; and (B) shall be eligible for renewal of that support at the end of that 5-year period for 1 or more additional 5-year periods, subject to a rigorous merit review. (e) Hub Operations (1) In general Each Hub shall conduct or provide for multidisciplinary, collaborative research, development, demonstration, and commercial application of advanced energy technologies within the technology development focus designated under subsection (b)(2). (2) Activities Each Hub shall— (A) encourage collaboration and communication among the member qualifying entities of the consortium and awardees; (B) develop and publish proposed plans and programs on a publicly accessible website; (C) submit an annual report to the Department summarizing the activities of the Hub, including— (i) detailing organizational expenditures; and (ii) describing each project undertaken by the Hub; and (D) monitor project implementation and coordination. (3) Conflicts of Interest Each Hub shall maintain conflict of interest procedures, consistent with the conflict of interest procedures of the Department. (4) Prohibition on construction (A) In general Except as provided in subparagraph (B)— (i) no funds provided under this section may be used for construction of new buildings or facilities for Hubs; and (ii) construction of new buildings or facilities shall not be considered as part of the non-Federal share of a Hub cost-sharing agreement. (B) Test bed and renovation exception Nothing in this paragraph prohibits the use of funds provided under this section or non-Federal cost share funds for the construction of a test bed or renovations to existing buildings or facilities for the purposes of research if the Secretary determines that the test bed or renovations are limited to a scope and scale necessary for the research to be conducted. 4213. Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy Section 5012 of the America COMPETES Act ( 42 U.S.C. 16538 ) is amended— (1) in subsection (a)(3), by striking subsection (n)(1) and inserting subsection (o)(1)