,,ii #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #bdbb ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,august #a1 #bjai,mrs4 ,shaheen introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,energy and ,natural ,resources ,a ,,bill ,to advance the integration of clean distributed energy into electric grids1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,clean ,energy ,grid ,act of #bjai4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds that-- 7#a7 research by the ,secretary of ,energy and the ,administrator of the ,environmental ,protection ,agency has found that clean distributed energy technologies can create important values for both the host facility and the electric grid operator2 7#b7 the values described in paragraph 7#a7 can include1 for the host facility-- 7,a7 energy bill savings2 7,b7 additional revenue from offering ancillary services to the electric grid operator2 7,c7 increased electric reliability in the event of grid outages2 and 7,d7 improved electric power quality2 7#c7 the values described in paragraph 7#a7 can include1 for the electric grid operator-- 7,a7 avoiding the need for transmission and distribution upgrade investments2 7,b7 enhanced grid stability by providing reactive power2 7,c7 voltage and frequency stabilization2 and 7,d7 more reliable and stable operation of the grid by providing dispatchable energy to the grid during periods of insufficient capacity or supply2 and 7#d7 new advances in intelligent sensing and simulation and control technologies offer the potential to enhance the benefits of clean distributed generation to both the host facility and the electric grid operator from dynamic1 adaptive1 and anticipatory response to changing grid conditions4 #c4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,ancillary service ,the term ancillary service means those services necessary to support the transmission of electric power from seller to purchaser given the obligations of control areas and transmitting utilities within those control areas to maintain reliable operations of the interconnected transmission system4 7#b7 ,clean distributed energy ,the term clean distributed energy means energy technologies that are located on or near the customer site operating on the customer side of the electric meter and are interconnected with the electric grid1 including-- 7,a7 clean electric generation2 7,b7 customer electric efficiency measures2 7,c7 electric demand flexibility2 and 7,d7 energy storage4 7#c7 ,grid ,the term grid means the electric grid that is composed of both distribution and transmission lines1 and associated facilities1 including substations1 sensors1 and operational controls4 7#d7 ,intelligence ,the term intelligence means any devices or technologies that manifest adaptive1 anticipatory1 and dynamic optimization behavior4 7#e7 ,secretary ,the term ,secretary means the ,secretary of ,energy4 #d4 ,research and deployment plan for enhanced integration of clean distributed energy with the grid 7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall carry out efforts for advancing the integration of clean distributed energy into electric grids4 7b7 ,study and report on the status of grid integration 7#a7 ,in general ,not later than #ahj days after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary1 after consultation with ,state public utility commissions1 ,state energy offices1 regional transmission organizations1 electric and natural gas utilities1 independent power producers1 clean distributed energy providers1 public interest organizations1 and other appropriate stakeholders1 shall conduct a study on the status of integration of clean distributed energy into the grid1 identifying any issues that require additional research or regulatory development4 7#b7 ,inclusions ,in conducting the study under paragraph 7#a71 the ,secretary shall-- 7,a7 identify and quantify the benefits to all stakeholders of expanded integration of clean distributed energy resources into the grid2 7,b7 identify any technical issues 7including cybersecurity concerns7 that require research to identify solutions2 and 7,c7 identify any regulatory barriers that inhibit the expanded integration of clean distributed energy resources into the grid4 7#c7 ,report ,not later than #a year after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary shall submit to ,congress a report describing the results of the study conducted under paragraph 7#a74 7#d7 ,best practices ,based on the findings of the report described in paragraph 7#c71 the ,secretary shall establish and distribute to ,states best practices to encourage the integration of clean distributed energy into the grid4 7#e7 ,funding ,the ,secretary shall use unobligated funds of the ,department of ,energy to carry out this subsection4 7c7 ,research into the technical barriers to the integration of clean distributed energy with the grid 7#a7 ,in general ,not later than #ah months after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary shall-- 7,a7 issue a solicitation for research proposals to address the technical barriers identified in the report submitted under subsection 7b77#c72 and 7,b7 make grants to those applicants with research proposals selected by the ,secretary in accordance with paragraph 7#b74 7#b7 ,criteria ,the ,secretary shall select research proposals to receive a grant under this subsection on the basis of merit1 using criteria identified by the ,secretary1 including the likelihood that the research results will address critical barriers identified by the ,secretary4 7#c7 ,funding ,beginning in the first full fiscal year following the date of enactment of this ,act1 and annually thereafter for #b years1 the ,secretary may request funding as necessary to carry out this subsection1 but in no case shall funding exceed #e1jjj1jjj in any #a fiscal year4 7d7 ,creation of a stakeholder working group 7#a7 ,in general ,not later than #ah months after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary shall convene a working group 7referred to in this subsection as the ,group7 to address regulatory barriers to deployment of intelligent grid integration of clean distributed energy technologies4 7#b7 ,purpose ,the purpose of the ,group is to provide guidance on how to address the regulatory and economic factors that limit widespread integration of grid-level clean distributed energy use in order to advance the integration of clean distributed energy into electric grids4 7#c7 ,membership ,the ,group shall be composed of-- 7,a7 representatives from-- 7i7 ,state public utility commissions2 7ii7 ,state energy offices2 7iii7 regional transmission organizations2 7iv7 electric and natural gas utilities2 7v7 independent power producers2 7vi7 clean distributed energy providers2 and 7vii7 public interest organizations2 and 7,b7 any other appropriate stakeholders determined by the ,secretary to have a material interest in the development1 implementation1 siting1 and integration of clean distributed energy technology or systems into the electric grid4 7#d7 ,duties ,the duties of the ,group shall be-- 7,a7 to review the regulatory barriers identified in the report prepared by the ,secretary under subsection 7b77#c72 7,b7 to identify any additional regulatory barriers that inhibit the installation of distributed energy2 and 7,c7 to recommend to the ,secretary actions that should be considered to remove the barriers identified under subparagraphs 7,a7 and 7,b74 7#e7 ,report ,not later than #c years after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary shall prepare and submit to ,congress a report based on the recommendations of the ,group under paragraph 7#d77;,c71 to be made publicly available4 7#f7 ,funding ,the ,secretary may request funding as necessary to carry out this subsection1 but in no case shall funding exceed #b1jjj1jjj in any #a fiscal year4 7e7 ,demonstrations of intelligent grid integration of clean distributed energy systems 7#a7 ,in general ,based on the findings in the reports conducted under this section and not later than #c years after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary shall issue a solicitation for demonstration of integration of distributed energy resources into the grid4 7#b7 ,eligible entities ,any individual entity or group of entities may submit to the ,secretary proposals for demonstration projects based on the solicitation described in paragraph 7#a71 including-- 7,a7 ,state and local agencies2 7,b7 public institutions2 7,c7 private companies2 7,d7 electric and natural gas utilities2 and 7,e7 equipment manufacturers4 7#c7 ,grants authorized ,the ,secretary may make grants1 in amounts not to exceed a total of #e1jjj1jjj1 to eligible entities to carry out demonstration projects1 to be selected based on-- 7,a7 the technical merits of the demonstration project2 7,b7 the likelihood that the demonstration project will address critical barriers identified by the ,secretary under this section2 and 7,c7 the share of non-,federal funds for the demonstration project4 7#d7 ,funding ,beginning in the third full fiscal year following the date of enactment of this ,act1 and annually thereafter for #c years1 the ,secretary may request funding as necessary to carry out this subsection1 but in no case shall funding exceed #ae1jjj1jjj in any #a fiscal year4 7f7 ,report ,the ,secretary annually shall submit to ,congress a report that-- 7#a7 describes the progress made in carrying out this section2 and 7#b7 identifies any technical or regulatory issues that require legislative action4