of any employee ap18 pointed under this section at a rate not to exceed 

19 level II of the Executive Schedule; and 

20 (C) pay any employee appointed under this 

21 section payments in addition to basic pay, ex22 cept that the total amount of additional pay23 ments paid to an employee under this subsection 

24 for any 12-month period shall not exceed the 

25 least of— 

26 (i) $25,000; 


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1 (ii) the amount equal to 25 percent of 

2 the annual rate of basic pay of that em3 ployee; and 

4 (iii) the amount of the limitation that 

5 is applicable for a calendar year under sec6 tion 5307(a)(1) of title 5, United States 

7 Code. 

8 (2) LIMITATIONS.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term of any em10 ployee appointed under this section shall not ex11 ceed 3 years. 

12 (B) FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES.—Not more 

13 than 10 full-time employees appointed under this 

14 subsection may be employed at the National En15 ergy Technology Laboratory at any given time. 

16 (b) DISCRETIONARY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

18 mechanisms under which the Director of the National 

19 Energy Technology Laboratory may use an amount 

20 that is, in total, not less than 2 percent and not more 

21 than 4 percent of all funds available to the Labora22 tory for the following purposes: 

23 (A) To fund innovative research that is con24 ducted at the Laboratory and supports the mis25 sion of the Department. 


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1 (B) To fund technology development pro2 grams that support the transition of technologies 

3 developed by the Laboratory into the commercial 

4 market. 

5 (C) To fund workforce development activi6 ties to strengthen external engineering and man7 ufacturing partnerships to ensure safe, efficient, 

8 productive, and useful fossil energy technology 

9 production. 

10 (D) To fund the revitalization, recapitaliza11 tion, or minor construction of the Laboratory in12 frastructure. 

13 (2) PRIORITIZATION.—The Director shall 

14 prioritize innovative experiments and proposals pro15 posed by scientists and researchers at the National 

16 Energy Technology Laboratory. 

17 (3) ANNUAL REPORT ON USE OF AUTHORITY.— 

18 Not later than March 1 of each year, the Secretary 

19 shall submit to the Committee on Science, Space, and 

20 Technology of the House of Representatives and the 

21 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 

22 Senate a report on the use of the authority under this 

23 subsection during the preceding fiscal year. 

24 (c) LABORATORY OPERATIONS.—The Secretary shall 

25 delegate human resources operations of the National Energy 


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1 Technology Laboratory to the Director of the National En2 ergy Technology Laboratory. 

3 (d) REVIEW.—Not later than 2 years after the date of 

4 enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the 

5 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House 

6 of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Nat7 ural Resources of the Senate a report assessing the National 

8 Energy Technology Laboratory’s management and research. 

9 The report shall include— 

10 (1) an assessment of the quality of science and 

11 research at the National Energy Technology Labora12 tory relative to similar work at other national labora13 tories; 

14 (2) a review of the effectiveness of authorities 

15 provided in subsections (a) and (b); and 

16 (3) recommendations for policy changes within 

17 the Department and legislative changes to provide the 

18 National Energy Technology Laboratory the necessary 

19 tools and resources to advance its research mission. 

20 SEC. 15. CLIMATE SOLUTIONS CHALLENGES. 

21 (a) AUTHORITY.—Not later than 180 days after the 

22 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy shall 

23 establish a program to be known as ‘‘Fossil Energy Climate 

24 Solutions Challenges’’ for carrying out prize competitions 

25 described under subsection (d) pursuant to section 24 of the 


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1 Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 

2 U.S.C. 3719) relating to the climate and energy. 

3 (b) PRIZE COMMITTEES.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall assemble 

5 a prize committee that shall define the scope and de6 tail of, and provide the requirements for, the prize 

7 competitions under this section. Such committee may 

8 be composed of— 

9 (A) members from the Office of Fossil En10 ergy, Advanced Research Projects Energy, Office 

11 of Technology Transitions, or other offices that 

12 most appropriately corresponds with the topic of 

13 the prize competition; and 

14 (B) representatives of any other entities, as 

15 determined appropriate by the Secretary, includ16 ing other Federal agencies, State and local gov17 ernments, and the private sector. 

18 (2) DEFINING TOPIC AREAS.—The prize com19 mittee may modify and define the scope of the prize 

20 areas described under subsection (c), so long as such 

21 modification is in accordance with descriptions in 

22 such subsection. 

23 (3) INCENTIVE FOR PRIZE COMPETITION.—The 

24 prize committee for each prize competition shall deterVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:49 Sep 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00052 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3607.RH H3607

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1 mine the incentive for the prize competition. In deter2 mining the incentive, the committee shall consider— 

3 (A) a cash prize; 

4 (B) access to Government facilities, such as 

5 through a lab-embedded entrepreneurship pro6 gram of the Department of Energy, a cooperative 

7 research and development agreement, or other 

8 method; 

9 (C) advance market commitments for tech10 nologies of use or promise to the Federal Govern11 ment; and 

12 (D) any other incentive provided for by 

13 law. 

14 (4) JUDGING CRITERIA.—The prize committee 

15 for each prize competition shall establish judging cri16 teria for the competition that shall include, at a min17 imum— 

18 (A) potential for the solution to become a 

19 commercial product or service or advance knowl20 edge to further the public good; 

21 (B) consideration of how likely the solution 

22 is to lead to subsequent research, development, 

23 deployment, or manufacturing in the United 

24 States; 


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1 (C) the degree to which the solution will 

2 lower the climate footprint of the United States; 

3 and 

4 (D) the degree to which the solution will 

5 lower the global climate footprint. 

6 (5) CONSIDERATION.—In carrying out this sec7 tion, the committee shall take into consideration the 

8 best practices provided for in the challenges and 

9 prizes toolkit made publicly available on December 

10 15, 2016, by the General Services Administration. 

11 (c) PRIZE COMPETITIONS.—In carrying out the pro12 gram, the Secretary shall offer prize awards for any of the 

13 following: 

14 (1) Solutions to capture carbon emissions from 

15 sources that would otherwise be emitted to the atmos16 phere. 

17 (2) Solutions to convert carbon emissions to a 

18 beneficial use that does not result in near-term re-re19 lease into the atmosphere, unless such re-release offsets 

20 the emission of additional carbon into the atmosphere, 

21 such that the net effect of the solution is to reduce the 

22 overall amount of carbon being emitted to the atmos23 phere. 


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1 (3) Other solutions that have potential to achieve 

2 reduction in greenhouse gas emissions associated with 

3 fossil-based energy production. 

4 (d) ACCEPTANCE OF FUNDS.—In addition to such 

5 sums as may be appropriated or otherwise made available 

6 to the Secretary to award prizes under this section, the Sec7 retary may accept funds from other Federal agencies, pri8 vate sector entities, and State and local governments to 

9 award prizes under this section. The Secretary may not give 

10 any special consideration relating to the selection of awards 

11 under the prize competition to any private sector entity or 

12 individual in return for a donation to the Secretary or 

13 prize committee. 

14 (e) ELIGIBILITY.—Notwithstanding section 24(g)(3) of 

15 the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 

16 (15 U.S.C. 3719(g)(3)), a group may be eligible for an 

17 award under this section if one or more members of such 

18 group is a citizen or permanent resident of the United 

19 States. 

20 (f) COMPLETION OF PRIZE COMPETITIONS.—The prize 

21 competitions carried out under this section shall be com22 pleted not later than the date that is 5 years after the pro23 gram is established under subsection (a). 


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1 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

2 authorized to be appropriated $15,000,000 to carry out this 

3 section, to remain available until expended. 

4 SEC. 16. TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENTS. 

5 The table of contents for the Energy Policy Act of 2005 

6 (42 U.S.C. 15801 note) is amended by amending the items 

7 relating to subtitle F of title IX to read as follows: 

‘‘Sec. 961. Fossil energy. 

‘‘Sec. 962. Carbon capture technologies. 

‘‘Sec. 963. Carbon storage validation and testing. 

‘‘Sec. 963A. Carbon utilization. 

‘‘Sec. 964. Research and development for coal mining technologies. 

‘‘Sec. 965. Oil and gas research programs. 

‘‘Sec. 966. Low-volume oil and gas reservoir research program. 

‘‘Sec. 967. Complex well technology testing facility. 

‘‘Sec. 968. Methane hydrate research. 

‘‘Sec. 969. Natural gas carbon capture research, development, and demonstration 

program. 

‘‘Sec. 969A. Advanced energy systems. 

‘‘Sec. 969A–1. High efficiency gas turbines. 

‘‘Sec. 969B. Rare earth elements. 

‘‘Sec. 969C. Carbon removal. 

‘‘Sec. 969D. Methane leak detection and mitigation. 

‘‘Sec. 969E. Waste gas utilization.’’. 


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Union Calendar No. 410 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3607 

[Report No. 116–510] 

A BILL 

To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to direct 

nologies, and for other purposes. mentally responsible coal and natural gas techthe development and demonstration of environFederal research in fossil energy and to promote 

SEPTEMBER 17, 2020 

Reported with an amendment; committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union 


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