Marine Energy Research and Development Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3203 To provide research, development, and deployment of marine energy, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 11, 2019 Mr. DEUTCH (for himself and Ms. BONAMICI) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology A BILL To provide research, development, and deployment of marine energy, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Marine Energy Research and Development Act of 2019’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 6 this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Purpose. Sec. 3. Amendment to short title. Sec. 4. Definition of marine energy. Sec. 5. Marine energy research and development. Sec. 6. National Marine Energy Centers. Sec. 7. Authorization of appropriations. VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:25 Jun 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H3203.IH H3203 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 3203 IH SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 1 It is the purpose of this Act to support marine energy 2 programs that— 3 (1) promote the research and development of 4 increased energy generation and capacity at reduced 5 costs; 6 (2) promote research and development that im- 7 proves environmental outcomes of marine energy 8 technologies; 9 (3) provide grid stability and create new market 10 opportunities; and 11 (4) promote job creation in the energy sector. 12 SEC. 3. AMENDMENT TO SHORT TITLE. 13 Section 631 of the Energy Independence and Security 14 Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17001) is amended by striking 15 ‘‘and Hydrokinetic Renewable’’ from the short title. 16 SEC. 4. DEFINITION OF MARINE ENERGY. 17 Section 632 of the Energy Independence and Security 18 Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17211) is amended to read as 19 follows: 20 ‘‘SEC. 632. DEFINITIONS. 21 ‘‘For purposes of this subtitle, the term ‘marine en- 22 ergy’ means energy from— 23 ‘‘(1) waves, tides, and currents in oceans, estu- 24 aries, and tidal areas; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:25 Jun 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3203.IH H3203 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 3203 IH ‘‘(2) free flowing hydrokinetic water in rivers, 1 lakes, and streams; 2 ‘‘(3) free flowing hydrokinetic water in man- 3 made channels; and 4 ‘‘(4) differentials in ocean temperature (ocean 5 thermal energy conversion).’’. 6 SEC. 5. MARINE ENERGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. 7 Section 633 of the Energy Independence and Security 8 Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17212) is amended to read as 9 follows: 10 ‘‘SEC. 633. MARINE ENERGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOP- 11 MENT. 12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 13 the Water Power Technologies Office, in consultation with 14 the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Commerce, 15 and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, shall 16 conduct a program to accelerate the introduction of ma- 17 rine energy production into the United States energy sup- 18 ply, giving priority to technologies most likely to lead to 19 commercial utilization, while fostering accelerated re- 20 search, development, demonstration, and commercial ap- 21 plication of technology, including programs to— 22 ‘‘(1) assist technology development at a variety 23 of scales, including full scale prototypes, in order to 24 improve the components, processes, and systems 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:25 Jun 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3203.IH H3203 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 3203 IH used for power generation from marine energy re- 1 sources; 2 ‘‘(2) establish and expand critical testing infra- 3 structure and facilities necessary to— 4 ‘‘(A) cost-effectively and efficiently test 5 and prove marine energy devices; and 6 ‘‘(B) accelerate the technological readiness 7 and commercialization of such devices; 8 ‘‘(3) support efforts to increase the efficiency of 9 energy conversion, lower the cost, increase the use, 10 improve the reliability, and demonstrate the applica- 11 bility of marine energy technologies by participating 12 in demonstration projects; 13 ‘‘(4) investigate variability issues and the effi- 14 cient and reliable integration of marine energy with 15 the utility grid; 16 ‘‘(5) identify and study critical short- and long- 17 term needs to create a sustainable marine energy 18 supply chain based in the United States; 19 ‘‘(6) increase the reliability and survivability of 20 marine energy technologies; 21 ‘‘(7) verify the performance, reliability, main- 22 tainability, and cost of new marine energy device de- 23 signs and system components in an operating envi- 24 ronment; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:25 Jun 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3203.IH H3203 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 3203 IH ‘‘(8) consider the protection of critical infra- 1 structure, such as adequate separation between ma- 2 rine energy devices and projects and submarine tele- 3 communications cables, including consideration of 4 established industry standards; 5 ‘‘(9)(A) coordinate the programs carried out 6 under this section with, and avoid duplication of ac- 7 tivities across, programs of the Department and 8 other applicable Federal agencies, including National 9 Laboratories; and 10 ‘‘(B) coordinate public-private collaboration in 11 carrying out the programs under this section; 12 ‘‘(10) identify opportunities for joint research 13 and development programs and the development of 14 economies of scale between— 15 ‘‘(A) marine energy technologies; and 16 ‘‘(B) other renewable energy and fossil en- 17 ergy programs, offshore oil and gas production 18 activities, and activities of the Department of 19 Defense; 20 ‘‘(11) identify, in conjunction with the Sec- 21 retary of Commerce, acting through the Under Sec- 22 retary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, 23 and other relevant Federal agencies as appropriate, 24 the potential environmental impacts, including po- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:25 Jun 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3203.IH H3203 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 3203 IH tential impacts on fisheries and other marine re- 1 sources, of marine energy technologies, measures to 2 prevent adverse impacts, and technologies and other 3 means available for monitoring and determining en- 4 vironmental impacts; 5 ‘‘(12) identify, in conjunction with the Sec- 6 retary of the Department in which the United States 7 Coast Guard is operating, acting through the Com- 8 mandant of the United States Coast Guard, the po- 9 tential navigational impacts of marine energy tech- 10 nologies and measures to prevent adverse impacts on 11 navigation; and 12 ‘‘(13) support in-water technology development 13 with international partners using existing coopera- 14 tive procedures (including memoranda of under- 15 standing) to— 16 ‘‘(A) allow cooperative funding and other 17 support of value to be exchanged and leveraged; 18 and 19 ‘‘(B) encourage international research cen- 20 ters and international companies to participate 21 in the development of marine energy technology 22 in the United States and to encourage United 23 States research centers and companies to par- 24 ticipate in marine energy projects abroad. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:25 Jun 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3203.IH H3203 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 3203 IH ‘‘(b) COST SHARING AND MERIT REVIEW.—The Sec- 1 retary shall carry out the program under this section in 2 compliance with sections 988 and 989 of the Energy Pol- 3 icy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 16352, 16353).’’. 4 SEC. 6. NATIONAL MARINE ENERGY CENTERS. 5 Section 634 of the Energy Independence and Security 6 Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17213) is amended by striking 7 subsections (a) and (b) and inserting the following: 8 ‘‘(a) CENTERS.—The Secretary shall award grants to 9 institutions of higher education for continuation and ex- 10 pansion of the research, development, and testing activi- 11 ties at the National Marine Energy Centers established 12 as of January 1, 2019, and the establishment of new Na- 13 tional Marine Energy Centers. In selecting locations for 14 new Centers, the Secretary shall consider one of the fol- 15 lowing criteria: 16 ‘‘(1) Hosts an existing marine energy research 17 and development program in coordination with an 18 engineering program at an institution of higher edu- 19 cation. 20 ‘‘(2) Has proven expertise to support environ- 21 mental and policy-related issues associated with the 22 harnessing of energy in the marine environment. 23 ‘‘(3) Has access to and utilizes marine re- 24 sources. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:25 Jun 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3203.IH H3203 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 3203 IH ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The Centers shall coordinate 1 among themselves, the Department and the National Lab- 2 oratories to— 3 ‘‘(1) advance research, development, and dem- 4 onstration of marine energy technologies; 5 ‘‘(2) support in-water testing and demonstra- 6 tion of marine energy technologies, including facili- 7 ties capable of testing— 8 ‘‘(A) marine energy systems of various 9 technology readiness levels and scales; 10 ‘‘(B) a variety of technologies in multiple 11 test berths at a single location; and 12 ‘‘(C) arrays of technology devices; and 13 ‘‘(3) serve as information clearinghouses for the 14 marine energy industry by collecting and dissemi- 15 nating information on best practices in all areas re- 16 lating to developing and managing marine energy re- 17 sources and energy systems. 18 ‘‘(c) COST SHARING.—The Secretary shall carry out 19 the program under this section in compliance with section 20 988(b)(4) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 21 16352).’’. 22 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 23 Section 636 of the Energy Independence and Security 24 Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17215) is amended by inserting 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:25 Jun 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3203.IH H3203 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 3203 IH ‘‘and $150,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 and 1 2021’’ after ‘‘2008 through 2012’’. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:25 Jun 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3203.IH H3203 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS