111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3585 

AN ACT 

To guide and provide for United States research, development, and demonstration of solar energy technologies, 

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, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Solar Technology 

3 Roadmap Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

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

7 the Secretary of Energy. 

8 (2) SOLAR TECHNOLOGY.—The term ‘‘solar 

9 technology’’ means— 

10 (A) photovoltaic technologies, including 

11 technologies utilizing— 

12 (i) crystalline silicon; 

13 (ii) cadmium telluride; 

14 (iii) semiconductor materials con15 taining copper, indium, and selenium; 

16 (iv) thin film silicon; 

17 (v) gallium arsenide alloy and multi18 junctions; 

19 (vi) dye-sensitized and organic solar 

20 cell technologies; 

21 (vii) concentrating photovoltaics; and 

22 (viii) other photovoltaic methods iden23 tified by the Secretary; 

24 (B) solar thermal power technology, in25 cluding linear concentrator systems, dish/engine 
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1 systems, power tower systems, and other 

2 means; 

3 (C) solar thermal water heating tech4 nology; 

5 (D) solar heating and air conditioning 

6 technologies; 

7 (E) passive solar design in architecture, in8 cluding both heating and lighting applications; 

9 and 

10 (F) related or enabling technologies, in11 cluding thin films, semiconducting materials, 

12 transparent conductors, optics, and technologies 

13 that increase durability or decrease cost or 

14 weight. 

15 TITLE I—SOLAR TECHNOLOGY 

16 RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, 

17 AND DEMONSTRATION 

18 SEC. 101. PROGRAM. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct a 

20 program of research, development, and demonstration for 

21 solar technology, including— 

22 (1) photovoltaics and related electronic compo23 nents, including inverters, charge controllers, and 

24 energy monitors; 
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1 (2) solar hot water and solar space heating and 

2 cooling; 

3 (3) concentrating solar power, including both 

4 solar thermal and concentrating solar photovoltaic 

5 technologies; 

6 (4) lighting systems that integrate sunlight and 

7 electrical lighting in complement to each other in 

8 common lighting fixtures for the purpose of improv9 ing energy efficiency; 

10 (5) manufacturability of low cost, high-quality 

11 solar energy systems; 

12 (6) development of solar technology products 

13 that can be easily integrated into new and existing 

14 buildings; 

15 (7) development of solar technology products 

16 that are water efficient; 

17 (8) development of storage technologies that 

18 can be used to increase the usefulness and value of 

19 solar technologies; and 

20 (9) other areas as the Secretary considers ap21 propriate. 

22 (b) AWARDS.—The Secretary shall provide awards 

23 under this section to promote a diversity of research, de24 velopment, and demonstration activities for solar tech25 nology on a merit-reviewed, competitive basis to— 
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1 (1) academic institutions, national laboratories, 

2 Federally-Funded Research and Development Cen3 ters, Federal research agencies, State research agen4 cies, nonprofit research organizations, industrial en5 tities, or consortia thereof for research, development, 

6 and demonstration activities; and 

7 (2) industry-led consortia for research, develop8 ment, and demonstration of advanced techniques for 

9 manufacturing a variety of solar energy products. 

10 (c) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con11 gress that at least 75 percent of funding for solar tech12 nology research, development, and demonstration activi13 ties conducted by the Department of Energy after fiscal 

14 year 2014 support a diversity of activities identified by 

15 and recommended under the Solar Technology Roadmap 

16 as described in section 102. 

17 (d) SPECIAL CONSIDERATION.—As a criteria for pro18 viding awards under this Act, the Secretary shall consider 

19 areas with high unemployment. 

20 (e) LIMITATION.—The Department of Energy shall 

21 provide awards to projects for research, development, and 

22 demonstration of solar technologies and solar manufac23 turing in the United States. 
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1 SEC. 102. SOLAR TECHNOLOGY ROADMAP. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months after 

3 the date of enactment of this Act, the Solar Technology 

4 Roadmap Committee established under section 103 shall 

5 develop and transmit to the Secretary of Energy and the 

6 Congress a Solar Technology Roadmap that— 

7 (1) presents the best current estimate of the 

8 near-term (up to 2 years), mid-term (up to 7 years), 

9 and long-term (up to 15 years) research, develop10 ment, and demonstration needs in solar technology; 

11 and 

12 (2) provides guidance to the solar technology 

13 research, development, and demonstration activities 

14 supported by the Federal Government for the pur15 poses of meeting national priorities in energy secu16 rity, United States competitiveness, mitigation of ad17 verse environmental impacts, and energy diversifica18 tion. 

19 (b) CONTENTS.—The Solar Technology Roadmap 

20 shall— 

21 (1) identify research, development, and dem22 onstration needs for a diversity of solar technologies 

23 to address— 

24 (A) the key solar energy production chal25 lenges of intermittency, transience, storage, and 

26 scaling, including determining— 
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1 (i) which solar-related technological 

2 solutions are appropriate for various appli3 cations, locations, and seasons; 

4 (ii) how to store excess solar energy in 

5 batteries, supercapacitors, compressed air, 

6 flywheels, hydrogen, synthetic fuels, ther7 mal storage, or superconductors, or 

8 through other means; 

9 (iii) how and when to integrate solar 

10 energy into the electricity grid effectively, 

11 including— 

12 (I) the integration of solar tech13 nologies with a Smart Grid; 

14 (II) electrical power smoothing; 

15 (III) microgrid integration; 

16 (IV) solar resource forecasting; 

17 (V) long distance transmission 

18 options, including direct current and 

19 superconducting transmission; and 

20 (VI) ways to address arbitrage 

21 over minutes, hours, days, weeks, and 

22 seasons with respect to the full range 

23 of project scales; 

24 (iv) how best to integrate solar tech25 nologies into buildings; and 
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1 (v) the technologies used to condition 

2 solar energy, including inverters, DC/DC 

3 converters, and battery chargers; 

4 (B) modeling and simulation; 

5 (C) the design, materials, and manufacture 

6 of solar technologies, as well as related factory 

7 sciences; 

8 (D) the development of standards; 

9 (E) the need for demonstration facilities; 

10 (F) optimized packaging methods; 

11 (G) environmental, safety, and health con12 cerns including reuse, recycling, hazardous ma13 terials disposal, and photovoltaic waste issues; 

14 (H) the development of solar technology 

15 products that are water efficient; 

16 (I) ways to reduce regional disparity in the 

17 use of solar technologies; and 

18 (J) other areas identified by the Secretary; 

19 (2) identify opportunities for coordination with 

20 partner industries such as those for semiconductors, 

21 lighting, energy storage, Smart Grid, and wind that 

22 can benefit from similar advances; 

23 (3) establish research, development, and dem24 onstration goals with recommended timeframes with 

25 respect to solar technologies for— 
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1 (A) improving performance; 

2 (B) decreasing cost of electricity generated; 

3 (C) improving reliability; 

4 (D) decreasing potential negative environ5 mental impacts and maximizing the environ6 mental benefits of solar technologies; and 

7 (E) improving the cost effectiveness and 

8 quality control of domestic manufacturing of 

9 implements and devices used in the production 

10 of solar energy; 

11 (4) identify best practices for Department of 

12 Energy national laboratories in their collaborations 

13 with institutions of higher education and private in14 dustry to more efficiently and effectively bring new 

15 solar technologies to the marketplace; 

16 (5) include recommendations, as appropriate, to 

17 guide solar technology research, development, and 

18 demonstration activities; 

19 (6) provide recommendations on the necessary 

20 steps required to strengthen the link between solar 

21 technology research and the commercialization of 

22 those technologies into full scale manufacturing, in23 cluding the retooling and reworking of the Nation’s 

24 existing technological and manufacturing base, as 
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1 well as coordinating the national strategy in regions 

2 where solar technology clusters currently exist; 

3 (7) provide recommendations to Federal agen4 cies on corresponding strategies to accelerate domes5 tic commercialization of newly developed solar tech6 nologies; and 

7 (8) outline the various technologies and prac8 tices considered by the Committee and the benefits 

9 and shortcomings of each, as appropriate. 

10 (c) PUBLIC INPUT.—The Committee shall release a 

11 draft Roadmap to the public at least one month prior to 

12 publication in order to receive input from the public. 

13 (d) REVISIONS AND UPDATES.— 

14 (1) REVISIONS.—Once every 3 years after com15 pletion of the first Solar Technology Roadmap under 

16 this Act, the Solar Technology Roadmap Committee 

17 shall conduct a comprehensive review and revision of 

18 the Solar Technology Roadmap. 

19 (2) UPDATES.—The Solar Technology Road20 map Committee shall update the Solar Technology 

21 Roadmap annually as necessary. 

22 (e) CONSULTATION.—The Solar Roadmap Committee 

23 shall consult with the Department of the Interior, the Na24 tional Park Service, the Department of Defense, and the 
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1 General Services Administration on the potential for solar 

2 demonstration projects on Federal lands. 

3 SEC. 103. SOLAR TECHNOLOGY ROADMAP COMMITTEE. 

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 4 months after 

5 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall es6 tablish, and provide support for as necessary, a Solar 

7 Technology Roadmap Committee. 

8 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Solar Technology Road10 map Committee shall consist of at least 11 members. 

11 Each member shall be appointed by the Secretary 

12 from among subject matter experts representing— 

13 (A) different sectors of the domestic solar 

14 technology industry, including manufacturers, 

15 solar applications developers, and equipment 

16 suppliers; 

17 (B) national laboratories; 

18 (C) academia; 

19 (D) relevant Federal agencies; 

20 (E) relevant State and local government 

21 entities; 

22 (F) private research institutions; 

23 (G) minority-serving institutions; and 

24 (H) other entities or organizations, as ap25 propriate. 
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1 (2) TERMS.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

3 subparagraph (B), the term of a member of the 

4 Solar Technology Roadmap Committee shall be 

5 3 years. 

6 (B) ORIGINAL TERMS.—Of the members 

7 appointed originally to the Solar Technology 

Roadmap Committee, approximately 1 8 ⁄3 shall be 

appointed for a 2-year term, approximately 1 9 ⁄3

10 shall be appointed for a 3-year term, and approximately 1 11 ⁄3 shall be appointed for a 4-year 

12 term. 

13 (3) LIMIT ON TERMS.—A member of the Solar 

14 Technology Roadmap Committee may serve more 

15 than 1 term, except that such member may not serve 

16 a subsequent term unless 2 years have elapsed since 

17 the end of a previous term. 

(4) INDUSTRY PARTICIPATION.—At least 1 18 ⁄3

and not more than 1 19 ⁄2 of the members of the Solar 

20 Technology Roadmap Committee shall be individuals 

21 described in paragraph (1)(A). 

22 (5) CHAIR.—The Secretary shall select a Chair 

23 from among the members of the Committee. The 

24 Chair shall not be an employee of the Federal Gov25 ernment. 
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1 (6) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—The Secretary, 

2 in appointing members to the Committee, shall make 

3 every effort to ensure that— 

4 (A) no individual appointed to serve on the 

5 Committee has a conflict of interest that is rel6 evant to the functions to be performed, unless 

7 such conflict is promptly and publicly disclosed 

8 and the Secretary determines that a waiver is 

9 appropriate; 

10 (B) the Committee membership is fairly 

11 balanced as determined by the Secretary to be 

12 appropriate for the functions to be performed; 

13 and 

14 (C) the final report of the Committee will 

15 be the result of the Committee’s independent 

16 judgment. 

17 The Secretary shall require that individuals that are 

18 appointed or intended to be to appointed to serve on 

19 the Committee inform the Department of Energy of 

20 any individual’s conflicts of interest that are relevant 

21 to the functions to be performed. 

22 (7) GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.—The Sec23 retary shall consider individuals that represent di24 verse geographic regions of the United States for 

25 membership of the Committee. 
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1 (c) EXPERT ADVICE.—In developing the Solar Tech2 nology Roadmap, the Solar Technology Roadmap Com3 mittee may establish subcommittees, working groups com4 prised of experts outside the membership of the Solar 

5 Technology Roadmap Committee, and other means of 

6 gathering expert advice on— 

7 (1) particular solar technologies, applications, 

8 or technological challenges; 

9 (2) crosscutting issues or activities relating to 

10 more than 1 particular solar technology or techno11 logical challenge; or 

12 (3) any other area the Solar Technology Road13 map Committee considers appropriate. 

14 (d) REPORTING.—Not later than 1 year after the 

15 date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, 

16 the Committee shall submit a report to the Secretary and 

17 the Congress on its activities over the prior 12-month pe18 riod. 

19 (e) COMPENSATION AND EXPENSES.—A member of 

20 the Solar Technology Roadmap Committee shall not be 

21 compensated for service on the Committee, but may be 

22 allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of sub23 sistence, in accordance with subchapter I of chapter 57 

24 of title 5, United States Code. 
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1 (f) LIMITATION.—The Committee shall provide guid2 ance on technological goals and activities but, consistent 

3 with requirements for the selection of recipients of funding 

4 on a merit-reviewed, competitive basis under section 

5 101(b), shall not recommend or select specific recipients 

6 of funds. 

7 (g) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The 

8 Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not 

9 apply to the Solar Technology Roadmap Committee. 

10 SEC. 104. INTERAGENCY COORDINATION. 

11 The Director of the Office of Science and Technology 

12 Policy shall review and coordinate Federal interagency ac13 tivities identified in and related to the Solar Technology 

14 Roadmap as appropriate. 

15 SEC. 105. SOLAR TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRATION 

16 PROJECTS. 

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—The Secretary 

18 shall establish a program to provide grants for demonstra19 tion projects to support the development of solar energy 

20 production, consistent with the Solar Technology Road21 map as available. 

22 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—In carrying out the dem23 onstration program under this section, to the extent prac24 ticable, the Secretary shall— 
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1 (1) include at least 10 photovoltaic technology 

2 projects that generate between 1 and 3 megawatts; 

3 (2) include at least 3 but not more than 5 solar 

4 technology projects that generate greater than 30 

5 megawatts; 

6 (3) include at least 2 solar thermal technology 

7 projects, with thermal storage, that generate be8 tween 1 and 3 megawatts continuously for a 24-hour 

9 period from energy provided entirely by the sun; and 

10 (4) make awards for projects that— 

11 (A) are located in geographically dispersed 

12 regions of the country and are not concentrated 

13 in any single geographical region of the coun14 try; 

15 (B) are located and can be replicated in a 

16 variety of regions and climates; 

17 (C) demonstrate technologies that address 

18 intermittency, transience, storage challenges, 

19 and independent operational capability; 

20 (D) facilitate identification of optimum 

21 techniques among competing alternatives; 

22 (E) include business commercialization 

23 plans that have the potential for production of 

24 equipment at high volumes; 
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1 (F) improve United States competitiveness 

2 and lead to development of manufacturing tech3 nology; 

4 (G) demonstrate positive environmental 

5 performance through life-cycle analysis; 

6 (H) provide the greatest potential to re7 duce energy costs, as well as promote accessi8 bility and community implementation of dem9 onstrated technologies, for consumers; 

10 (I) promote overall electric infrastructure 

11 reliability and sustainability should grid func12 tions be disrupted or damaged; and 

13 (J) satisfy other criteria that the Secretary 

14 considers necessary to carry out the program; 

15 and 

16 (5) evaluate the potential to establish large pho17 tovoltaic facilities that produce at least 100 

18 gigawatts, including an evaluation of the electrical 

19 grid, current, voltage, and energy storage require20 ments associated with large photovoltaic facilities. 

21 (c) GRANT AWARDS.—Funding provided under this 

22 section may be used, to the extent that funding is not oth23 erwise available through other Federal programs or power 

24 purchase agreements, for— 
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1 (1) a necessary and appropriate site engineering 

2 study; 

3 (2) a detailed economic assessment of site-spe4 cific conditions; 

5 (3) appropriate feasibility studies to determine 

6 whether the demonstration can be replicated; 

7 (4) installation of equipment, service, and sup8 port; 

9 (5) operation for a minimum of 3 years, using 

10 a monitoring methodology approved by Secretary; 

11 and 

12 (6) validation of technical, economic, and envi13 ronmental assumptions and documentation of les14 sons learned. 

15 (d) GRANT SELECTION.—Not later than 90 days 

16 after the date of enactment of this Act and annually there17 after, the Secretary shall conduct a national solicitation 

18 for applications for grants under this section. Grant re19 cipients shall be selected on a merit-reviewed, competitive 

20 basis. The Secretary shall give preference to proposals 

21 that address multiple elements described in subsection (b). 

22 (e) LIMITATIONS.—Funding shall not be provided 

23 under this section for more than 50 percent of the costs 

24 of the project for which assistance is provided. Not more 

25 than a total of $300,000,000 shall be provided under this 
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1 section for the period encompassing fiscal years 2011 

2 through 2015. 

3 (f) ORGANIC PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL TECH4 NOLOGIES.—At least 1 demonstration project awarded 

5 under this section during fiscal year 2011 shall be for the 

6 demonstration of organic photovoltaic cell technologies. 

7 SEC. 106. PHOTOVOLTAIC PERFORMANCE STUDY. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 

9 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall transmit 

10 to the Congress and the Solar Technology Roadmap Com11 mittee the results of a study that analyzes the perform12 ance of photovoltaic installations in the United States. The 

13 study shall assess the current performance of photovoltaic 

14 installations and identify opportunities to improve the en15 ergy productivity of these systems. Such study shall in16 clude— 

17 (1) identification of the average energy produc18 tivity of current commercial and residential installa19 tions; 

20 (2) assessment of areas where energy produc21 tivity is reduced, including wire loss, module mis22 match, shading, dust, and other factors; 

23 (3) identification of technology development and 

24 technical standards that improve energy produc25 tivity; 
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1 (4) analysis of the potential cost savings and 

2 energy productivity gains to the Federal, State, and 

3 local governments, utilities, private enterprise, and 

4 consumers available through the adoption, installa5 tion, and use of high-performance photovoltaic tech6 nologies and practices; 

7 (5) an overview of current government incen8 tives at the Federal, State, and local levels that en9 courage the adoption of highly efficient photovoltaic 

10 systems and practices; and 

11 (6) assessment of current financing models 

12 available to consumers used to offset high upfront 

13 costs by accounting for the long term economic bene14 fits of solar energy. 

15 (b) PUBLIC INPUT.—The Secretary shall ensure that 

16 interested stakeholders, including affected industry stake17 holders and energy efficiency advocates, have a meaningful 

18 opportunity to provide comments, data, and other infor19 mation on the scope, contents, and conclusions of the 

20 study. All forums for the Department to receive this input 

21 from interested stakeholders shall be announced in the 

22 Federal Register. 

23 SEC. 107. REPORT. 

24 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

25 of this Act, the Secretary shall commence a study evalu-
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1 ating potential applications of micro power stations using 

2 solar power technology in underserved communities lack3 ing in basic electric or traditional power infrastructure, 

4 and make recommendations to Congress for increasing ac5 cess to and implementation of solar energy technology in 

6 such underserved communities. 

7 SEC. 108. SOLAR ENERGY PROGRAM REAUTHORIZATION. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro9 priated to the Secretary to carry out section 101(a)— 

10 (1) $350,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

11 (2) $400,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; 

12 (3) $450,000,000 for fiscal year 2013; 

13 (4) $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2014; and 

14 (5) $550,000,000 for fiscal year 2015. 

15 (b) ROADMAP IDENTIFIED ACTIVITIES.—The Sec16 retary shall dedicate a percentage of funding received pur17 suant to subsection (a) for research, development, and 

18 demonstration activities identified by and recommended 

19 under the Solar Technology Roadmap in the following per20 centages: 

21 (1) For fiscal year 2012, at least 30 percent. 

22 (2) For fiscal year 2013, at least 45 percent. 

23 (3) For fiscal year 2014, at least 60 percent. 

24 (4) For fiscal year 2015, at least 75 percent. 
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1 (c) SOLAR TECHNOLOGY ROADMAP.—The Secretary 

2 may use up to $2,000,000 of the funds appropriated pur3 suant to subsection (a) for each fiscal year to support the 

4 establishment and maintenance of the Solar Technology 

5 Roadmap. 

6 (d) EXTENSION OF AUTHORIZATIONS.—Of funds au7 thorized by subsection (a), there are authorized to be ap8 propriated to the Secretary to carry out— 

9 (1) section 602 of the Energy Independence 

10 and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17171) 

11 $12,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2013 

12 through 2015; 

13 (2) section 604 of the Energy Independence 

14 and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17172) 

15 $10,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2013 

16 through 2015; 

17 (3) section 605 of the Energy Independence 

18 and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17173) 

19 $3,500,000 for each of the fiscal years 2013 through 

20 2015; and 

21 (4) section 606 of the Energy Independence 

22 and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17174) 

23 $2,500,000 for each of the fiscal years 2013 through 

24 2015. 
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1 SEC. 109. EXISTING PROGRAMS. 

2 Except as otherwise specified in this Act, this Act 

3 shall supersede any duplicative solar research, develop4 ment, and demonstration programs within the Depart5 ment of Energy. 

6 SEC. 110. REPEALS. 

7 The following are hereby repealed: 

8 (1) The Solar Energy Research, Development, 

9 and Demonstration Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5551 et 

10 seq.), except for section 10. 

11 (2) The Solar Photovoltaic Energy Research, 

12 Development, and Demonstration Act of 1978 (42 

13 U.S.C. 5581 et seq.). 

14 (3) Section 4(a)(2) and (3) of the Renewable 

15 Energy and Energy Efficiency Technology Competi16 tiveness Act of 1989 (42 U.S.C. 12003(a)(2) and 

17 (3)). 

18 SEC. 111. SOLAR TECHNOLOGY EQUIPMENT THEFT. 

19 (a) PILOT PROGRAM.—Not later than 1 year after 

20 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy 

21 shall establish a pilot program to make grants for projects 

22 to protect against solar technology equipment theft, in23 cluding projects for mapping of large-scale solar projects 

24 and equipment serial number registries. 

25 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year 

26 after the establishment of the pilot program under sub-
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1 section (a), the Secretary of Energy shall transmit to the 

2 Congress a report on the effectiveness of projects sup3 ported under this section, which shall include rec4 ommendations for the continuation or alteration of the 

5 program under this section or any other appropriate Fed6 eral legislation. 

7 TITLE II—PHOTOVOLTAIC 

8 RECYCLING 

9 SEC. 201. PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE RECYCLING RESEARCH, 

10 DEVELOPMENT, AND DEMONSTRATION. 

11 (a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘photo12 voltaic device’’ includes photovoltaic cells and the elec13 tronic and electrical components of such devices. 

14 (b) IN GENERAL.—In order to address the issues de15 scribed in section 102(b)(1)(G), the Secretary shall award 

16 multiyear grants for research, development, and dem17 onstration activities to create innovative and practical ap18 proaches to increase reuse and recycling of photovoltaic 

19 devices and, through such activities, to contribute to the 

20 professional development of scientists, engineers, and tech21 nicians in the fields of photovoltaic and electronic device 

22 manufacturing, design, refurbishing, and recycling. The 

23 activities supported under this section shall address— 

24 (1) technology to increase the efficiency of pho25 tovoltaic device recycling and maximize the recovery 
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1 of valuable raw materials for use in new products 

2 while minimizing the life-cycle environmental im3 pacts such as greenhouse gas emissions and water 

4 usage; 

5 (2) expanded uses for materials from recycled 

6 photovoltaic devices; 

7 (3) development and demonstration of environ8 mentally responsible alternatives to the use of haz9 ardous materials in photovoltaic devices and the pro10 duction of such devices; 

11 (4) development of methods to separate and re12 move hazardous materials from photovoltaic devices 

13 and to recycle or dispose of those materials in a safe 

14 manner; 

15 (5) product design and construction to facilitate 

16 disassembly and recycling of photovoltaic devices; 

17 (6) tools and methods to aid in assessing the 

18 environmental impacts of the production of photo19 voltaic devices and photovoltaic device recycling and 

20 disposal; 

21 (7) product design and construction and other 

22 tools and techniques to extend the life cycle of pho23 tovoltaic devices, including methods to promote their 

24 safe reuse; 
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1 (8) strategies to increase consumer acceptance 

2 and practice of recycling of photovoltaic devices; and 

3 (9) processes to reduce the costs and environ4 mental impact of disposal of toxic materials used in 

5 photovoltaic devices. 

6 (c) MERIT REVIEW.—Grants shall be awarded under 

7 this section on a merit-reviewed, competitive basis. 

8 (d) APPLICATIONS.—Each application shall include a 

9 description of— 

10 (1) the project that will be undertaken and the 

11 contributions of each participating entity; 

12 (2) the applicability of the project to increasing 

13 reuse and recycling of photovoltaic devices with the 

14 least environmental impacts as measured by life15 cycle analyses, and the potential for incorporating 

16 the research results into industry practice; and 

17 (3) how the project will promote collaboration 

18 among scientists and engineers from different dis19 ciplines, such as electrical engineering, materials 

20 science, and social science. 

21 (e) DISSEMINATION OF RESULTS.—The results of ac22 tivities supported under this section shall be made publicly 

23 available through— 
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1 (1) development of best practices or training 

2 materials for use in the photovoltaics manufacturing, 

3 design, refurbishing, or recycling industries; 

4 (2) dissemination at industry conferences; 

5 (3) coordination with information dissemination 

6 programs relating to recycling of electronic devices 

7 in general; 

8 (4) demonstration projects; and 

9 (5) educational materials for the public pro10 duced in conjunction with State and local govern11 ments or nonprofit research organizations on the 

12 problems and solutions related to reuse and recy13 cling of photovoltaic devices. 

14 (f) PHOTOVOLTAIC MATERIALS PHYSICAL PROPERTY

15 DATABASE.— 

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

17 a comprehensive physical property database of mate18 rials for use in photovoltaic devices. This database 

19 shall include— 

20 (A) identification of materials used in pho21 tovoltaic devices; 

22 (B) a list of commercially available 

23 amounts of these materials; 
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1 (C) amounts of these materials projected 

2 to be available through mining or recycling of 

3 photovoltaic and other electronic devices; and 

4 (D) a list of other significant uses for each 

5 of these materials. 

6 (2) PRIORITIES.—The Secretary, working with 

7 private industry, shall develop a plan to establish 

8 priorities and requirements for the database under 

9 this subsection, including the protection of propri10 etary information, trade secrets, and other confiden11 tial business information. 

12 (3) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall co13 ordinate with the Director of the National Institute 

14 of Standards and Technology and the Administrator 

15 of the Environmental Protection Agency to facilitate 

16 the incorporation of the database under this sub17 section with any existing database for electronic 

18 manufacturing and recycling. 

Passed the House of Representatives October 22, 

2009. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3585 

AN ACT 

To guide and provide for United States research, 

technologies, and for other purposes. development, and demonstration of solar energy