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101 records in US in 2020
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2020
This resolution supports the recognition of National Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 2020
Public Housing Solar Equity Act of 2020 This bill requires public housing agencies (PHAs) to take certain actions when selling or leasing assets in connection with a solar energy project. Specifically, a PHA must ensure that such a sale or lease financially benefits the residents of the public housing project as well as the budget of the PHA. Further, if a buyer or lessee intends to derive a product or service from the asset, the PHA must require that the product or service be offered and provided to residents of the public housing project before being offered and provided to nonresidents. Additionally, a PHA must include certain information regarding assets it intends to sell or lease in the upcoming year in its annual plan.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 2020
Better Utilizing Innovative Low-emission Development Strategies Act or the BUILDS Act This bill directs the Department of Transportation to establish a grant program to promote reductions in transportation energy use, accelerate the adoption of new and existing energy efficient technologies for transportation applications, and enhance transportation infrastructure.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 2020
Advanced Energy Technologies and Grid Efficiency Act of 2020 This bill addresses advanced energy technology implementation, including by requiring the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to coordinate with the Department of Energy to establish the Advanced Energy Technology Research Initiative to research and provide recommendations on how to improve the modeling, operational, and planning practices used for the bulk electric system.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 2020
Russian Suspension Agreement Extension Act of 2020 This bill extends limits on the importation of Russian low-enriched uranium, a fuel for nuclear reactors, and contains other related provisions. (These limits stem from a 1992 agreement with Russia to end a Department of Commerce antidumping investigation into Russian uranium imports.) The bill extends these limits, which are currently set to expire in 2020, to 2040. The bill also specifies the maximum amounts of qualifying uranium that may be imported each year for 2021-2040. The Department of Commerce shall (1) administer these import limitations, and (2) periodically review U.S. demand for uranium for nuclear reactors and adjust the limits accordingly. Currently, qualifying uranium imported for the Department of Energy inventory do not count against these limits. The bill eliminates this exception but maintains two other exceptions for uranium imported for use in the initial core of a new reactor or for reprocessing and reexportation.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 2020
This resolution designates October 8, 2020, as National Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 2020
Energizing Technology Transfer Act of 2020 This bill establishes programs and incentives to facilitate the commercial application of clean energy technologies developed in federal laboratories.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 2020
Jobs and Justice Act of 2020 This bill addresses a wide variety of domestic policy matters and focuses on economically distressed communities, opportunities for minorities and the disadvantaged, and civil rights enforcement. Included in the programs and requirements affected are those concerning the following areas: workforce development, including job training and wage standards; economic development, including through assistance to minority businesses; antipoverty measures, including programs to specifically address child poverty and persistent poverty; housing and savings matters, including housing affordability, discrimination, homelessness assistance, tenant protections, public housing funding, home ownership and foreclosure mitigation, and lead-safe housing; savings and consumer finance, including financial literacy and lending discrimination; public contracting; infrastructure development; job training for youth and older Americans; veterans' and military family benefits; health care coverage and access, including Medicare and Medicaid coverage; small business investment and commercial investment in underserved areas, including through tax benefits; elementary and secondary education, including education of girls and minorities and teacher preparation; higher education access, including through community college attendance; science, technology, and information security education; law enforcement officer conduct, resources and administration, juvenile justice, sentencing procedures, hate crimes, correctional facilities, and firearms sales and possession; election administration and voting rights; and environmental, agriculture, and energy matters, including climate change, environmental justice, and energy efficiency and transition to alternative and renewable resources.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 2020
PTC Elimination Act This bill repeals the tax credit for producing electricity from renewable resources (e.g., wind, biomass, trash, geothermal or solar energy facilities). The bill also expresses the sense of Congress that such credit should be allowed to expire and should not be extended.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 2020
Next Generation Nuclear Advancement Act of 2020 This bill addresses advanced nuclear energy research and development programs at the Department of Energy (DOE). Specifically, DOE must establish an Integrated Energy Systems Program to maximize energy production and efficiency; develop energy systems involving the integration of nuclear energy with renewable energy, fossil energy, and energy storage; expand the use of emissions-reducing energy technologies into nonelectric sectors to achieve significant reductions in environmental emissions; carry out a light water reactor sustainability program that includes ensuring the achievement of maximum benefits from existing nuclear generation, and promoting the use of high-performance computing to simulate nuclear reactor processes; and develop and submit to Congress a 10-year strategic plan for its Office of Nuclear Energy.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 2020
Ending Natural Gas Companies' Seizure of Land for Export Profits Act This bill addresses jurisdiction of U.S. district courts over eminent domain proceedings and the use of eminent domain by the holder of a certificate of public convenience and necessity to acquire land or property with respect to natural gas pipelines. Specifically, the bill provides that U.S. districts courts shall not have jurisdiction to condemn property in which a state owns any interest, and prohibits the holder of a certification of public convenience and necessity that authorizes construction and operation of a natural gas pipeline from exercising the right of eminent domain for a pipeline designed to export liquefied natural gas to a foreign country.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 2020
PTC Elimination Act This bill repeals the tax credit for producing electricity from renewable resources (e.g., wind, biomass, trash, geothermal or solar energy facilities). The bill also expresses the sense of Congress that such credit should be allowed to expire and should not be extended.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 2020
Reaffirming Property Rights Through Natural Gas Act Modernization Act This bill addresses the use of eminent domain by the holder of a certificate of public convenience and necessity to acquire land or property with respect to the construction and operation of a natural gas pipeline facility, including by (1) ending the legal presumption that natural gas exports are by definition in the public interest, (2) requiring the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to consider certain factors in issuing certificates of public convenience and necessity for natural gas projects, and (3) prohibiting the holder of a certification of public convenience and necessity from exercising the right of eminent domain for a pipeline designed to export liquefied natural gas to a foreign country.
United States · United States Senate · 22 September 2020
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2020
Public Engagement Opportunity on Public Land Exploration Act of 2020 or the PEOPLE Act of 2020 This bill revises requirements related to public notice and comment periods with respect to oil and gas lease sales.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2020
Oil and Gas Bonding Reform and Orphaned Well Remediation Act This bill establishes incentives and requirements to clean up orphaned oil and gas wells, including by (1) establishing a program to remediate, reclaim, and close such wells located on federal land, state land, or land under the jurisdiction of Indian tribes; and (2) revising bonding requirements for oil and gas development on public land leased from the federal government. Such bonds are required to ensure developers have adequate financial resources to remediate and reclaim public land, water, or other resources after wells are abandoned or oil and gas development ceases.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2020
Forest Incentives Program Act of 2020 This bill directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish two programs to achieve greenhouse gas emission reductions. Specifically, USDA must establish (1) a forest incentives program to achieve emission reductions and carbon sequestration on private forest land through carbon incentives contracts and conservation easement agreements, and (2) an incentives program to achieve emission reductions from material choices in buildings. USDA shall pay owners of forest land under a contract or agreement for (1) certain forestry practices that measurably increase carbon sequestration and storage over a designated period on such land, with appropriate crediting for the carbon benefits of harvested wood products; or (2) conservation easements on such land. USDA shall pay owners of nonresidential buildings used for commercial or state or local government for using less energy-intensive commercial or industrial products in new construction or building renovation.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2020
Plugging Orphan Wells and Environmental Restoration Act of 2020 or the POWER Act of 2020 This bill addresses orphaned, abandoned, or idled oil and gas wells on federal, tribal, state, or private lands. The bill reauthorizes through FY2025 the program to remediate, reclaim, and close orphaned, abandoned, or idled oil and gas wells located on federal land. The Department of the Interior must establish a program to provide grants to states and Indian tribes to remediate, reclaim, and close orphaned oil and gas wells located on state, tribal, or private lands. In providing grants, priority must be given to states and Indian tribes that already have an established program to carry out such activities. The Department of Energy must provide technical assistance to oil and gas producing states and Indian tribes to ensure practical and economical remedies for environmental problems caused by orphaned or abandoned oil and gas well sites on state, tribal, or private land.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2020
Sets forth the rule for consideration of the bill (H.R. 4447) to establish an energy storage and microgrid grant and technical assistance program; providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 6270) to amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to require issuers to make certain disclosures relating to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, and for other purposes; and providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 8319) making continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2021.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2020
This resolution supports the designation of National Clean Energy Week.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2020
Nuclear Energy Reactor Demonstration Act This bill directs the Department of Energy (DOE) to advance the research and development of domestic advanced, affordable, and clean nuclear energy. Specifically, DOE must enter into agreements to (1) complete at least two advanced nuclear reactor demonstration projects by December 31, 2025, and (2) demonstrate at least two and not more than five additional operational advanced reactor designs by December 31, 2035. DOE must establish goals for research relating to advanced nuclear reactors, including by coordinating with members of private industry to advance the demonstration of various designs of advanced nuclear reactors. DOE must also carry out a program to conduct research relating to (1) next-generation light water reactor fuels that demonstrate improved performance and accident tolerance, and (2) innovative advanced reactor fuels that demonstrate improved proliferation resistance and use of resources.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2020
Advanced Recycling Research and Development Act of 2020 This bill requires the Department of Energy to implement research, development, and demonstration programs to (1) accelerate innovation in energy-efficient recyclable plastics, next-generation plastics, and composites recycling and upcycling strategies and technologies; and (2) support the development of advanced materials for batteries and innovative technologies to reclaim and recycle critical materials from advanced and lithium-ion based battery technologies used in consumer electronics, defense, stationary storage, and transportation applications.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2020
Tackling Residential Energy burdens Efficiently Act of 2020 or the TREE Act of 2020 This bill directs the Department of Energy to establish a grant program for states, local governments, Indian tribes, and other entities to plant a minimum of 300,000 trees annually in residential neighborhoods throughout the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2020
QUEST Act of 2020 This bill directs the Department of Energy to establish and carry out a program (to be known as the Quantum User Expansion for Science and Technology program or the QUEST program) to encourage and facilitate access to U.S. quantum computing hardware and quantum computing clouds for research purposes in order to (1) enhance the quantum research enterprise of the United States, (2) educate the future quantum computing workforce, and (3) accelerate the advancement of U.S. quantum computing capabilities.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2020
Future Generations Protection Act This bill prohibits (1) the emission of any greenhouse gas in any quantity from a new electric utility steam generating unit, (2) hydraulic fracturing on all onshore and offshore land in the United States, and (3) exports of domestically produced crude oil and natural gas, with specified exceptions.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2020
This resolution designates September 21-September 25, 2020, as National Clean Energy Week.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2020
Forest Health and Biomass Energy Act of 2020 This bill addresses biomass energy, particularly with respect to materials removed from high-hazard areas (e.g., areas that pose wildfire risks). The bill directs the Department of Energy, in coordination with the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture (USDA), to assess the potential to produce biomass energy from certain land under the administrative jurisdiction of Interior and USDA. With respect to the removal of timber located within certain high-hazard areas, USDA shall not charge a stumpage rate or assign any value to (1) certain trees, (2) forest processing residues or byproducts of forest restoration, or (3) a large dead tree that is not suitable for higher-valued wood products because of decay. The bill establishes the High Hazard Area Wood Biomass Fund, into which USDA may deposit a percentage of the revenue generated from base stumpage rates of timber sales that occur on National Forest System land to assist timber operators and biomass energy producers with the collection, harvest, storage, and transportation of biomass material removed from high-hazard areas. The President shall include in the annual budget submission an annual performance metric, which shall be established by USDA, for the harvest of wood biomass material in green tons made available for bioenergy markets.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2020
Nuclear Plant Decommissioning Act of 2020 This bill (1) provides a mechanism for states, tribal and local governments to play a role in the development of post-shutdown decommissioning activities regarding the shutdown of a nuclear facility; and (2) establishes a grant program to support community advisory boards that aim to foster communication between a licensee involved in decommissioning activities and members of a community that may be affected by such activities.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2020
Energizing Technology Transfer Act This bill establishes and expands various clean energy technology programs of the Department of Energy and supports the commercialization of clean energy research.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2020
This bill modifies the definition of water heater , and otherwise revises energy conservation standards and sets forth labeling requirements for water heaters.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2020
Quantum Network Infrastructure Act of 2020 This bill directs the Department of Energy (DOE) to carry out a research, development, and demonstration program to accelerate innovation in quantum network infrastructure in order to (1) facilitate the advancement of distributed quantum computing systems through the internet and intranet, (2) improve the precision of measurements of scientific phenomena and physical imaging technologies, and (3) develop secure national quantum communications technologies and strategies. The DOE shall submit to Congress a four-year research plan that identifies and prioritizes basic research needs relating to quantum network infrastructure.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2020
This bill modifies the definition of water heater , and otherwise revises energy conservation standards and sets forth labeling requirements for water heaters.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 2020
Strengthening Coastal Communities Act of 2020 This bill directs revenues generated from leases for wind energy development on offshore federal lands to the National Oceans and Coastal Security Fund. Under current law, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation may use the fund to provide grants to coastal communities to help them understand and utilize ocean and coastal resources and infrastructure, such as resources to help them prepare for extreme weather events.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 2020
Spent Nuclear Fuel Solutions Research and Development Act This bill requires the Department of Energy (DOE) to conduct an advanced fuel cycle research, development, demonstration, and commercial application program for spent nuclear fuel. The program must improve fuel cycle performance and support a variety of options for used nuclear fuel storage, use, and disposal, including advanced nuclear reactor concepts. In carrying out the program, DOE must ensure all activities and designs incorporate state of the art safeguards technologies and techniques to reduce risk of proliferation. In addition, DOE must consider the potential benefits and other impacts of those activities for civilian nuclear applications, environmental health and safety, and national security. DOE must also consider the economic viability of all activities and designs.
United States · United States House of Representatives · 11 September 2020
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2020
504 Modernization and Small Manufacturer Enhancement Act of 2020 This bill modifies the Small Business Administration (SBA) 504 Loan Program, which provides a small business with SBA financing—through a certified development company (CDC) intermediary—for expansion or modernization. Specifically, the bill adds policy goals, at least one of which a CDC must demonstrate to be eligible for assistance. These include (1) enhancing the ability of a small business to reduce costs by using energy efficient products and generating renewable energy, and (2) aiding the revitalization of any area for which a disaster has been declared or determined. The bill also authorizes a CDC to take specified actions to facilitate the closing of a 504 loan, such as correcting borrower or lender information on loan documents or reallocating up to 10% of the cost of a project, and it establishes an express loan closing program for a 504 loan that is less than $500,000. For small manufacturers, the bill (1) increases the maximum loan amount from $5.5 million to $6.5 million, (2) reduces the amount that they must contribute to project costs, (3) increases job retention requirements, and (4) revises collateral requirements and debt refinancing considerations. Further, each SBA district office must partner with a resource partner to provide certain training for small manufacturers.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2020
National Security Through America's Resources and Permitting Reform Act of 2020 This bill revises the federal permitting approval process for projects related to the extraction, recovery, or processing of critical minerals, rare-earth elements, microfine carbon, or carbon from coal, coal waste, coal processing waste, pre-or post-combustion coal byproducts, or acid mine drainage from coal mines for the purposes of securing the economic and national security of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2020
Bolster American Technology Through Expanding Recycling Yield Act of 2020 or the BATTERY Act of 2020 This bill requires the Department of Energy (DOE) to establish a research, development, and demonstration program of recycling of energy critical materials embedded within energy storage systems (e.g., batteries). Energy critical materials means chemicals that have a high risk of a supply disruption and are critical to one or more energy-related technologies; a substantial supply disruption of such material would significantly inhibit large-scale deployment of technologies that produce, transmit, store, or conserve energy. DOE must seek to ensure that any activity receiving funding under the program (1) does not release toxic byproducts into the environment, (2) sufficiently minimizes potential fire risk in facilities where energy storage systems are stored and in the transportation of such systems, and (3) protects the health and safety of all persons involved in or in proximity to such activity.
United States · United States Congress · 4 September 2020
Department of Energy Organization and Management Improvement Act This bill sets forth new reporting requirements relating to the general management of the Department of Energy (DOE). DOE must submit to Congress a report containing an evaluation of the general management of DOE, including management and mission support functional programs that have responsibility for legal services, administration, accounting, budgeting, contract and project management, and human resources management; a description of impediments to effective management; a description of recommended measures to improve management; a strategic plan for continuous improvement in management; an evaluation of the status of the improvement of management; a description of the status of all orders issued by DOE relating to its management; and a schedule for updating such orders to ensure effective management, including management of DOE personnel and budget formulation.
United States · United States Congress · 4 September 2020
Consumers Rebate to ban Emissions and Boost AlTernative Energy Act or the Consumers REBATE Act This bill imposes an excise tax on the carbon dioxide content of coal, oil, and natural gas. The tax must be paid by the producer, miner, or importer of the taxable carbon substance and does not apply to exports of the substances. Beginning in 2021, the tax rate is $25 per ton of carbon dioxide content of the life-cycle emissions from the taxable carbon substance. After 2021, the tax increases by $10 each year and does not apply if specified emissions reduction benchmarks have been attained. The bill also includes provisions that require certain fees or refunds for taxable carbon substances that are exported or imported. Funds equivalent to the revenues received from the tax must be transferred to a Carbon Trust Fund established by this bill. The funds must be used, as provided by appropriations Acts, to offset reductions in individual income tax rates, pay quarterly dividends to certain individuals with valid Social Security numbers; and for specified worker transition assistance, energy, research, and infrastructure priorities.
United States · United States Congress · 4 September 2020
Affordable Solar Energy for Our Communities Act This bill directs the Department of Energy to establish a program to provide financial assistance, such as grants or low-interest loans, to certain entities for the planning or installation of solar facilities that benefit certain low-income households.
United States · United States Senate · 19 August 2020
United States · United States Congress · 12 August 2020
Natural Gas Blowout Prevention, Oversight, and Liability Act of 2020 This bill sets forth federal standards related to natural gas blowouts. A blowout is the loss of control of any well that leads to the release of combusted or uncombusted natural gas into the atmosphere. Specifically, the bill requires operators of wells to report natural gas blowouts to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) within 72 hours after a blowout occurs; directs the EPA to establish and maintain a public database of all blowouts; imposes penalties for natural gas or flared natural gas that is released as a result of a well blowout, based on the volume released; establishes a grant program to reduce the scale and regularity of blowouts and the burden to states and local governments with respect to emergency responses to blowouts; and directs the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board to submit a report that describes each natural gas blowout from the past 10 years and includes recommendations to reduce the number of blowouts.
United States · United States Congress · 11 August 2020
Green Neighborhoods Act of 2020 This bill requires the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to establish annual energy efficiency participation incentives to encourage participants in HUD programs to achieve substantial improvements in energy efficiency.
United States · United States Congress · 7 August 2020
Emergency Wildfire and Public Safety Act of 2020 This bill addresses wildfire preparedness and response. Among other things, the bill requires the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to select three forest landscapes on which to conduct projects to reduce the risk of wildfire, restore ecological health, or adapt to the increased risk of wildfire due to climate change. USDA and the Department of the Interior shall expedite the placement of wildfire detection equipment in areas at risk of wildfire, expedite related permitting, expand the use of satellite data to assist wildfire response, and establish a center to train individuals in methods to mitigate wildfire risk. The bill excludes certain forest management activities from environmental review requirements. Interior may make a determination that an emergency situation exists regarding National Forest System land and authorize specified emergency actions. Such a determination and such actions are not subject to administrative review. Interior shall provide grants, loans, and loan guarantees to support biomass conversion facilities. The bill allows the export of unprocessed timber of dead and dying trees from federal land in California. Interior shall establish a grant program to assist in the development and utilization of innovative activities relating to workforce development in the forest sector, raise public awareness about the forest sector, and connect individuals to careers in the forest sector. The Department of Energy shall provide support to improve the energy resilience, power needs, and energy efficiency of critical facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 7 August 2020
La Paz County Solar Energy and Job Creation Act This bill directs the Department of the Interior, after receiving a request from La Paz County, Arizona, to convey approximately 4,800 acres of identified land managed by the Bureau of Land Management to the county. Interior shall exclude from the conveyance any federal land that contains significant cultural, environmental, wildlife, or recreational resources. As a condition of the conveyance, La Paz County and any subsequent owner shall make good faith efforts to avoid disturbing tribal artifacts; minimize impacts on tribal artifacts if they are disturbed; coordinate with the Colorado River Indian Tribes Tribal Historic Preservation Office to identify artifacts of cultural and historic significance; and allow tribal representatives to rebury unearthed artifacts at, or near, where they were discovered. The federal land is withdrawn from the operation of U.S. mining and mineral leasing laws.
United States · United States Congress · 7 August 2020
Grants for Renewable Energy Education for the Nation's Workforce Act or the GREEN Workforce Act This bill authorizes the Department of Energy (DOE) to award grants to partnerships of local educational agencies, postsecondary institutions, and clean and renewable energy industry representatives to develop programs of study focused on emerging careers and jobs in the fields of clean and renewable energy, energy efficiency, climate change mitigation, and climate change adaptation. The bill authorizes DOE to award grants to partnerships of local educational agencies and postsecondary institutions to promote development of career and technical education facilities that are energy efficient and promote the use of renewable energy practices.
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 2020
La Paz County Solar Energy and Job Creation Act This bill directs the Department of the Interior, after receiving a request from La Paz County, Arizona, to convey approximately 4,800 acres of identified land managed by the Bureau of Land Management to the county. Interior shall exclude from the conveyance any federal land that contains significant cultural, environmental, wildlife, or recreational resources. As a condition of the conveyance, La Paz County and any subsequent owner shall make good faith efforts to avoid disturbing tribal artifacts; minimize impacts on tribal artifacts if they are disturbed; coordinate with the Colorado River Indian Tribes Tribal Historic Preservation Office to identify artifacts of cultural and historic significance; and allow tribal representatives to rebury unearthed artifacts at, or near, where they were discovered. The federal land is withdrawn from the operation of U.S. mining and mineral leasing laws.
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 2020
America's Clean Future Fund Act This bill imposes various standards and programs related to clean energy, climate change resiliency, and emissions standards, including by (1) establishing the Climate Change Finance Corporation to finance clean energy and climate change resiliency activities; (2) establishing a carbon fee and emissions targets on the use, sale, or transfer of certain fuels by specified entities; and (3) providing grants to eligible entities for transition assistance to a low-carbon economy.
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 2020
Adopt the Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation Model Act or the Adopt GREET Act This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency to update the methodology it uses in life cycle greenhouse gas assessments for corn-based ethanol and biodiesel fuels used in vehicles. The assessments are used to evaluate the amount of greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production and combustion of such fuels.