lcalvobartolome/proxann_data huggingface dataset:
Topic: Energy — General
Subject: Energy
Date: 2015-05-06 00:00:00

Energy Distribution Act of 2015

This bill requires the Department of Energy (DOE) to collaborate with other federal agencies to improve the conceptual development of energy security, considering at a minimum:

 development of flexible, transparent, and competitive energy markets, including natural gas and oil markets; diversification of energy fuels, sources, and routes; and encouragement of indigenous sources of energy supply. DOE must: (1) lead an interagency effort to improve and coordinate data collection and analytical and modeling capabilities for energy distribution on shared energy infrastructure; and (2) coordinate the training of, and enhanced dialogue among, technical staff in federal agencies responsible for cross-border energy projects evaluation and implementation.

 The Energy Information Administration must collaborate with officials in Canada and Mexico to improve:

 the quality and transparency of North American energy data through reconciliation of data on energy trade flows among the U.S., Canada, and Mexico; the extension of energy mapping capabilities in those countries; and the development of common energy data terminology among the three nations.
Topic: Energy — General
Subject: Energy
Date: 2015-05-06 00:00:00

Energy Loan Program Improvement Act of 2015

This bill amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to repeal the condition of a full appropriation under which the Department of Energy (DOE) may make loan guarantees intended to serve as incentives for innovative technologies, but retains as the sole condition for the making of a guarantee that DOE has received from the borrower payment in full for the cost of the guarantee, and has deposited such payment into the Treasury.

Any reorganization, restructuring, or termination of a debt obligation, as well as the debt obligation itself (as under current law), may not be subordinate to other financing.

If DOE has not made a final decision 270 days after receipt of the loan application, the applicant may submit a loan status request, and may repeat such request every 90 days thereafter until the final decision is made. DOE must respond to such a request within 10 days after receiving it, summarizing any delaying factors and estimating the date the application review will be completed.

The temporary program for rapid deployment of renewable energy and electric power transmission projects is repealed, and the unobligated balance of amounts available to implement it are rescinded.
Topic: Energy — General
Subject: Energy
Date: 2015-05-06 00:00:00

North American Energy Infrastructure Act

Prohibits any person from constructing, connecting, operating, or maintaining a cross-border segment of an oil or natural gas pipeline or electric transmission facility at the national boundary of the United States for the import or export of oil, natural gas, or electricity to or from Canada or Mexico without obtaining a certificate of crossing under this Act.

Requires the Department of State, with respect to oil pipelines, or the Department of Energy (DOE), with respect to electric transmission facilities, to issue a certificate of crossing for the cross-border segment within 120 days after final action is taken under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, unless it is not in U.S. public interest.

Directs DOE, as a condition of issuing a certificate, to require that the cross-border segment be constructed, connected, operated, or maintained consistent with specified policies and standards.

Amends the Natural Gas Act to require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to approve within 30 days after receipt any application for the importation or exportation of natural gas to or from Canada or Mexico.

 Declares that no presidential permit shall be necessary for the construction, connection, operation, or maintenance of an oil or natural gas pipeline or electric transmission facility, including any cross-border segment.
Topic: Energy — General
Subject: Energy
Date: 2015-05-06 00:00:00

Hydropower Improvement Act of 2015 

This bill declares that hydropower is a renewable resource for purposes of all federal programs and is an essential source of energy in the United States.

The Federal Power Act is amended to limit the conditions placed on construction licenses issued for dams, conduits and reservoirs within any federal to those that: (1) pertain to the reservation land on which project works are located; and (2) have a clear and direct nexus to the presence or operations of the project being licensed, as determined by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

Preliminary permits issued to maintain priority of application for a license may be extended from three years to four years.

FERC may: (1) extend the period of a preliminary permit for up to four additional years beyond the initial four years, and (2) grant the permittee an additional permit if extraordinary circumstances warrant that action.

 When determining the term of a license, FERC must consider project-related investments by the licensee over the term of the existing license that resulted in new development, construction, capacity, efficiency improvements, or environmental measures, but which did not result in FERC extension of the license term.

FERC shall also determine alternative prescriptions for a fishway license instead of the Department of the Interior.

FERC shall require a licensee to construct, maintain, and operate fishways only if the fishways are necessary to mitigate effects of a project upon fish populations, have a clear and direct nexus to the presence or operations of the project being licensed, and are submitted in accordance with a specified schedule.

FERC shall in addition: (1) investigate best practices in performing licensing studies, including methodologies and the design of studies to assess the full range of any environmental impacts of a project; (2) compile a comprehensive collection of studies and data accessible to the public that could be used to inform license proceedings; and (3) act as the lead agency coordinating all applicable federal authorizations.

FERC may, upon request, designate staff to hold informal meetings to discuss technical or procedural matters relating to any ongoing license proceeding.

The bill revises requirements regarding the entitlement of a license applicant, including any party to the proceeding, to a determination on the record, after opportunity for a trial-type hearing, concerning disputed issues of material fact with respect to an applicable covered measure.

In implementing the Hydropower Regulatory Efficiency Act of 2013, FERC must consider a closed loop pumped storage project to include one: (1) in which the upper and lower reservoirs do not impound or directly withdraw water from a navigable stream, and (2) that is not continuously connected to a naturally flowing water feature.
Topic: Energy — General
Subject: Energy
Date: 2015-05-11 00:00:00

This bill amends the National Energy Conservation Policy Act to allow federal agencies to contract for the acquisition of renewable energy or energy from cogeneration facilities for the federal government for up to 30 years.

The Department of Energy's (DOE) Federal Energy Management Program must publish a standardized energy purchase agreement setting forth commercial terms and conditions that agencies may use to acquire that energy.

DOE must also provide technical assistance to assist agencies in implementing the bill.
Topic: Energy — General
Subject: Energy
Date: 2015-05-12 00:00:00

Energy Supply and Distribution Act of 2015

This bill declares that the production and distribution of energy in the United States requires access to infrastructure and markets.

The Department of Energy (DOE) must collaborate with federal agencies to improve the conceptual development of energy security, considering at a minimum: (1) development of flexible, transparent, and competitive energy markets, including natural gas and oil; and (2) diversification of energy fuels, sources, and routes, and the encouragement of indigenous sources of energy supply.

DOE must also coordinate interagency: (1) data collection for energy distribution on shared energy infrastructure, and (2) training to evaluate and implement cross-border energy projects.

 It is the sense of Congress that growth in crude oil and dry natural gas production varies significantly across oil and natural gas supply regions, thereby: (1) forcing shifts in crude oil and natural gas flows between regions of the United States, and (2) requiring investment or realignment of midstream infrastructure including pipelines.

The Energy Information Administration must collaborate with officials in Canada and Mexico to reconcile data on energy trade flows, extend energy mapping capabilities, and develop common energy data terminology.

Congress declares that processed condensate is a petroleum product.

The DOE Office of Fossil Energy Assessment may assess the suitability of condensate separately from crude oil for use in strategic reserves, while certain agencies within the Department of the Interior must assess condensate separately from crude oil.

The bill authorizes: (1) the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to estimate condensate separately from crude oil as part of the resource assessments regarding domestic geological formations, (2) the Office of Natural Resources Revenue to collect condensate data separately from crude oil, and (3) the United States Geological Survey to include estimates of condensate separately from crude oil as part of the resource assessments regarding domestic geological formations.

Domestic crude oil or condensate (except crude oil stored in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve) may be exported without a federal license to countries not subject to U.S. sanctions.
Topic: Energy — General
Subject: Energy
Date: 2015-05-14 00:00:00

Small Hydropower Dependable Regulatory Order Act of 2015 or the Small HyDRO Act of 2015

This bill amends the Federal Power Act to prescribe the licensing procedures for a project that: (1) does not alter the existing flowrate of the body of water the project is on, and (2) either has a power production capacity not exceeding 5 megawatts or is used to power a nonpowered dam.

The bill establishes a rebuttable presumption that a license shall be issued following application.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) shall resolve any conflict over environmental analyses that may arise between it and any other federal or state agency.

Licenses shall be issued for a term of 10 years.

FERC must approve or disapprove a license application within 180 days of its receipt.
Topic: Energy — General
Subject: Energy
Date: 2015-05-20 00:00:00

Energy Title of America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015

This bill amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to reauthorize through FY2020 designated energy research, development, and commercial application programs conducted through the Office of Science of the Department of Energy (DOE).

The America COMPETES Act is amended to require the Director of Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) to ensure that ARPA-E funding for a project is not available unless the prospective grantee demonstrates sufficient attempts to secure private financing or indicates that the project is not independently commercially viable.

Specified information collected by ARPA-E from financial assistance recipients shall be considered privileged, confidential, and exempt from certain federal information disclosure requirements.

The bill authorizes appropriations for FY2016-FY2020 for the Energy Transformation Acceleration Fund.

 The bill repeals funding and authorities for the following programs:

 the Nuclear Science Talent Expansion Program For Institutions of Higher Education; Hydrocarbon Systems Science Competitiveness Grants For Institutions of Higher Education; Discovery Science and Engineering Innovation Institutes; National Laboratories Centers of Excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics secondary school education, certain Summer Institutes hosted by a National Laboratory; and a mentoring program under the Department of Energy Science Education Enhancement Act to recruit mentors for women and underrepresented minorities interested in careers in science, engineering, and mathematics. With respect to the University Nuclear Science and Engineering Support program, DOE shall award grants of up to five years to institutions of higher education with existing academic degree programs in nuclear sciences and related fields, including nuclear chemistry.

Funds are authorized for FY2016-FY2020 for the DOE early career awards for science, engineering, and mathematics researchers program, as well as for its distinguished scientist program.

The diversity requirement for awarding grants under the program for early career awards for science, engineering, and mathematics researchers is revised to substitute a required variety of types of National Laboratories in lieu of a variety of types of nonprofit, nondegree-granting research organizations.

The Department of Energy Science Education Enhancement Act is amended to direct the Office of Science to coordinate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education programs across all functions of DOE.

The bill amends the America COMPETES Act to: (1) change the criteria for awarding Protecting America's Competitive Edge (PACE) graduate fellowships, and (2) allow such fellowships to cover either full or partial graduate tuition.
Topic: Energy — General
Subject: Energy
Date: 2015-05-21 00:00:00

Energy Markets Act of 2015 

This bill amends the Department of Energy Organization Act to direct the Energy Information Administration (EIA) of the Department of Energy to develop and implement a plan to collect, in cooperation with the Commodity Futures Trade Commission, information identifying all oil inventories and other physical oil assets owned by the 50 largest traders of oil contracts (including derivative contracts).

The EIA shall also collect, and update annually, information quantifying the commercial storage capacity for oil and natural gas in the United States.

A Financial Market Analysis Office is established in the EIA to analyze the financial aspects of energy markets.

A Working Group on Energy Markets is also established to:

 investigate the effect of increased financial investment in energy commodities on energy prices and the energy security of the United States, recommend to the President and Congress laws to prevent excessive speculation in energy commodity markets in order to prevent or minimize the adverse impact of excessive speculation on energy prices, and review energy security implications of developments in international energy markets. The Working Group shall also: (1) identify the factors that affect crude oil and refined petroleum products prices; and (2) review and assess existing statutory authorities for the regulation of markets critical to U.S. energy security, as well as the need for additional authority to regulate markets critical to it.
Topic: Energy — General
Subject: Energy
Date: 2015-08-06 00:00:00

Free Market Energy Act

This bill amends: (1) the Federal Power Act to define "distributed energy resource" as a resource, technology, or service interconnected to the electricity distribution system that generates, manages, or reduces energy use; and (2) the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to provide that distributed energy resources shall have a general right of interconnection under such Act.

States must ensure that electric distribution grid operators adopt requirements for interconnection rates and fees that are just and reasonable, that provide for the two-way benefit for the distributed energy resource and the electricity grid, and that are not punitive. Time frames for interconnection shall be well-defined, expeditious, and not unduly protracted. An interconnection may not be delayed or denied unless the electric utility demonstrates that the interconnection is unsafe or impracticable.

A state regulatory authority that considers modifying the treatment of net energy metering customers must consider requiring that distributed energy resources be eligible to receive just and reasonable energy and rate treatment using dynamic pricing, which may account for locational benefit, to be provided on an unbundled basis, after accounting for the two-way valuation of dynamic rates, for services provided to or by the grid. Dynamic pricing considerations shall include:

 pricing for energy sold to, and pricing for energy purchased from, an electric utility, capacity, the provision of ancillary services, the societal value of distributed energy resources, and transmission and distribution losses. A state regulatory authority or applicable Regional Transmission Organization or Independent System Operator must consider nontransmission alternatives in instances in which an entity proposes transmission projects seeking cost-of-service rate recovery. To reduce the cost to the ratepayer of a potential transmission upgrade, the cost of the nontransmission alternative shall be recovered from the ratebase or regional recovery mechanism in the same manner as the transmission upgrade otherwise would have been.
Topic: Energy — General
Subject: Energy
Date: 2015-09-09 00:00:00

Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2015

This bill amends the Energy Conservation and Production Act, the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA), and the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 with respect to energy efficiency in buildings and appliances.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy of the Department of Energy (DOE) shall conduct activities with respect to manufacturing energy efficiency.

Vehicle Innovation Act of 2015

DOE shall conduct research, development, engineering, demonstration, and commercial application programs regarding passenger as well as medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles and transit vehicles.

The Federal Power Act is amended with respect to cybersecurity threats, and requirements are prescribed for enhanced electric grid security as well as bulk-power system reliability.

The EPCA is amended regarding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

The Natural Gas Act is amended with respect to liquefied natural gas exports.

DOE shall conduct programs with respect to electric grid storage and related grid matters.

The Department of Energy High-End Computing Revitalization Act of 2004 is replaced by the Exascale Computing Act of 2015, and DOE shall conduct research for development of two or more exascale computing machine architectures.

The bill amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and specified other Acts regarding:

 hydroelectric power, geothermal energy, marine hydrokinetic renewable energy, biomass, oil and gas, helium, specified critical minerals, coal, nuclear energy, 21st century energy workforce development, and recycled carbon fiber and nonrecycled mixed plastics. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 and other Acts are amended to:

 revise or prescribe requirements for loan and loan guarantee incentives for innovative technologies, and establish an e-prize competition or challenge pilot program to implement community and regional energy solutions to reduce energy costs in high-cost regions. DOE and the Department of the Interior shall establish a joint NEWS Office and Interagency Coordination Committee on the Nexus of Energy and Water for Sustainability.

Interior may develop a current and accurate multipurpose cadastre to support federal land management activities.

The Department of Energy Organization Act is amended to:

 direct the President to establish a Quadrennial Energy Review Task Force, rename the DOE Under Secretary for Science as the Under Secretary for Science and Energy, direct the DOE Energy Information Administration (EIA) to develop a plan to identify all oil inventories and other physical oil assets owned by the 50 largest traders of oil contracts, and create within the EIA a Financial Market Analysis Office. The bill establishes a Working Group on Energy Markets.

The EPCA is amended to repeal the mandates for various specified studies, reports, plans, and programs.

The bill establishes a National Park Service Critical Maintenance and Revitalization Conservation Fund, and revises requirements for the Land and Water Conservation Fund and the Historic Preservation Fund.
Topic: Energy — General
Subject: Energy
Date: 2015-09-28 00:00:00

American Energy Innovation Act 

This bill encourages and establishes requirements concerning:

 energy efficiency in the electricity grid, the manufacturing sector, certain vehicles and trucks, buildings, homes, and the federal government; protection of the bulk-power system from cybersecurity threats; the security and resiliency of the energy network and applications, including electric, natural gas, and oil exploration, transmission, and delivery; the modernization of energy infrastructure at the federal and state level; the development or deployment of alternative energies; and water conservation measures. The bill establishes: (1) a nonbinding goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 2% per year on average through 2025, and (2) a federal energy efficiency resource standard for retail electricity and natural gas suppliers.

The bill repeals royalty relief for leases in the Outer Continental Shelf with respect to the production of oil or gas from deep water production or ultra deep wells in shallow waters.

The Department of Interior must: (1) prevent venting and flaring of gases in oil and natural gas production operations on federal land, and (2) promote the capture of beneficial use or reinjection of gas in those operations. Interior must establish an annual production incentive fee with respect to public land that is subject to a lease for production of oil or natural gas under which production is not occurring.

The bill reauthorizes through FY2020 the Department of Energy's: (1) Weatherization Assistance Program, (2) State Energy Program, (3) basic research, and (4) the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy. The bill also revises and reauthorizes the Water Desalination Act of 1996.

The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) provide tax incentives for producing clean energy and for reducing energy use in homes or commercial buildings, (2) extend through 2017 energy-related tax credits, (3) subject oil derived from tar sands to an excise tax, and (4) repeal certain oil and gas tax subsidies for major integrated oil companies.

The bill: (1) establishes the National Park Service Centennial Fund, and (2) permanently reauthorizes the Land and Water Conservation Fund and the Historic Preservation Fund.