§ 18801 — Building, Training, And Assessment Centers

(a) The Secretary shall provide grants to institutions of higher education (as defined in section 1001 of title 20) and Tribal Colleges or Universities (as defined in section 1059c(b) of title 20) to establish building training and assessment centers— (1) to identify opportunities for optimizing energy efficiency and environmental performance in buildings; (2) to promote the application of emerging concepts and technologies in commercial and institutional buildings; (3) to train engineers, architects, building scientists, building energy permitting and enforcement officials, and building technicians in energy-efficient design and operation; (4) to assist institutions of higher education and Tribal Colleges or Universities in training building technicians; (5) to promote research and development for the use of alternative energy sources and distributed generation to supply heat and power for buildings, particularly energy-intensive buildings; and (6) to coordinate with and assist State-accredited technical training centers, community colleges, Tribal Colleges or Universities, and local offices of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture and ensure appropriate services are provided under this section to each region of the United States. (1) The Secretary shall coordinate the program with the industrial research and assessment centers program under section 17116 of this title and with other Federal programs to avoid duplication of effort. (2) To the maximum extent practicable, building, training, and assessment centers established under this section shall be collocated with industrial research and assessment centers (as defined in section 18811 of this title). (c) There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2022, to remain available until expended.