§18775 Plan for the Modeling and Forecasting of Demand for Minerals Used in the Energy Sector

Summary

The Administrator must, within 180 days after November 15, 2021, create a plan with the Director of the U.S. Geological Survey to model and forecast demand for energy technologies that use minerals that are or could be called critical minerals. The plan must say what types and amounts of minerals each energy technology uses, describe current markets for manufactured energy-producing, energy-transmitting, and energy-storing equipment, and note emerging or potential markets for new technologies moving toward commercialization. The plan must make demand forecasts for 1-year, 5-year, and 10-year periods starting when the plan is finished, break forecasts down by economic sector, and include any other details the Administrator and the Interior Department (through the USGS Director) decide are needed for the Annual Critical Minerals Outlook. The Administrator must consult with the Secretary about possible future paths for new energy-producing and energy-storing technologies and work with the Secretary of the Interior (through the USGS Director) to coordinate, avoid duplicate work, and align demand analysis with where minerals are produced, refined, and processed into parts for energy technologies.