E-Prize Competition Pilot Program Act of 2015

E-Prize Competition Pilot Program Act of 2015

This bill directs the Department of Energy to establish for a limited time: (1) a prize competition for the development and demonstration of technology that reduces by at least 25% the cost of electricity or space heat in high-cost regions; and (2) a Competition Board to award a maximum of 4 prizes of not more than $1 million each.

Funds for the awards shall be available from the Energy Technology Commercialization Fund.

The Competition Board must use prescribed criteria to evaluate competing technologies.

[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1346 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1346

To require the Secretary of Energy to establish an e-prize competition 
pilot program to provide up to 4 financial awards to eligible entities 
  that develop and verifiably demonstrate technology that reduces the 
        cost of electricity or space heat in a high-cost region.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 14, 2015

 Ms. Murkowski introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Secretary of Energy to establish an e-prize competition 
pilot program to provide up to 4 financial awards to eligible entities 
  that develop and verifiably demonstrate technology that reduces the 
        cost of electricity or space heat in a high-cost region.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``E-Prize Competition Pilot Program 
Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Competition board.--The term ``Competition Board'' 
        means the competition board established under section 3(a)(2).
            (2) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means 
        any--
                    (A) nonpublic entity; or
                    (B) public-private partnership in which the private 
                entity is more than \1/2\ of the partnership.
            (3) Energy technology commercialization fund.--The term 
        ``Energy Technology Commercialization Fund'' means the fund 
        established under section 1001(e) of the Energy Policy Act of 
        2005 (42 U.S.C. 16391).
            (4) High-cost region.--The term ``high-cost region'' means 
        a region in which the average cost of electrical power or space 
        heat exceeds 150 percent of the national average retail cost, 
        as determined by the Secretary.
            (5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Energy.

SEC. 3. PRIZE COMPETITION PILOT PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall--
            (1) establish a prize competition under which eligible 
        entities compete to develop and verifiably demonstrate 
        technology that reduces the cost of electricity or space heat 
        in high-cost regions by at least 25 percent;
            (2) establish a Competition Board to award not more than 4 
        prizes, each in an amount of not more than $1,000,000; and
            (3) use for each award amounts made available to the Energy 
        Technology Commercialization Fund.
    (b) Duration.--The duration for the prize competition shall be not 
less than 2 years or more than 5 years.
    (c) Selection.--In selecting a winner for each prize, the 
Competition Board shall evaluate the technology based on the following 
criteria:
            (1) Cost-effectiveness and ease of installation and 
        maintenance of the technology.
            (2) Amount by which the technology will decrease 
        electricity or space heating costs in a high-cost region.
            (3) Ability of the technology to be deployed in a variety 
        of climates and locations.
            (4) Ease of use of the technology.
            (5) Whether the technology is designed to be of immediate 
        or imminent use.
            (6) Potential for private sector investment in the 
        technology.
            (7) Potential of the technology to transform an existing 
        industry or establish a new industry.
                                 <all>