II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1593 

To require the Secretary of Energy to establish an energy storage research 

program, a demonstration program, and a technical assistance and grant 

program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 22, 2019 

Ms. SMITH (for herself, Ms. COLLINS, Ms. HIRONO, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Ms. 

CORTEZ MASTO, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. HEINRICH, Mr. GARDNER, and Ms. 

HASSAN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Energy to establish an energy 

storage research program, a demonstration program, and 

a technical assistance and grant program, 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 ‘‘Promoting Grid Stor5 age Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


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1 (1) ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘en2 ergy storage system’’ means equipment or facilities 

3 relating to the electric grid that are capable of ab4 sorbing energy, storing the energy for a period of 

5 time, and dispatching the energy, that— 

6 (A) use mechanical, electrochemical, bio7 chemical, or thermal processes to store energy 

8 that was generated at an earlier time for use at 

9 a later time; 

10 (B) use mechanical, electrochemical, bio11 chemical, or thermal processes to store energy 

12 generated from mechanical processes that would 

13 otherwise be wasted for delivery at a later time; 

14 or 

15 (C) store thermal energy for direct use for 

16 heating or cooling at a later time in a manner 

17 that avoids the need to use electricity at that 

18 later time, as is offered by grid-enabled water 

19 heaters. 

20 (2) ISLANDING.—The term ‘‘islanding’’ means 

21 a distributed generator or energy storage device con22 tinuing to power a location in the absence of electric 

23 power from the primary source. 

24 (3) MICROGRID.—The term ‘‘microgrid’’ means 

25 an integrated energy system consisting of interVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:48 May 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1593.IS S1593

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1 connected loads and distributed energy resources, in2 cluding generators and energy storage devices, with3 in clearly defined electrical boundaries that— 

4 (A) acts as a single controllable entity with 

5 respect to the grid; and 

6 (B) can connect and disconnect from the 

7 grid to operate in both grid-connected mode 

8 and island mode. 

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

10 the Secretary of Energy. 

11 SEC. 3. ENERGY STORAGE RESEARCH PROGRAM. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 

13 cross-cutting national program within the Department of 

14 Energy for the research of energy storage systems, compo15 nents, and materials. 

16 (b) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—In establishing 

17 the program under subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 

18 (1) identify and coordinate across all relevant 

19 program offices throughout the Department of En20 ergy key areas of existing and future research with 

21 respect to a portfolio of technologies and approaches; 

22 and 

23 (2) adopt long-term cost, performance, and im24 plementation targets for specific applications of en25 ergy storage systems. 


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1 SEC. 4. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND GRANT PROGRAM. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

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

4 a technical assistance and grant program (referred 

5 to in this section as the ‘‘program’’)— 

6 (A) to disseminate information and provide 

7 technical assistance directly to eligible entities 

8 so the eligible entities can identify, evaluate, 

9 plan, design, and develop processes to procure 

10 energy storage systems; and 

11 (B) to make grants to eligible entities so 

12 that the eligible entities may contract to obtain 

13 technical assistance to identify, evaluate, plan, 

14 design, and develop processes to procure energy 

15 storage systems. 

16 (2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—The technical assist18 ance described in paragraph (1) shall include 

19 assistance with 1 or more of the following ac20 tivities relating to energy storage systems: 

21 (i) Identification of opportunities to 

22 use energy storage systems. 

23 (ii) Assessment of technical and eco24 nomic characteristics. 

25 (iii) Utility interconnection. 

26 (iv) Permitting and siting issues. 


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1 (v) Business planning and financial 

2 analysis. 

3 (vi) Engineering design. 

4 (B) EXCLUSION.—The technical assistance 

5 described in paragraph (1) shall not include as6 sistance relating to modification of Federal, 

7 State, or local regulations or policies relating to 

8 energy storage systems. 

9 (3) INFORMATION DISSEMINATION.—The infor10 mation disseminated under paragraph (1)(A) shall 

11 include— 

12 (A) information relating to the topics de13 scribed in paragraph (2), including case studies 

14 of successful examples; 

15 (B) computer software for assessment, de16 sign, and operation and maintenance of energy 

17 storage systems; and 

18 (C) public databases that track the oper19 ation of existing and planned energy storage 

20 systems. 

21 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—Any not-for-profit or for-profit en22 tity shall be eligible to receive technical assistance and 

23 grants under the program. 

24 (c) APPLICATIONS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity desiring 

2 technical assistance or grants under the program 

3 shall submit to the Secretary an application at such 

4 time, in such manner, and containing such informa5 tion as the Secretary may require. 

6 (2) APPLICATION PROCESS.—The Secretary 

7 shall seek applications for technical assistance and 

8 grants under the program— 

9 (A) on a competitive basis; and 

10 (B) on a periodic basis, but not less fre11 quently than once every 12 months. 

12 (3) PRIORITIES.—In selecting eligible entities 

13 for technical assistance and grants under the pro14 gram, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible en15 tities with projects that have the greatest potential 

16 for— 

17 (A) strengthening the reliability and resil18 iency of energy infrastructure to the impact of 

19 extreme weather events, power grid failures, 

20 and interruptions in supply of fossil fuels; 

21 (B) reducing the cost of energy storage 

22 systems; 

23 (C) facilitating the use of renewable energy 

24 resources; 


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1 (D) minimizing environmental impact, in2 cluding regulated air pollutants and greenhouse 

3 gas emissions; 

4 (E) improving the feasibility of microgrids 

5 or islanding, particularly in rural areas, includ6 ing high energy cost rural areas; and 

7 (F) maximizing local job creation. 

8 (d) GRANTS.—On application by an eligible entity, 

9 the Secretary may award grants to the eligible entity to 

10 provide funds to cover not more than— 

11 (1) 100 percent of the costs of the initial as12 sessment to identify net system benefits of using en13 ergy storage systems; 

14 (2) 75 percent of the cost of guidance relating 

15 to methods to assess energy storage in long-term re16 source planning and resource procurement; 

17 (3) 60 percent of the cost of studies to assess 

18 the cost-benefit ratio of energy storage systems; and 

19 (4) 50 percent of the cost of guidance on com20 plying with State and local regulatory technical 

21 standards, including siting and permitting stand22 ards. 

23 (e) RULES AND PROCEDURES.— 

24 (1) RULES.—Not later than 180 days after the 

25 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 


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1 adopt rules and procedures for carrying out the pro2 gram. 

3 (2) GRANTS.—Not later than 120 days after 

4 the date of issuance of the rules and procedures for 

5 the program, the Secretary shall issue grants under 

6 this section. 

7 (f) REPORTS.—The Secretary shall submit to Con8 gress and make available to the public— 

9 (1) not less frequently than once every 2 years, 

10 a report describing the performance of the program 

11 under this section, including a synthesis and analysis 

12 of any information the Secretary requires grant re13 cipients to provide to the Secretary as a condition of 

14 receiving a grant; and 

15 (2) on termination of the program under this 

16 section, an assessment of the success of, and edu17 cation provided by, the measures carried out by eli18 gible entities under the program. 

19 SEC. 5. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY WORKSHOPS. 

20 The Secretary shall hold 1 or more workshops during 

21 each of calendar years 2021 and 2023 to facilitate the 

22 sharing, across the Department of Energy, the States, 

23 local and Tribal governments, industry, and the academic 

24 research community, of research developments and new 


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1 technical knowledge gained in carrying out sections 3 and 

2 4. 

3 SEC. 6. ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM DEMONSTRATION PRO4 GRAM. 

5 (a) ENERGY STORAGE GRANT PROGRAM.— 

6 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es7 tablish a competitive grant program for pilot energy 

8 storage systems, as identified by the Secretary, that 

9 use either— 

10 (A) a single system; or 

11 (B) aggregations of multiple systems. 

12 (2) ELIGIBILITY.—Entities eligible to receive a 

13 grant under paragraph (1) include— 

14 (A) a State, territory, or possession of the 

15 United States; 

16 (B) a State energy office; 

17 (C) a tribal organization (as defined in sec18 tion 3765 of title 38, United States Code); 

19 (D) an institution of higher education (as 

20 defined in section 101 of the Higher Education 

21 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)); 

22 (E) an electric utility, including— 

23 (i) a rural electric cooperative; 

24 (ii) a political subdivision of a State, 

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1 ity, or any agency, authority, corporation, 

2 or instrumentality of one or more State po3 litical subdivisions; and 

4 (iii) an investor-owned utility; and 

5 (F) a private energy storage company that 

6 is a small business concern (as defined in sec7 tion 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

8 632)). 

9 (3) SELECTION REQUIREMENTS.—In selecting 

10 eligible entities to receive a grant under this section, 

11 the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent prac12 ticable— 

13 (A) ensure regional diversity among eligi14 ble entities that receive the grants, including 

15 participation by rural States and small States; 

16 (B) ensure that specific projects selected 

17 for grants— 

18 (i) expand on the existing technology 

19 demonstration programs of the Depart20 ment of Energy; and 

21 (ii) are designed to achieve 1 or more 

22 of the objectives described in paragraph 

23 (4); 

24 (C) prioritize projects from eligible entities 

25 that do not have an energy storage system; 


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1 (D) give consideration to proposals from 

2 eligible entities for securing energy storage 

3 through competitive procurement or contract 

4 for service; 

5 (E) prioritize projects that coordinate with 

6 the local incumbent utility for in-front-of-the7 meter projects that do not formally involve a 

8 utility; and 

9 (F) prioritize projects that leverage match10 ing funds from non-Federal sources. 

11 (4) OBJECTIVES.—Each demonstration project 

12 selected for a grant under paragraph (1) shall in13 clude 1 or more of the following objectives: 

14 (A) To improve the security of critical in15 frastructure and emergency response systems. 

16 (B) To improve the reliability of the trans17 mission and distribution system, particularly in 

18 rural areas, including high energy cost rural 

19 areas. 

20 (C) To optimize transmission or distribu21 tion system operation and power quality to 

22 defer or avoid costs of replacing or upgrading 

23 electric grid infrastructure, including trans24 formers and substations. 


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1 (D) To supply energy at peak periods of 

2 demand on the electric grid or during periods of 

3 significant variation of electric grid supply. 

4 (E) To reduce peak loads of homes and 

5 businesses, particularly to defer or avoid invest6 ments in new electric grid capacity. 

7 (F) To advance power conversion systems 

8 to make the systems smarter, more efficient, 

9 able to communicate with other inverters, and 

10 able to control voltage. 

11 (G) To provide ancillary services for grid 

12 stability and management. 

13 (H) To integrate a renewable energy re14 source production source at the source or away 

15 from the source. 

16 (I) To increase the feasibility of microgrids 

17 or islanding. 

18 (J) To enable the use of stored energy in 

19 forms other than electricity to support the nat20 ural gas system and other industrial processes. 

21 (5) RESTRICTION ON USE OF FUNDS.—Any eli22 gible entity that receives a grant under paragraph 

23 (1) may only use the grant to fund programs relat24 ing to the demonstration of energy storage systems 


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1 connected to the electric grid, including energy stor2 age systems sited behind a customer revenue meter. 

3 (6) FUNDING LIMITATIONS.— 

4 (A) FEDERAL COST SHARE.—The Federal 

5 cost share of a project carried out with a grant 

6 under paragraph (1) shall be not more than 50 

7 percent of the total costs incurred in connection 

8 with the development, construction, acquisition 

9 of components for, or engineering of a dem10 onstration project. 

11 (B) MAXIMUM GRANT.—The maximum 

12 amount of a grant awarded under paragraph 

13 (1) shall be $5,000,000. 

14 (7) NO PROJECT OWNERSHIP INTEREST.—The 

15 United States shall hold no equity or other owner16 ship interest in an energy storage system for which 

17 a grant is provided under paragraph (1). 

18 (8) COMPARABLE WAGE RATES.—Each laborer 

19 and mechanic employed by a contractor or subcon20 tractor in performance of construction work fi21 nanced, in whole or in part, by the grant shall be 

22 paid wages at rates not less than the rates prevailing 

23 on similar construction in the locality as determined 

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1 chapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United States 

2 Code. 

3 (b) RULES AND PROCEDURES; AWARDING OF

4 GRANTS.— 

5 (1) RULES AND PROCEDURES.—Not later than 

6 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

7 Secretary shall adopt rules and procedures for car8 rying out the grant program under subsection (a). 

9 (2) AWARDING OF GRANTS.—Not later than 1 

10 year after the date on which the rules and proce11 dures under paragraph (1) are established, the Sec12 retary shall award the initial grants provided under 

13 this section. 

14 (c) REPORTS.—The Secretary shall submit to Con15 gress and make publicly available— 

16 (1) not less frequently than once every 2 years 

17 for the duration of the grant program under sub18 section (a), a report describing the performance of 

19 the grant program, including a synthesis and anal20 ysis of any information the Secretary requires grant 

21 recipients to provide to the Secretary as a condition 

22 of receiving a grant; and 

23 (2) on termination of the grant program under 

24 subsection (a), an assessment of the success of, and 


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1 education provided by, the measures carried out by 

2 grant recipients under the grant program. 

3 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 There are authorized to be appropriated— 

5 (1) for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024, 

6 $175,000,000 to carry out section 3; 

7 (2) for the period of fiscal years 2020 through 

8 2024, $100,000,000 to carry out section 4, to re9 main available until expended; and 

10 (3) for the period of fiscal years 2020 through 

11 2024, $150,000,000 to carry out section 6, to re12 main available until expended. 

Æ 


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