I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4907 

To establish Energy Innovation Hubs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 22, 2010 

Mr. CARNAHAN (for himself, Mr. TONKO, and Ms. GIFFORDS) introduced the 

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

A BILL 

To establish Energy Innovation Hubs, and for other 

purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

5 Hubs Authorization Act of 2010’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ENERGY INNOVATION HUBS. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy 

9 shall carry out a program to enhance the Nation’s 

10 economic, environmental, and energy security by 

11 making grants to consortia for establishing and opVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:38 Mar 23, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4907.IH H4907

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1 erating Energy Innovation Hubs to conduct and 

2 support, whenever practicable at one centralized lo3 cation, multidisciplinary, collaborative research, de4 velopment, demonstration, and commercial applica5 tion of advanced energy technologies in areas not 

6 being served by the private sector. 

7 (2) TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT FOCUS.—The 

8 Secretary shall designate for each Hub a unique ad9 vanced energy technology development focus. 

10 (3) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall en11 sure the coordination of, and avoid unnecessary du12 plication of, the activities of Hubs with those of 

13 other Department of Energy research entities, in14 cluding the National Laboratories, the Advanced Re15 search Projects Agency—Energy, and Energy Fron16 tier Research Centers, and within industry. Such co17 ordination shall include convening and consulting 

18 with representatives of staff of the Department of 

19 Energy, representatives from Hubs and the quali20 fying entities that are members of the consortia op21 erating the Hubs, and representatives of such other 

22 entities as the Secretary considers appropriate, to 

23 share research results, program plans, and opportu24 nities for collaboration. 


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1 (4) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary shall ad2 minister this section with respect to each Hub 

3 through the Department program office appropriate 

4 to administer the subject matter of the technology 

5 development focus assigned under paragraph (2) for 

6 the Hub. 

7 (b) CONSORTIA.— 

8 (1) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a 

9 grant under this section for the establishment and 

10 operation of a Hub, a consortium shall— 

11 (A) be composed of no fewer than 2 quali12 fying entities; 

13 (B) operate subject to a binding agreement 

14 entered into by its members that documents— 

15 (i) the proposed partnership agree16 ment, including the governance and man17 agement structure of the Hub; 

18 (ii) measures to enable cost-effective 

19 implementation of the program under this 

20 section; 

21 (iii) a proposed budget, including fi22 nancial contributions from non-Federal 

23 sources; 

24 (iv) conflict of interest procedures 

25 consistent with subsection (d)(3), all 


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1 known material conflicts of interest, and 

2 corresponding mitigation plans; 

3 (v) an accounting structure that en4 ables the Secretary to ensure that the con5 sortium has complied with the require6 ments of this section; and 

7 (vi) an external advisory committee 

8 consistent with subsection (d)(2); and 

9 (C) operate as a nonprofit organization. 

10 (2) APPLICATION.—A consortium seeking to es11 tablish and operate a Hub under this section, acting 

12 through a prime applicant, shall transmit to the Sec13 retary an application at such time, in such form, 

14 and accompanied by such information as the Sec15 retary shall require, including a detailed description 

16 of the elements of the consortium agreement re17 quired under paragraph (1)(B). 

18 (c) SELECTION AND SCHEDULE.—The Secretary 

19 shall select consortia for grants for the establishment and 

20 operation of Hubs through competitive selection processes. 

21 Grants made to a Hub shall be for a period not to exceed 

22 5 years, after which the grant may be renewed, subject 

23 to a competitive selection process. 

24 (d) HUB OPERATIONS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Hubs shall conduct or pro2 vide for multidisciplinary, collaborative research, de3 velopment, demonstration, and commercial applica4 tion of advanced energy technologies within the tech5 nology development focus designated for the Hub by 

6 the Secretary under subsection (a)(2). Each Hub 

7 shall— 

8 (A) encourage collaboration and commu9 nication among the member qualifying entities 

10 of the consortium and awardees by conducting 

11 activities whenever practicable at one central12 ized location; 

13 (B) develop and publish on the Depart14 ment of Energy’s website proposed plans and 

15 programs; 

16 (C) submit an annual report to the Sec17 retary summarizing the Hub’s activities, includ18 ing detailing organizational expenditures, listing 

19 external advisory committee members, and de20 scribing each project undertaken by the Hub; 

21 and 

22 (D) monitor project implementation and 

23 coordination. 

24 (2) EXTERNAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—Each 

25 Hub shall establish an external advisory committee, 


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1 the membership of which shall have sufficient exper2 tise to advise and provide guidance on scientific, 

3 technical, industry, financial, and research manage4 ment matters. 

5 (3) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.— 

6 (A) PROCEDURES.—Hubs shall establish 

7 conflict of interest procedures, consistent with 

8 those of the Department of Energy, to ensure 

9 that employees and consortia designees for Hub 

10 activities who are in decisionmaking capacities 

11 disclose all material conflicts of interest, includ12 ing financial, organizational, and personal con13 flicts of interest. 

14 (B) DISQUALIFICATION AND REVOCA15 TION.—The Secretary may disqualify an appli16 cation or revoke funds distributed to a Hub if 

17 the Secretary discovers a failure to comply with 

18 conflict of interest procedures established under 

19 subparagraph (A). 

20 (e) PROHIBITION ON CONSTRUCTION.—No funds 

21 provided pursuant to this section may be used for con22 struction of new buildings or facilities for Hubs. Construc23 tion of new buildings or facilities shall not be considered 

24 as part of the non-Federal share of a Hub cost-sharing 

25 agreement. 


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1 (f) OVERSIGHT BOARD.—The Secretary shall estab2 lish and maintain within the Department an Oversight 

3 Board to oversee the progress of Hubs. 

4 (g) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 

5 (1) ADVANCED ENERGY TECHNOLOGY.—The 

6 term ‘‘advanced energy technology’’ means an inno7 vative technology— 

8 (A) that produces energy from solar, wind, 

9 geothermal, biomass, tidal, wave, ocean, or 

10 other renewable energy resources; 

11 (B) that produces nuclear energy; 

12 (C) for carbon capture and sequestration; 

13 or 

14 (D) that generates, transmits, distributes, 

15 utilizes, or stores energy more efficiently than 

16 conventional technologies. 

17 (2) HUB.—The term ‘‘Hub’’ means an Energy 

18 Innovation Hub established in accordance with this 

19 section. 

20 (3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

21 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

22 meaning given that term in section 101(a) of the 

23 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 

24 (4) QUALIFYING ENTITY.—The term ‘‘quali25 fying entity’’ means— 


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1 (A) an institution of higher education; 

2 (B) an appropriate State or Federal entity; 

3 (C) a nongovernmental organization with 

4 expertise in advanced energy technology re5 search, development, demonstration, or com6 mercial application; or 

7 (D) any other relevant entity the Secretary 

8 considers appropriate. 

9 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

10 the Secretary of Energy. 

11 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

12 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

13 out this section— 

14 (1) $110,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

15 (2) $135,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; 

16 (3) $195,000,000 for fiscal year 2013; 

17 (4) $210,000,000 for fiscal year 2014; and 

18 (5) $210,000,000 for fiscal year 2015. 

Æ 


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