II 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3682 

To provide incentives to small business concerns for innovative energy-efficient 

technologies and products, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 2 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 17), 2008 

Ms. SNOWE (for herself, Ms. CANTWELL, and Mr. STEVENS) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To provide incentives to small business concerns for innovative energy-efficient technologies and products, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Small Business Energy Innovation Act of 2008’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

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Sec. 101. Grants to small business concerns for innovative energy-efficient technologies and products. 

Sec. 102. Loan guarantees for small business concerns for innovative energyefficient technologies and products. 

TITLE II—SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 

Sec. 201. Director of Energy Innovation. 

1 TITLE I—DEPARTMENT OF 

2 ENERGY 

3 SEC. 101. GRANTS TO SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS FOR IN4 NOVATIVE ENERGY-EFFICIENT TECH5 NOLOGIES AND PRODUCTS. 

6 Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

7 U.S.C. 16511 et seq.) is amended— 

8 (1) by redesignating section 1704 (42 U.S.C. 

9 16514) as section 1706; and 

10 (2) by inserting after section 1703 (42 U.S.C. 

11 16513) the following: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 1704. GRANTS TO SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS FOR 

13 INNOVATIVE ENERGY-EFFICIENT TECH14 NOLOGIES AND PRODUCTS. 

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

16 ‘‘(1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

17 the Secretary of Energy, in consultation with the 

18 Administrator of the Small Business Administration. 

19 ‘‘(2) SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘small busi21 ness concern’ means a small business concern 

22 (within the meaning of section 3 of the Small 

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1 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632)), except as the 

2 Secretary otherwise determines appropriate. 

3 ‘‘(B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘small busi4 ness concern’ includes a micro-innovator (as de5 fined by the Secretary). 

6 ‘‘(b) GRANTS.—The Secretary shall make grants to 

7 small business concerns for the development of innovative 

8 energy-efficient technologies and products described in 

9 subsection (c) in 2 phases described in subsections (d) and 

10 (e). 

11 ‘‘(c) CATEGORIES.—A grant under this section may 

12 be used to carry out a project in any of the following cat13 egories: 

14 ‘‘(1) Renewable energy systems. 

15 ‘‘(2) Advanced energy-efficiency systems, in16 cluding systems for improved commercial and resi17 dential building efficiencies. 

18 ‘‘(3) Advanced transportation fuels (including 

19 cellulosic ethanol) for residential, industrial, or 

20 transportation applications. 

21 ‘‘(4) Carbon capture and sequestration prac22 tices and technologies, including agricultural and 

23 forestry practices that store and sequester carbon. 

24 ‘‘(5) Efficient electrical generation, trans25 mission, and distribution technologies. 

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1 ‘‘(6) Efficient end-use energy technologies. 

2 ‘‘(7) Production facilities for fuel efficient vehi3 cles, including hybrid and advanced diesel vehicles. 

4 ‘‘(8) Pollution control equipment. 

5 ‘‘(9) Any other category determined appropriate 

6 by the Secretary. 

7 ‘‘(d) PHASE 1 GRANTS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBILITY.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible for a 

10 phase 1 grant under this section, a recipient 

11 shall— 

12 ‘‘(i) be a small business concern that 

13 employs not more than 100 full-time em14 ployees; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) have a primary goal of making 

16 an innovative energy-efficient technology or 

17 product a commercial technology or prod18 uct not later than 5 years after the date of 

19 receipt of the grant. 

20 ‘‘(B) SELECTION CRITERIA.—The Sec21 retary shall publish the criteria to be used in 

22 any competition for grants under this sub23 section. 

24 ‘‘(2) COMPETITION.—In making phase 1 grants 

25 under this subsection, the Secretary shall— 

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1 ‘‘(A) award any grant pursuant to a full 

2 and open competition; and 

3 ‘‘(B) advertise any competition under this 

4 section. 

5 ‘‘(3) MAXIMUM NUMBER OF GRANTS.—An enti6 ty shall be eligible to receive under this subsection 

7 phase 1 grants for not more than 2 fiscal years for 

8 each project carried out under this section. 

9 ‘‘(4) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—The amount of a 

10 phase 1 grant made to an eligible entity for a 

11 project under this subsection shall not be— 

12 ‘‘(A) less than $25,000; or 

13 ‘‘(B) more than $250,000. 

14 ‘‘(e) PHASE 2 GRANTS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible for a phase 2 

16 grant under this section, a recipient shall— 

17 ‘‘(A) have received a phase 1 grant under 

18 subsection (d); and 

19 ‘‘(B) demonstrate to the Secretary 

20 (through a review process established by the 

21 Secretary) that— 

22 ‘‘(i) the phase 1 grant has been used 

23 to develop an innovative energy-efficient 

24 technology or product described in sub25 section (c); and 

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1 ‘‘(ii) the innovative energy-efficient 

2 technology or product is viable. 

3 ‘‘(2) MAXIMUM NUMBER OF GRANTS.—An enti4 ty shall be eligible to receive under this subsection 

5 phase 2 grants for not more than 3 fiscal years for 

6 each project carried out under this section. 

7 ‘‘(3) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—The amount of a 

8 phase 2 grant made to an eligible entity for a 

9 project under this subsection shall not be— 

10 ‘‘(A) less than $250,000; or 

11 ‘‘(B) more than $1,000,000. 

12 ‘‘(f) STATE DISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary shall en13 sure, to the maximum extent practicable, that the number 

14 of grants made under this section (regardless of the dollar 

15 amounts) are equally dispersed among small, medium, and 

16 large States. 

17 ‘‘(g) TERMINATION.—The Secretary may terminate 

18 providing grants to a recipient under this section if the 

19 Secretary determines that the recipient is not eligible for 

20 the grants or is not complying with the terms and condi21 tions of the grant. 

22 ‘‘(h) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 1 year after the 

23 date of enactment of the Small Business Energy Innova24 tion Act of 2008, the Secretary shall promulgate such reg25 ulations as are necessary to carry out this section. 

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1 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

2 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

3 $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2013.’’. 

4 SEC. 102. LOAN GUARANTEES FOR SMALL BUSINESS CON5 CERNS FOR INNOVATIVE ENERGY-EFFICIENT 

6 TECHNOLOGIES AND PRODUCTS. 

7 Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

8 U.S.C. 16511 et seq.) (as amended by section 101) is 

9 amended by inserting after section 1704 the following: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 1705. LOAN GUARANTEES FOR SMALL BUSINESS CON11 CERNS FOR INNOVATIVE ENERGY-EFFICIENT 

12 TECHNOLOGIES AND PRODUCTS. 

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

14 ‘‘(1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

15 the Secretary of Energy, in consultation with the 

16 Administrator of the Small Business Administration. 

17 ‘‘(2) SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘small busi19 ness concern’ means a small business concern 

20 (within the meaning of section 3 of the Small 

21 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632)), except as the 

22 Secretary otherwise determines appropriate. 

23 ‘‘(B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘small busi24 ness concern’ includes a micro-innovator (as de25 fined by the Secretary). 

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1 ‘‘(b) LOAN GUARANTEES.— 

2 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may make 

3 guarantees for loans made to small business con4 cerns for the development of innovative energy-effi5 cient technologies and products. 

6 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT.—In making guarantees under 

7 this section, the Secretary may guarantee the repay8 ment of not more than 90 percent of the loan 

9 amount for a loan that does not exceed $10,000,000. 

10 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBILITY.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible for a loan 

12 guarantee under this section, a recipient shall— 

13 ‘‘(A) be a small business concern; and 

14 ‘‘(B) have a primary goal of making an in15 novative energy-efficient technology or product 

16 a commercial technology or product not later 

17 than 5 years after the date of receipt of the 

18 loan guarantee. 

19 ‘‘(2) SELECTION CRITERIA.—The Secretary 

20 shall publish the criteria to be used in any competi21 tion for loan guarantees under this section. 

22 ‘‘(d) CATEGORIES.—A loan may be guaranteed under 

23 this section to carry out a project in any of the following 

24 categories: 

25 ‘‘(1) Renewable energy systems. 

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1 ‘‘(2) Advanced energy-efficiency systems includ2 ing systems for improved commercial and residential 

3 building efficiencies. 

4 ‘‘(3) Advanced transportation fuels (including 

5 cellulosic ethanol) for residential, industrial, or 

6 transportation applications. 

7 ‘‘(4) Carbon capture and sequestration prac8 tices and technologies, including agricultural and 

9 forestry practices that store and sequester carbon. 

10 ‘‘(5) Efficient electrical generation, trans11 mission, and distribution technologies. 

12 ‘‘(6) Efficient end-use energy technologies. 

13 ‘‘(7) Production facilities for fuel efficient vehi14 cles, including hybrid and advanced diesel vehicles. 

15 ‘‘(8) Pollution control equipment. 

16 ‘‘(9) Any other category determined appropriate 

17 by the Secretary. 

18 ‘‘(e) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro20 vided in this section, a loan guaranteed under this 

21 section shall be subject to the terms and conditions 

22 of section 1702 and this section and such terms and 

23 conditions as the Secretary may prescribe. 

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1 ‘‘(2) REPAYMENT.—A loan may not be guaran2 teed under this section unless the Secretary deter3 mines that— 

4 ‘‘(A) the lender is responsible; 

5 ‘‘(B) there is a reasonable assurance of re6 payment; and 

7 ‘‘(C) adequate provisions are made for— 

8 ‘‘(i) servicing the loan on reasonable 

9 terms; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) protecting the financial interest 

11 of the United States; 

12 ‘‘(3) COLLATERAL OR SECURITY.—An eligible 

13 entity shall provide significant collateral or security 

14 for repayment of a loan guaranteed under this sec15 tion, as determined by the Secretary. 

16 ‘‘(f) INTEREST RATE BUYDOWN.—The Secretary 

17 may buy down the interest rate of a loan guaranteed under 

18 this section by no more than 2 percent. 

19 ‘‘(g) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 1 year after the 

20 date of enactment of the Small Business Energy Innova21 tion Act of 2008, the Secretary shall promulgate such reg22 ulations as are necessary to carry out this section, includ23 ing regulations that establish— 

24 ‘‘(1) lending standards for loans guaranteed 

25 under this section; and 

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1 ‘‘(2) standards for use in periodically assessing 

2 credit risk and eligibility requirements for loans 

3 guaranteed loans under this section. 

4 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

5 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

6 $70,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2013.’’. 

7 TITLE II—SMALL BUSINESS 

8 ADMINISTRATION 

9 SEC. 201. DIRECTOR OF ENERGY INNOVATION. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Small Business Act (15 

11 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is amended— 

12 (1) by redesignating section 44 (15 U.S.C. 631 

13 note; Public Law 85–536) as section 45; and 

14 (2) by inserting after section 43 (15 U.S.C. 

15 657o) the following: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 44. DIRECTOR OF ENERGY INNOVATION. 

17 ‘‘(a) DIRECTOR OF ENERGY INNOVATION.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be in the Ad19 ministration a Director of Energy Innovation, who 

20 shall— 

21 ‘‘(A) be appointed by the Administrator; 

22 ‘‘(B) have documented experience in work23 ing on energy or innovation related issues; and 

24 ‘‘(C) coordinate the energy innovation ac25 tivities of the Administration, as determined by 

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1 the Administrator, which shall include pro2 moting small business concerns that are en3 gaged in promoting energy independence. 

4 ‘‘(2) EMPLOYMENT STATUS.—The Adminis5 trator shall establish the position of Director of En6 ergy Innovation as— 

7 ‘‘(A) a position at GS–15 of the General 

8 Schedule; or 

9 ‘‘(B) a Senior Executive Service position to 

10 be filled by a career appointee, as defined under 

11 section 3132(a)(4) of title 5, United States 

12 Code. 

13 ‘‘(3) IMPLEMENTATION OF PROGRAMS.—The 

14 Director of Energy Innovation shall work with the 

15 offices of the Administration on issues relating to 

16 energy under the programs of the Administration, 

17 including the technical assistance programs of the 

18 Administration, the Small Business Development 

19 Center Program under section 21, the women’s busi20 ness center program under section 29, and the Serv21 ice Corps of Retired Executives established under 

22 section 8(b)(1)(B). 

23 ‘‘(4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

24 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

25 as are necessary to carry out this subsection. 

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1 ‘‘(b) ENERGY INNOVATION GRANT PROGRAM.— 

2 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

3 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE ORGANIZATION.—The term 

4 ‘eligible organization’ means an organization 

5 that— 

6 ‘‘(i) is a private, nonprofit organiza7 tion, including a private, nonprofit organi8 zation that is an institution of higher edu9 cation, as defined in section 101(a) of the 

10 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

11 1001(a)); 

12 ‘‘(ii) is capable of providing technical 

13 assistance relating to— 

14 ‘‘(I) renewable energy systems; 

15 ‘‘(II) advanced energy efficiency 

16 systems, including systems for im17 proved commercial and residential 

18 building efficiencies; 

19 ‘‘(III) advanced transportation 

20 fuels (including cellulosic ethanol) for 

21 residential, industrial, or transpor22 tation applications; 

23 ‘‘(IV) carbon capture and seques24 tration practices and technologies, inmstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 cluding agricultural and forestry prac2 tices that store and sequester carbon; 

3 ‘‘(V) efficient electrical genera4 tion, transmission, and distribution 

5 technologies; 

6 ‘‘(VI) efficient end-use energy 

7 technologies; 

8 ‘‘(VII) production facilities for 

9 fuel efficient vehicles, including hybrid 

10 and advanced diesel vehicles; 

11 ‘‘(VIII) pollution control equip12 ment; or 

13 ‘‘(IX) any other type of energy 

14 innovation project determined appro15 priate by the Director of Energy Inno16 vation; and 

17 ‘‘(iii) meets any other criteria estab18 lished by the Director of Energy Innova19 tion under paragraph (3). 

20 ‘‘(B) ENERGY INNOVATION.—The term 

21 ‘energy innovation project’ means a project 

22 from the following categories: 

23 ‘‘(i) Renewable energy systems. 

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1 ‘‘(ii) Energy efficiency, including im2 proved commercial and residential building 

3 efficiencies. 

4 ‘‘(iii) Advanced transportation fuels 

5 (including cellulosic ethanol) for residen6 tial, industrial, or transportation applica7 tions. 

8 ‘‘(iv) Efficient electrical generation, 

9 transmission, and distribution technologies. 

10 ‘‘(v) Efficient end-use energy tech11 nologies. 

12 ‘‘(vi) Production facilities for fuel effi13 cient vehicles, including hybrid and ad14 vanced diesel vehicles. 

15 ‘‘(vii) Pollution control equipment. 

16 ‘‘(viii) Any other category determined 

17 appropriate by the Administrator. 

18 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator, 

19 acting through the Director of Energy Innovation, 

20 shall establish an energy innovation grant program, 

21 under which the Director of Energy Innovation may 

22 make grants on a competitive basis to eligible orga23 nizations. 

24 ‘‘(3) CRITERIA FOR ELIGIBLE ORGANIZA25 TIONS.—The Director of Energy Innovation shall esmstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 tablish and publish criteria for determining whether 

2 an organization is an eligible organization. 

3 ‘‘(4) AMOUNT AND PERIOD OF GRANTS.—A 

4 grant under this subsection— 

5 ‘‘(A) shall be for not less than $100,000 or 

6 more than $500,000 for a fiscal year; 

7 ‘‘(B) may be for a period of not more than 

8 5 years; and 

9 ‘‘(C) may be renewed, as determined ap10 propriate by the Director of Energy Innovation. 

11 ‘‘(5) USE OF FUNDS.—A grant under this sub12 section may be used to establish a program to pro13 vide assistance to small business concerns in car14 rying out an energy innovation project, including es15 tablishing educational curriculum, creating a tech16 nical assistance center, and providing technical as17 sistance online. 

18 ‘‘(6) DISTRIBUTION OF GRANTS.—The Director 

19 of Energy Innovation shall ensure, to the maximum 

20 extent practicable, that the number of grants under 

21 this subsection made to States with small, medium, 

22 and large populations (as determined by the Admin23 istrator) is equal. 

24 ‘‘(7) COST-SHARING REQUIREMENT.—The Fed25 eral share of the total cost of carrying out a promstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 gram described in paragraph (5) shall be not more 

2 than 75 percent. 

3 ‘‘(8) NOTICE.—The Director of Energy Innova4 tion shall advertise the grant program under this 

5 subsection. 

6 ‘‘(9) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 1 year 

7 after the date of enactment of the Small Business 

8 Energy Innovation Act of 2008, the Administrator 

9 shall promulgate regulations to carry out the pro10 gram under this subsection. 

11 ‘‘(10) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

12 There is authorized to be appropriated $40,000,000 

13 for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2013 to carry 

14 out this subsection. 

15 ‘‘(c) COORDINATION OF ENERGY INNOVATION PRO16 GRAMS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of Energy In18 novation shall ensure that the energy innovation pro19 grams of the Administration are coordinated, to the 

20 maximum extent practicable, with the energy pro21 grams of the Department of Commerce, the Depart22 ment of Energy, the Environmental Protection 

23 Agency, and other Federal departments and agen24 cies, as determined appropriate by the Adminis25 trator. 

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1 ‘‘(2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS.—The 

2 Director of Energy Innovation shall— 

3 ‘‘(A) coordinate with the head of the tech4 nical assistance programs of the Administration 

5 (including the Small Business Development 

6 Center Program under section 21, the women’s 

7 business center program under section 29, and 

8 the Service Corps of Retired Executives estab9 lished under section 8(b)(1)(B)) to create pro10 grams to provide technical assistance for the 

11 grant and loan programs under the Small Busi12 ness Energy Innovation Act of 2008 or an 

13 amendment made by that Act; and 

14 ‘‘(B) work to leverage the resources and 

15 expand the energy innovation technical assist16 ance programs of other Federal departments 

17 and agencies.’’. 

18 (b) APPOINTMENT OF FIRST DIRECTOR OF ENERGY

19 INNOVATION PROGRAMS.—The first individual appointed 

20 as the Director of Energy Innovation Programs under sec21 tion 44(a)(1) of the Small Business Act, as added by sub22 section (a) of this section, may, if determined appropriate 

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1 tion, be an individual who is employed by the Small Busi2 ness Administration on the date of enactment of this Act. 

Æ 

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