I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2909 
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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 22, 2019 
Mr. CASTEN of Illinois (for himself, Mr. LUJA´N, Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of 
Pennsylvania, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mr. BACON, Mr. TONKO, Mr. FOSTER, 
and Mr. WELCH) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee 
on Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Promoting Grid Stor-
age Act of 2019’’. 
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SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘en-
ergy storage system’’ means equipment or facilities 
relating to the electric grid that are capable of ab-
sorbing energy, storing the energy for a period of 
time, and dispatching the energy, that— 
(A) use mechanical, electrochemical, bio-
chemical, or thermal processes to store energy 
that was generated at an earlier time for use at 
a later time; 
(B) use mechanical, electrochemical, bio-
chemical, or thermal processes to store energy 
generated from mechanical processes that would 
otherwise be wasted for delivery at a later time; 
or 
(C) store thermal energy for direct use for 
heating or cooling at a later time in a manner 
that avoids the need to use electricity at that 
later time, as is offered by grid-enabled water 
heaters. 
(2) ISLANDING.—The term ‘‘islanding’’ means 
a distributed generator or energy storage device con-
tinuing to power a location in the absence of electric 
power from the primary source. 
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(3) MICROGRID.—The term ‘‘microgrid’’ means 
an integrated energy system consisting of inter-
connected loads and distributed energy resources, in-
cluding generators and energy storage devices, with-
in clearly defined electrical boundaries that— 
(A) acts as a single controllable entity with 
respect to the grid; and 
(B) can connect and disconnect from the 
grid to operate in both grid-connected mode 
and island mode. 
(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Energy. 
SEC. 3. ENERGY STORAGE RESEARCH PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 
cross-cutting national program within the Department of 
Energy for the research of energy storage systems, compo-
nents, and materials. 
(b) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—In establishing 
the program under subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 
(1) identify and coordinate across all relevant 
program offices throughout the Department of En-
ergy key areas of existing and future research with 
respect to a portfolio of technologies and approaches; 
and 
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(2) adopt long-term cost, performance, and im-
plementation targets for specific applications of en-
ergy storage systems. 
SEC. 4. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND GRANT PROGRAM. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 
a technical assistance and grant program (referred 
to in this section as the ‘‘program’’)— 
(A) to disseminate information and provide 
technical assistance directly to eligible entities 
so the eligible entities can identify, evaluate, 
plan, design, and develop processes to procure 
energy storage systems; and 
(B) to make grants to eligible entities so 
that the eligible entities may contract to obtain 
technical assistance to identify, evaluate, plan, 
design, and develop processes to procure energy 
storage systems. 
(2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The technical assist-
ance described in paragraph (1) shall include 
assistance with one or more of the following ac-
tivities relating to energy storage systems: 
(i) Identification of opportunities to 
use energy storage systems. 
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(ii) Assessment of technical and eco-
nomic characteristics. 
(iii) Utility interconnection. 
(iv) Permitting and siting issues. 
(v) Business planning and financial 
analysis. 
(vi) Engineering design. 
(B) EXCLUSION.—The technical assistance 
described in paragraph (1) shall not include as-
sistance relating to modification of Federal, 
State, or local regulations or policies relating to 
energy storage systems. 
(3) INFORMATION DISSEMINATION.—The infor-
mation disseminated under paragraph (1)(A) shall 
include— 
(A) information relating to the topics de-
scribed in paragraph (2), including case studies 
of successful examples; 
(B) computer software for assessment, de-
sign, and operation and maintenance of energy 
storage systems; and 
(C) public databases that track the oper-
ation of existing and planned energy storage 
systems. 
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(b) ELIGIBILITY.—Any not-for-profit or for-profit en-
tity shall be eligible to receive technical assistance and 
grants under the program. 
(c) APPLICATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity desiring 
technical assistance or grants under the program 
shall submit to the Secretary an application at such 
time, in such manner, and containing such informa-
tion as the Secretary may require. 
(2) APPLICATION
PROCESS.—The Secretary 
shall seek applications for technical assistance and 
grants under the program— 
(A) on a competitive basis; and 
(B) on a periodic basis, but not less fre-
quently than once every 12 months. 
(3) PRIORITIES.—In selecting eligible entities 
for technical assistance and grants under the pro-
gram, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible en-
tities with projects that have the greatest potential 
for— 
(A) strengthening the reliability and resil-
iency of energy infrastructure to the impact of 
extreme weather events, power grid failures, 
and interruptions in supply of fossil fuels; 
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(B) reducing the cost of energy storage 
systems; 
(C) facilitating the use of renewable energy 
resources; 
(D) minimizing environmental impact, in-
cluding regulated air pollutants and greenhouse 
gas emissions; 
(E) improving the feasibility of microgrids 
or islanding, particularly in rural areas, includ-
ing high energy cost rural areas; and 
(F) maximizing local job creation. 
(d) GRANTS.—On application by an eligible entity, 
the Secretary may award grants to the eligible entity to 
provide funds to cover not more than— 
(1) 100 percent of the costs of the initial as-
sessment to identify net system benefits of using en-
ergy storage systems; 
(2) 75 percent of the cost of guidance relating 
to methods to assess energy storage in long-term re-
source planning and resource procurement; 
(3) 60 percent of the cost of studies to assess 
the cost-benefit ratio of energy storage systems; and 
(4) 50 percent of the cost of guidance on com-
plying with State and local regulatory technical 
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standards, including siting and permitting stand-
ards. 
(e) RULES AND PROCEDURES.— 
(1) RULES.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 
adopt rules and procedures for carrying out the pro-
gram. 
(2) GRANTS.—Not later than 120 days after 
the date of issuance of the rules and procedures for 
the program, the Secretary shall issue grants under 
this section. 
(f) REPORTS.—The Secretary shall submit to Con-
gress and make available to the public— 
(1) not less frequently than once every 2 years, 
a report describing the performance of the program 
under this section, including a synthesis and analysis 
of any information the Secretary requires grant re-
cipients to provide to the Secretary as a condition of 
receiving a grant; and 
(2) on termination of the program under this 
section, an assessment of the success of, and edu-
cation provided by, the measures carried out by eli-
gible entities under the program. 
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SEC. 5. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY WORKSHOPS. 
The Secretary shall hold one or more workshops dur-
ing each of calendar years 2021 and 2023 to facilitate the 
sharing, across the Department of Energy, the States, 
local and Tribal governments, industry, and the academic 
research community, of research developments and new 
technical knowledge gained in carrying out sections 3 and 
4. 
SEC. 6. ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM DEMONSTRATION PRO-
GRAM. 
(a) ENERGY STORAGE GRANT PROGRAM.— 
(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es-
tablish a competitive grant program for pilot energy 
storage systems, as identified by the Secretary, that 
use either— 
(A) a single system; or 
(B) aggregations of multiple systems. 
(2) ELIGIBILITY.—Entities eligible to receive a 
grant under paragraph (1) include— 
(A) a State, territory, or possession of the 
United States; 
(B) a State energy office; 
(C) a tribal organization (as defined in sec-
tion 3765 of title 38, United States Code); 
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(D) an institution of higher education (as 
defined in section 101 of the Higher Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)); 
(E) an electric utility, including— 
(i) a rural electric cooperative; 
(ii) a political subdivision of a state, 
such as a municipally owned electric util-
ity, or any agency, authority, corporation, 
or instrumentality of one or more state po-
litical subdivisions; and 
(iii) an investor-owned utility; and 
(F) a private energy storage company that 
is a small business concern (as defined in sec-
tion 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
632)). 
(3) SELECTION REQUIREMENTS.—In selecting 
eligible entities to receive a grant under this section, 
the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent prac-
ticable— 
(A) ensure regional diversity among eligi-
ble entities that receive the grants, including 
participation by rural States and small States; 
(B) ensure that specific projects selected 
for grants— 
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(i) expand on the existing technology 
demonstration programs of the Depart-
ment of Energy; and 
(ii) are designed to achieve one or 
more of the objectives described in para-
graph (4); 
(C) prioritize projects from eligible entities 
that do not have an energy storage system; 
(D) give consideration to proposals from 
eligible entities for securing energy storage 
through competitive procurement or contract 
for service; 
(E) prioritize projects that coordinate with 
the local incumbent utility for in-front-of-the- 
meter projects that do not formally involve a 
utility; and 
(F) prioritize projects that leverage match-
ing funds from non-Federal sources. 
(4) OBJECTIVES.—Each demonstration project 
selected for a grant under paragraph (1) shall in-
clude one or more of the following objectives: 
(A) To improve the security of critical in-
frastructure and emergency response systems. 
(B) To improve the reliability of the trans-
mission and distribution system, particularly in 
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rural areas, including high energy cost rural 
areas. 
(C) To optimize transmission or distribu-
tion system operation and power quality to 
defer or avoid costs of replacing or upgrading 
electric grid infrastructure, including trans-
formers and substations. 
(D) To supply energy at peak periods of 
demand on the electric grid or during periods of 
significant variation of electric grid supply. 
(E) To reduce peak loads of homes and 
businesses, particularly to defer or avoid invest-
ments in new electric grid capacity. 
(F) To advance power conversion systems 
to make the systems smarter, more efficient, 
able to communicate with other inverters, and 
able to control voltage. 
(G) To provide ancillary services for grid 
stability and management. 
(H) To integrate a renewable energy re-
source production source at the source or away 
from the source. 
(I) To increase the feasibility of microgrids 
or islanding. 
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(J) To enable the use of stored energy in 
forms other than electricity to support the nat-
ural gas system and other industrial processes. 
(5) RESTRICTION ON USE OF FUNDS.—Any eli-
gible entity that receives a grant under paragraph 
(1) may only use the grant to fund programs relat-
ing to the demonstration of energy storage systems 
connected to the electric grid, including energy stor-
age systems sited behind a customer revenue meter. 
(6) FUNDING LIMITATIONS.— 
(A) FEDERAL COST SHARE.—The Federal 
cost share of a project carried out with a grant 
under paragraph (1) shall be not more than 50 
percent of the total costs incurred in connection 
with the development, construction, acquisition 
of components for, or engineering of a dem-
onstration project. 
(B) MAXIMUM
GRANT.—The maximum 
amount of a grant awarded under paragraph 
(1) shall be $5,000,000. 
(7) NO PROJECT OWNERSHIP INTEREST.—The 
United States shall hold no equity or other owner-
ship interest in an energy storage system for which 
a grant is provided under paragraph (1). 
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(8) COMPARABLE WAGE RATES.—Each laborer 
and mechanic employed by a contractor or subcon-
tractor in performance of construction work fi-
nanced, in whole or in part, by the grant shall be 
paid wages at rates not less than the rates prevailing 
on similar construction in the locality as determined 
by the Secretary of Labor in accordance with sub-
chapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United States 
Code. 
(b) RULES
AND
PROCEDURES; AWARDING
OF 
GRANTS.— 
(1) RULES AND PROCEDURES.—Not later than 
180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary shall adopt rules and procedures for car-
rying out the grant program under subsection (a). 
(2) AWARDING OF GRANTS.—Not later than 1 
year after the date on which the rules and proce-
dures under paragraph (1) are established, the Sec-
retary shall award the initial grants provided under 
this section. 
(c) REPORTS.—The Secretary shall submit to Con-
gress and make publicly available— 
(1) not less frequently than once every 2 years 
for the duration of the grant program under sub-
section (a), a report describing the performance of 
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the grant program, including a synthesis and anal-
ysis of any information the Secretary requires grant 
recipients to provide to the Secretary as a condition 
of receiving a grant; and 
(2) on termination of the grant program under 
subsection (a), an assessment of the success of, and 
education provided by, the measures carried out by 
grant recipients under the grant program. 
SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There are authorized to be appropriated— 
(1) for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024, 
$175,000,000 to carry out section 3; 
(2) for the period of fiscal years 2020 through 
2024, $100,000,000 to carry out section 4, to re-
main available until expended; and 
(3) for the period of fiscal years 2020 through 
2024, $150,000,000 to carry out section 6, to re-
main available until expended. 
Æ 
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