§16195 Secondary electric vehicle battery use program

Summary

The Secretary must create and run a program to research, test, and help bring to market ways to reuse electric vehicle batteries for things like utility and commercial power storage and power quality — but only if enough used batteries are available. The program must show how batteries work in real-world use, measure performance, service life, and costs, study needed support systems (including reuse and disposal), and work with ongoing efforts at the National Laboratories and in industry. Within 180 days after August 8, 2005, the Secretary must ask for proposals across the United States. Within 90 days after the proposal deadline, the Secretary must pick up to five proposals to receive funding once money is provided. In choosing proposals the Secretary must consider battery-type variety, geographic and climate variety, life-cycle environmental effects, and involvement of State or local governments and others. No single project can get more than 25 percent of the program funds. The program must share relevant information with the Department, battery users, project proposers, and battery makers, and must follow cost-sharing rules in section 16352 of this title. Definitions — Battery: a previously used vehicle energy storage device. Associated equipment: equipment at the battery site needed to use the stored energy.