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In August 2005, President Bush
signed the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT 2005), the
first national energy plan in more than a decade. Title
IX (Research and Development) of the Energy Act directs
the Secretary of Energy to carry out a Next Generation
Lighting Initiative (NGLI) to support research,
development, demonstration, and commercial application
activities for solid-state lighting (SSL).
Specific directives related to SSL
include competitive selection of an Industry Alliance
that represents U.S. SSL research, development,
infrastructure, and manufacturing expertise. DOE is
directed to solicit Alliance assistance in identifying
SSL technology needs, assessing the progress of the
Initiative’s research activities, and updating SSL
technology roadmaps.
The Secretary is also directed to
carry out research, development, demonstration, and
commercial application activities through competitively
selected awards. The Energy Act authorizes $50 million
to the NGLI for each fiscal year 2007 through 2009, with
extended authorization to allocate $50 million for each
of the fiscal years 2010 to 2013. The actual
Congressional appropriation for the NGLI will not be
determined until fiscal year 2007.
Many of the Energy Act provisions
related to SSL – such as competitive selection of an
Industry Alliance, competitively selected awards for SSL activities, and intellectual property provisions –
have already been instilled in DOE’s SSL Portfolio
Plan. For more information on DOE’s SSL Core Technology
Research, Product Development, Commercialization
Support, and SSL Partnership activities, see the
SSL Portfolio Plan section of this site.
For more information on EPACT 2005,
the full 1,724-page Energy Act (also referred to
“conference report”) is available as a Featured Item on
the Senate Committee on Energy and National Resources
website. Section 912 includes the provisions related to
the NGLI. The Senate website also features an 8-page
summary by fuel and a 17-page summary by title. See the
Senate Committee website. |
