A bill to establish an Office of Solar Energy Research in the Department of the Interior, and for other purposes.

[AI summary unavailable — showing source text] Establishes an Office of Solar Energy Research in the Department of the Interior to be headed by a Director. Directs the Secretary of the Interior acting through the Office to: (1) coordinate, conduct, encourage, and promote, by means of research grants and contracts, fundamental scientific research to develop economical processes and methods of collecting, converting, transmitting, storing, and otherwise using solar energy and thereby transforming it into energy suitable for private and public use throughout the Nation; (2) conduct appropriate research and technical development work to determine, by laboratory and pilot project testing, the usable results of all aforesaid fundamental scientific research and all existing research and to develop and fabricate solar energy transformation processes, equipment designs, and components to the point where they can be demonstrated, certified, produced, and operated on an economically practical scale; (3) recommend to the Congress, as he deems appropriate, authorization for the construction and operation, or for participation in the construction and operation, of a solar energy conversion facility or any component thereof for any process or…