The Secretary of Energy shall promptly establish, as an organizational entity within the Department of Energy, the Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Research, Development, and Demonstration Project.

The Secretary of Energy shall have the responsibility for the overall management of the project. The Secretary of Energy may enter into any agreement or other arrangement with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Department of Transportation, the National Science Foundation, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Agriculture, or any other Federal agency, pursuant to which such agency shall conduct such specified parts or aspects of the project as the Secretary of Energy deems necessary or appropriate and within the particular competence of such agency, to the extent that such agency has capabilities which would enable it to contribute to the success of the project and the attainment of the purposes of this chapter.

In providing for the effective management of this project, the Secretary of Energy shall have specific responsibility to—

(1) promote basic and applied research on electric and hybrid vehicle batteries, controls, and motors;

(2) determine optimum overall electric and hybrid vehicle design;

(3) conduct demonstration projects with respect to the feasibility of commercial electric and hybrid vehicles (A) by contracting for the purchase or lease of electric and hybrid vehicles for practical use, and (B) by entering into arrangements, with other governmental entities and with nongovernmental entities, for the operation of such vehicles;

(4) ascertain consumer needs and desires so as to match the design of electric and hybrid vehicles to their potential market; and

(5) ascertain the long-term changes in road design, urban planning, traffic management, maintenance facilities, utility rate structures, and tax policies which are needed to facilitate the manufacture and use of electric and hybrid vehicles in accordance with sections 2512 and 2513 [1] of this title.

(Pub. L. 94–413, § 4, Sept. 17, 1976, 90 Stat. 1262; Pub. L. 95–91, title III, § 301(a), Aug. 4, 1977, 91 Stat. 577.)