(a) Establishment
The Secretary shall establish a research, development, and demonstration program to promote less costly and more reliable decentralized distributed solar-powered air conditioning for individuals and businesses.

(b) Authorized activities
Grants made available under this section may be used to support the following activities:

(1) Advancing solar thermal collectors, including concentrating solar thermal and electric systems, flat plate and evacuated tube collector performance.

(2) Achieving technical and economic integration of solar-powered distributed air-conditioning systems with existing hot water and storage systems for residential applications.

(3) Designing and demonstrating mass manufacturing capability to reduce costs of modular standardized solar-powered distributed air conditioning systems and components.

(4) Improving the efficiency of solar-powered distributed air-conditioning to increase the effectiveness of solar-powered absorption chillers, solar-driven compressors and condensors,¹ and cost-effective precooling approaches.

(5) Researching and comparing performance of solar-powered distributed air conditioning systems in different regions of the country, including potential integration with other onsite systems, such as solar, biogas, geothermal heat pumps, and propane assist or combined propane fuel cells, with a goal to develop site-specific energy production and management systems that ease fuel and peak utility loading.

(c) Cost sharing
Section 16352 of this title shall apply to a project carried out under this section.

(d) Authorization of appropriations
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for carrying out this section $2,500,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2012.