[Senate Report 111-334]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 621
111th Congress Report
SENATE
2d Session 111-334
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HEAVY DUTY HYBRID VEHICLE RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND DEMONSTRATION ACT
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September 28, 2010.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Bingaman, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 679]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (S. 679) to establish a research,
development, demonstration, and commercial application program
to promote research of appropriate technologies for heavy duty
plug-in hybrid vehicles, and for other purposes, having
considered the same, reports favorably thereon without
amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.
Purpose
The purpose of S. 679 is to establish a competitive
research, development, demonstration, and commercial
application program to advance heavy-duty hybrid vehicle
technologies.
Background and Need
The Department of Energy's Vehicle Technologies Program
conducts research and development in a number of areas for both
light- and heavy-duty applications. The Department's programs
generally focus on individual technologies that could be
applied by manufacturers; and are sometimes structured as
commercial-partner initiatives such as FreedomCAR for light-
duty vehicles and the 21st Century Truck Partnership for heavy-
duty vehicles. These programs have aided in the development of
a number of promising technologies that could reduce the fuel
consumption of the transportation sector.
Hybrid technologies can offer a range of economic and
environmental benefits. These technologies have gained
significant deployment in the light-duty vehicle market, but
are often much more expensive to incorporate into heavier
vehicle fleets. Accordingly, additional legislation is needed
to provide for specific research and development to advance the
commercial deployment of hybrid technologies in the heavy-duty
segment.
Legislative History
S. 679 was introduced by Senator Collins on March 24, 2009.
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources' Subcommittee on
Energy held a hearing on the bill on June 15, 2010. The
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources considered the bill
and ordered it favorably reported without amendment on August
5, 2010.
Committee Recommendation
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in an open
business session on August 5, 2010, by a voice vote of a quorum
present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 679.
Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1 provides a short title.
Section 2 (a) defines terms used in the legislation.
Subsection (b) directs the Secretary to establish a program
to provide grants to carry out projects to advance research and
demonstrate technologies for advanced heavy duty hybrid
vehicles.
Subsection (c) requires the Secretary to issue application
requirements and to establish criteria for making grant awards.
The Secretary must give priority to applicants who are best
able to advance the current state of technology and achieve the
greatest reductions in fuel consumption and emissions. Three to
seven grants are to be awarded, with each grant limited to no
more than $3 million per recipient per year.
Subsection (d) defines two phases of research by award
recipients. In phase one, each recipient has one year to build
or retrofit one or more advanced heavy duty hybrid vehicles.
Recipients are required to collect and analyze data on the
performance of key vehicle components; the estimated costs of
producing, operating, and maintaining the vehicle; the
emissions of the vehicle; and on overall vehicle performance
according to guidelines established by the Secretary.
If, at the conclusion of phase one, it is clear that a
grant recipient will be unable to complete the requirements of
phase two, the Secretary has the discretion to waive the
requirement for phase two research and terminate the grant to
that recipient.
In phase two, recipients are required to demonstrate the
advanced manufacturing processes of heavy duty hybrid vehicles
by producing or retrofitting 50 such vehicles within two years.
Recipients must report on the major technological obstacles
they encounter in developing and producing the vehicles and on
the projected costs of each vehicle.
Subsection (e) directs the Secretary to conduct a study of
alternative power train designs for use in advanced heavy duty
hybrid vehicles. The study would analyze these different
designs under conditions in which they are typically used,
including the average number of miles driven, the time spent
with the engine at idle, horsepower requirements, the length of
time the maximum power is required, and other factors the
Secretary determines to be appropriate.
Subsection (f) requires the Secretary to report to Congress
within 60 days on the findings of the reports submitted by
grant recipients.
Subsection (g) requires the Secretary to coordinate the
research conducted under this program with other research
conducted by the Department.
Subsection (h) applies the cost sharing provisions of
section 988 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16352)
to the program.
Subsection (i) directs the Secretary to establish a pilot
program through DOE's National Laboratories and Technology
Centers to research and test the effects that plug-in hybrid
vehicles, including heavy-duty plug-in hybrid trucks, will have
on the domestic electric power grid.
Subsection (j) authorizes appropriations of $16 million per
year for fiscal years 2010 through 2012, of which $15 million
per year must be used for the awards distributed through the
program established by subsection (b).
Section 3 amends the United States Energy Storage
Competitiveness Act of 2007 (enacted as section 641(g)(1) of
the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C.
17231(g)(1)) to include vehicles with a gross weight over
16,000 pounds in the Secretary's priorities for advanced energy
storage.
Cost and Budgetary Considerations
The following estimate of costs of this measure has been
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
S. 679--Heavy Duty Hybrid Vehicle Research, Development, and
Demonstration Act of 2009
Summary: S. 679 would establish a grant program within the
Department of Energy (DOE) to advance technologies related to
heavy duty hybrid vehicles. Heavy duty hybrid vehicles are
powered, in part, by a rechargeable energy system and weigh
between 14,000 and 33,000 pounds. S. 679 would authorize the
appropriation of $16 million in each of fiscal years 2011 and
2012 for research related to the design, production, and usage
of such vehicles and a pilot program to examine the widespread
use of the electric grid by plug-in hybrid vehicles. CBO
estimates that implementing the bill would cost $32 million
over the 2011-2015 period. Enacting S. 679 would not affect
direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go
procedures do not apply.
S. 679 contains no intergovernmental or private sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)
and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal
governments.
Estimated cost to the Federal Government: For this
estimate, CBO assumes that S. 679 will be enacted near the
beginning of fiscal year 2011 and that the authorized amounts
will be appropriated each year. Estimated outlays are based on
historical spending patterns for similar DOE programs. The
estimated budgetary impact of S. 679 is shown in the following
table. The costs of this legislation fall within budget
function 270 (energy).
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By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
--------------------------------------------------
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2011-2015
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CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION
Authorization Level 1........................................ 16 16 0 0 0 32
Estimated Outlays............................................ 9 14 7 2 0 32
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Pay-as-you-go considerations: None.
Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: S. 679
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
defined in UMRA and would impose no costs on state, local, or
tribal governments.
Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Martin von Gnechten;
Impact on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Ryan Miller;
Impact on the Private Sector: Amy Petz.
Estimate approved by: Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
Regulatory Impact Evaluation
In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following
evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in
carrying out S. 679.
The bill is not a regulatory measure in the sense of
imposing Government-established standards or significant
economic responsibilities on private individuals and
businesses.
No personal information would be collected in administering
the program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal
privacy.
Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the
enactment of S. 679, as ordered reported.
Congressionally Directed Spending
S. 679, as ordered reported, does not contain any
congressionally directed spending items, limited tax benefits,
or limited tariff benefits as defined in rule XLIV of the
Standing Rules of the Senate.
Executive Communications
The testimony provided by the Department of Energy at the
June 15, 2010, Subcommittee Committee on Energy hearing on S.
679 follows:
Statement of Steven G. Chalk, Chief Operating Officer and Acting Deputy
Assistant Secretary for Renewable Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency
and Renewable Energy, Department of Energy
Madam Chairman, Ranking Member Risch, and Members of the
Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before
you today to discuss proposed clean energy legislation.
The Department and the Subcommittee share common goals of
strengthening our economy, enhancing our national security, and
protecting our environment. As part of the Recovery Act, the
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE),
oversees a total of $16.8 billion in investments. To date, EERE
has obligated 96 percent, or $16.07 billion, of its Recovery
Act funds. The funds are putting America to work laying the
foundation for our clean energy future. The Department also
appreciates the authorities you have provided in recent years
in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct) (P.L. 109-58) and the
Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) (P.L. 110-
140). This year, the Committee has proposed further investment
and we thank you for all your hard work in reporting the
American Clean Energy Leadership Act (S. 1462).
Today, I am pleased to offer the Department's perspective
on five pending pieces of legislation related to energy
efficiency and renewable energy. Note that many of the
authorities outlined in the bills would simply reinforce
existing authorities, and may not be necessary for the
Department to carry out the activities in question. I will
discuss them in the order listed in the hearing invitation
letter I received from the Subcommittee. These include the 10
Million Solar Roofs Act of 2010 (S. 3460), the Supply Star Act
of 2010 (S. 3396), the Improving Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy Use By Federal Agencies Act of 2010 (S. 3251),
the Heavy Duty Hybrid Vehicle Research, Development, and
Demonstration Act (S. 679), the Gas Turbine Efficiency Act of
2009 (S. 2900).
s. 3460--10 million solar roofs act of 2010
We thank the subcommittee and the sponsor of this
legislation for your strong leadership on solar technologies
over the years. The Department's goals for solar electric
technologies are to be cost competitive in their respective
markets by 2015 and to reach a high penetration of solar
installations. The Department is investing $232 million in 2010
to support solar research across the development pipeline, from
basic photovoltaic (PV) cell technologies to manufacturing
scale-up to total system development. Within the $232 million,
DOE is investing up to $50 million in concentrated solar power
technology development and deployment related activities and
$23 million to understand how solar technologies can be better
integrated within existing electricity generation and
transmission systems. In solar hot water heating, DOE is
investing approximately an additional $6.5 million in 2010.
The proposed legislation incorporates several significant
features. We believe that rebates, loan programs, and
performance based incentives are all effective means of
stimulating demand. Allowing states to choose between these
incentives will enable the Act to expand existing state
programs that have been effective in promoting solar
installations. In addition, the states' matching funds
requirements will leverage available federal appropriations and
increase the resulting deployment of solar technologies, both
of which are high priorities for the Department.
To maximize the effectiveness of the proposed legislation,
we would recommend two changes. First, while we support the
state match requirement, we propose that the cost share be set
at 50 percent to increase the potential leverage of federal
funds. Second, the Secretary should be given the ability to
reduce this as necessary to increase the overall effectiveness
of the program. We also believe the program could be designed
in a creative way such as working with municipalities to
promote photovoltaic installations through innovative local
programs.
We note that by our estimates, the $250 million authorized
for FY 2012 would yield roughly 100,000 rooftop solar systems,
and may not be sufficient to put us on a trajectory to meet the
goal of 10 million solar roofs. With these changes, the
legislation could be an effective tool in increasing deployment
of solar electricity technologies Nationwide. We note that
existing authorities, such as the competitive portion of the
state energy program, would allow DOE to undertake such a
program already.
s. 3396--supply star act of 2010
Supply chain energy efforts can make an important
contribution to overall industrial efficiency and the
competitive position of domestic suppliers. Analysis suggests
that a large part of the carbon footprint for many consumer
products can be attributed to the supply chain--from raw
materials, transport, and packaging to the energy consumed in
manufacturing processes--on the order of 40 to 60 percent.\1\
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\1\Source: Climate Change and Supply Chain Management, McKinsey
Quarterly, McKinsey & Company, July 2008.
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The Supply Star legislation seeks to build upon existing
best practices in the industrial community by establishing a
voluntary recognition program that supports and promotes
products and companies with highly energy- and resource-
efficient supply chains.
DOE and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) both have
existing initiatives that address supply chain efficiency, such
as Save Energy Now' at DOE and the Smart Way
Transport\TM\ program at EPA. The legislation should coordinate
with and leverage these programs as a structure through which
Supply Star activities could be conducted. For example, through
its national Save Energy Now' initiative, DOE
encourages manufacturing companies to engage their supply
chains in energy and carbon management. Specifically, DOE
develops processes and resources to assist companies in
promoting energy management to their industrial suppliers and
customers. Save Energy Now' LEADER Companies make a
voluntary commitment to reduce their energy intensity by 25
percent in 10 years. Many of these companies are interested in
improving the efficiency of their supply chains as well.
The Supply Star bill also builds upon Superior Energy
Performance (SEP), a voluntary certification program working to
provide industrial facilities with a roadmap for achieving
continual improvement in energy efficiency while maintaining
competitiveness. A central element of SEP is implementation of
the forthcoming International Organization for Standardization
(ISO) 50001 energy management standard, with additional
requirements to achieve and document energy intensity
improvements. DOE is working through SEP to bring ISO 50001 to
the U.S. Upon its expected publication in 2011 this American
National Standards Institute-accredited program will provide
companies with a framework for fostering energy-efficiency at
the plant level and a consistent methodology for measuring and
validating energy efficiency and intensity improvements. This
new framework will be an important tool to integrate into
supply chain efforts.
s. 3251--improving energy efficiency and renewable energy use by
federal agencies act of 2010
On October 5, President Obama signed Executive Order 13514
requiring Federal agencies to set GHG emission reduction
targets, increase energy efficiency, reduce fleet petroleum
use, conserve water, reduce waste and promote environmentally-
responsible produce purchases by federal agencies. With this
action, the President directed agencies to demonstrate the
Federal government's commitment, over and above what is already
being done, to reducing emissions and saving money.
As a whole, the Federal government has made significant
progress in meeting the energy requirements of EISA 2007 and
EPAct 2005. Further progress on these efforts would be
bolstered by S. 3251. The Department is particularly supportive
of provisions clarifying the definition of allowable
``renewable'' energy sources, and authorizing the creation of a
revolving fund for Federal facility energy efficiency and
renewable energy projects.
The Department looks forward to working with the
Subcommittee on legislation that would provide agencies with
the flexibility to purchase renewable energy for appropriate
time periods, that do not exceed asset life, create appropriate
risk sharing between project developers and taxpayers, and that
recognize the importance of fiscal responsibility and
Congressional Budget Office scoring of contracts. This
authority would provide opportunities for more on-site
renewable power at Federal agencies and would provide strong
support for growing our domestic clean energy economy.
The Department's recommended definition of renewable energy
follows the definition in section 203 of EPAct 2005, with an
additional recommendation to allow for both electric energy and
thermal energy from renewable sources. It is very important to
allow thermal energy to count as renewable energy, particularly
because renewable thermal energy sources such as ground source
heat pumps are often the lowest-cost option for displacing
purchased energy and are already widely deployed. This approach
contrasts with the current definition which is limited only to
``renewable electricity,'' a definition that reduces incentives
for this valuable and cost-effective form of renewable power.
The Department fully supports the creation of a revolving
loan fund based on best practices and subject to appropriate
interest rates for Federal facility energy efficiency and
renewable energy projects. There is considerable experience and
success at the state and local level with using revolving loan
funds to assist innovative projects to improve energy
efficiency. In addition, there is Federal experience with a
similar concept within the General Services Administration
(GSA) that funds agency relocations, and agencies reimburse the
fund at slightly above costs to gradually increase the amount
of funds available for lending.
Federal agencies are already responding to the requirements
of EISA Section 432 to survey their facilities for potential
energy efficiency and renewable energy upgrades, as well as to
complete energy audits and to report on measures taken. The
Department recommends that the renewable energy facility
surveys called for in S. 3251 Section 5 should be included as a
modification of EISA Section 432.
DOE's Federal Energy Management Program is already at work
implementing provisions similar to the Federal energy
management and data collection standard called for in S. 3251
Section 7. As required under EISA Section 432, DOE will publish
overarching guidance for implementation of all Section 432
requirements in 2010. The Department is also developing a web-
based tracking system for facility-level energy data and
identified or implemented energy conservation measures per
EISA. Tasking the GSA to deploy a similar publicly-available
resource with facility-level energy data would create
redundancy as the Department's compliance tracking system will
be deployed for use by all agencies in July 2010.
s. 679--heavy duty hybrid vehicle research, development, and
demonstration act
The program authorized by S. 679 would complement several
of the Department's current activities focused on increasing
vehicle energy efficiency. One of those programs is the
SuperTruck Program, in which DOE is seeking to improve the
freight hauling efficiency of Class 8 trucks by 50 percent.
Other complementary efforts underway include: (1) the
development of hybrid school bus technology; (2) research,
development, and demonstration of medium-duty utility bucket
trucks and passenger shuttles using a plug-in hybrid electric
system; and (3) other medium and heavy duty truck deployment
activities supported by our Clean Cities program. S. 679 has
the potential to increase the fuel economy attainable by
vehicles in this sector.
There are several technical definitions and reporting
requirements about which we would like to seek clarification,
and the Department looks forward to working with the
subcommittee on those provisions.
s. 2900--gas turbine efficiency act of 2009
The Gas Turbine Efficiency Act would establish a research,
development, and technology demonstration program to improve
the efficiency of gas turbines used in combined cycle and
simple cycle power generation systems.
The Department believes that industry has economic
incentives to invest in research, development and demonstration
to increase the efficiency of gas turbines. To the extent that
the private sector underinvests in basic research, DOE has
sufficient authority and existing programs to improve high
temperature materials applicable to a range of energy
technologies.
The bill is similar to an existing successful program
within DOE. The Advanced Turbine Systems Program, a research,
development and demonstration collaborative between the
Department's Offices of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
and Fossil Energy, successfully developed and deployed advanced
turbine material and coating leading to today's turbine
efficiencies.
The legislation outlines activities DOE already performs.
For example, through its Industries of the Future
(crosscutting) investments, DOE's Industrial Technology Program
(ITP) aids the development of advanced manufacturing processes
for the expanded use of lightweight materials such as titanium.
Those breakthroughs help to drive production cost down and
market impact up. In other efforts, ITP promoted advanced
alloys of steel to support many of the new clean energy
products being developed today. Nanocoating technologies are
still another group of innovations developed with the
assistance of ITP that now extend the life of tooling systems
and provide wear resistance to reduce the cost of manufacture
and extend the useful life of products. All of these efforts
support the overarching objective of reducing the energy
intensity of Industry to help advance the Administration's
energy security and environmental performance goals.
The Department is committed to continuing research of high
temperature materials which will help industry develop more
efficient energy technologies. Meanwhile, the private sector
has economic incentive to invest in the development and
demonstration of efficient gas turbines. Therefore, private
sector work on later stages of efficient natural gas turbine
development and demonstration will likely be conducted without
the need for additional funding authorizations beyond that
already in place.
In conclusion, the Department of Energy thanks the
Subcommittee for the opportunity to comment on these proposed
initiatives. We look forward to working with Congress to
develop strong, effective clean energy policy to ensure U.S.
leadership on these global issues and in the clean energy
economy.
Changes in Existing Law
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by
the bill S. 679, as ordered reported, are shown as follows
(existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black
brackets, new matter is printed in italic, existing law in
which no change is proposed is shown in roman):
UNITED STATES ENERGY STORAGE COMPETITIVENESS ACT OF 2007
(Section 641 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007; 42
U.S.C 17231)
* * * * * * *
SEC. 641. ENERGY STORAGE COMPETITIVENESS.
(a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the ``United
States Energy Storage Competitiveness Act of 2007''.
* * * * * * *
(g) Applied Research Program.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall conduct an
applied research program on energy storage systems to
support electric drive vehicles, vehicles with a gross
weight over 16,000 pounds stationary applications, and
electricity transmission and distribution technologies,
including--
(A) ultracapacitors;
(B) flywheels;
(C) batteries and battery systems (including
flow batteries);
(D) compressed air energy systems;
(E) power conditioning electronics;
(F) manufacturing technologies for energy
storage systems;
(G) thermal management systems; and
(H) hydrogen as an energy storage medium.
* * * * * * *