II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1183 

To establish an energy storage and microgrid grant and technical assistance 

program. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 11, 2019 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself and Mr. MORAN) introduced the following bill; 

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

A BILL 

To establish an energy storage and microgrid grant and 

technical assistance program. 

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 ‘‘Expanding Access to 

5 Sustainable Energy Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 

8 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti9 ty’’ means— 

10 (A) a rural electric cooperative; and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
2 

•S 1183 IS

1 (B) two or more rural electric cooperatives 

2 working together. 

3 (2) ENERGY STORAGE.—The term ‘‘energy 

4 storage’’ means the use of a system, equipment, fa5 cility, or technology that— 

6 (A) is capable of absorbing energy, storing 

7 that energy for a period of time, and dis8 patching the stored energy; and 

9 (B)(i) uses a mechanical, electrochemical, 

10 or thermal process to store energy that— 

11 (I) was generated at an earlier time 

12 for use at a later time; or 

13 (II) was generated from a mechanical 

14 process, and would otherwise be wasted, 

15 for delivery at a later time; or 

16 (ii) stores thermal energy for direct use for 

17 heating or cooling at a later time in a manner 

18 that avoids the need to use electricity at that 

19 later time, in the same manner as the storage 

20 and use offered by a grid-enabled water heater. 

21 (3) ISLAND.—The term ‘‘island’’, with respect 

22 to a distributed generator or energy storage equip23 ment, means that the generator or equipment con24 tinues to power a location in the absence of electric 

25 power from a primary source. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
3 

•S 1183 IS

1 (4) MICROGRID.—The term ‘‘microgrid’’ means 

2 an interconnected system of loads and distributed 

3 energy resources, including generators and energy 

4 storage devices, within clearly defined electrical 

5 boundaries that— 

6 (A) acts as a single controllable entity with 

7 respect to the grid; and 

8 (B) can connect and disconnect from the 

9 grid to operate in both grid-connected mode 

10 and island mode. 

11 (5) RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCE.—The term 

12 ‘‘renewable energy source’’ has the meaning given 

13 the term in section 609(a) of the Public Utility Reg14 ulatory Policies Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 918c(a)). 

15 (6) RURAL ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE.—The term 

16 ‘‘rural electric cooperative’’ means an electric coop17 erative (as defined in section 3 of the Federal Power 

18 Act (16 U.S.C. 796)) that sells electric energy to 

19 persons in rural areas. 

20 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

21 the Secretary of Energy. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
4 

•S 1183 IS

1 SEC. 3. ENERGY STORAGE AND MICROGRID ASSISTANCE 

2 PROGRAM. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

4 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish 

5 a program under which the Secretary shall— 

6 (1) provide grants to eligible entities under sub7 section (c); 

8 (2) provide technical assistance to eligible enti9 ties under subsection (d); and 

10 (3) disseminate information to eligible entities 

11 on— 

12 (A) the activities described in subsections 

13 (c)(1) and (d); and 

14 (B) potential and existing energy storage 

15 and microgrid projects. 

16 (b) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.—The Secretary may 

17 enter into a cooperative agreement with an eligible entity 

18 to carry out subsection (a). 

19 (c) GRANTS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 

21 grants to eligible entities for identifying, evaluating, 

22 and designing energy storage and microgrid projects 

23 that rely on energy from renewable energy sources. 

24 (2) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a 

25 grant under paragraph (1), an eligible entity shall 

26 submit to the Secretary an application at such time, 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
5 

•S 1183 IS

1 in such manner, and containing such information as 

2 the Secretary may require. 

3 (3) USE OF GRANT.—An eligible entity that re4 ceives a grant under paragraph (1)— 

5 (A) shall use the grant— 

6 (i) to conduct feasibility studies to as7 sess the potential for implementation or 

8 improvement of energy storage or micro9 grid projects; 

10 (ii) to analyze and implement strate11 gies to overcome barriers to energy storage 

12 or microgrid project implementation, in13 cluding financial, contracting, siting, and 

14 permitting barriers; 

15 (iii) to conduct detailed engineering of 

16 energy storage or microgrid projects; 

17 (iv) to perform a cost-benefit analysis 

18 with respect to an energy storage or micro19 grid project; and 

20 (v) to plan for both the short- and 

21 long-term inclusion of energy storage or 

22 microgrid projects into the future develop23 ment plans of the eligible entity; and 

24 (B) may use the grant to obtain technical 

25 assistance from experts in carrying out the acVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:52 Apr 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1183.IS S1183

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
6 

•S 1183 IS

1 tivities described in clauses (i) through (v) of 

2 subparagraph (A). 

3 (4) CONDITION.—As a condition of receiving a 

4 grant under paragraph (1), an eligible entity shall— 

5 (A) implement a public awareness cam6 paign about the project implemented under the 

7 grant in the community in which the eligible en8 tity is located; and 

9 (B) submit to the Secretary, and make 

10 available to the public, a report that de11 scribes— 

12 (i) any energy cost savings and envi13 ronmental benefits achieved under the 

14 project; and 

15 (ii) the results of the project, includ16 ing quantitative assessments to the extent 

17 practicable, associated with each activity 

18 described in paragraph (3)(A). 

19 (5) COST-SHARE.—Activities under this sub20 section shall be subject to the cost-sharing require21 ments of section 988 of the Energy Policy Act of 

22 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16352). 

23 (d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
7 

•S 1183 IS

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

2 out subsection (a)(2) by providing eligible entities 

3 with technical assistance relating to— 

4 (A) identifying opportunities for energy 

5 storage and microgrid projects; 

6 (B) understanding the technical and eco7 nomic characteristics of energy storage or 

8 microgrid projects; 

9 (C) understanding financing alternatives; 

10 (D) permitting and siting issues; 

11 (E) obtaining case studies of similar and 

12 successful energy storage or microgrid projects; 

13 (F) reviewing and obtaining computer soft14 ware for assessment, design, and operation and 

15 maintenance of energy storage or microgrid sys16 tems; and 

17 (G) understanding and utilizing the reli18 ability and resiliency benefits of energy storage 

19 and microgrid projects. 

20 (2) EXTERNAL CONTRACTS.—In carrying out 

21 subsection (a)(2), the Secretary may enter into con22 tracts with third-party experts, including engineer23 ing, finance, and insurance experts, to provide tech24 nical assistance to eligible entities relating to the ac25 tivities described in subparagraphs (A) through (G) 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
8 

•S 1183 IS

1 of paragraph (1), or other relevant activities, as de2 termined by the Secretary. 

3 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro5 priated to carry out this Act $5,000,000 for each of fiscal 

6 years 2020 through 2025. 

7 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Not more than 5 per8 cent of the amount appropriated under subsection (a) for 

9 each fiscal year shall be used for administrative expenses. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS