Water Power Research and Development Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6084 To provide for a program of hydropower, pumped storage, and marine energy research, development, demonstration, and commercial application, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 4, 2020 Ms. BONAMICI (for herself, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. MCKINLEY, and Ms. JOHNSON of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology A BILL To provide for a program of hydropower, pumped storage, and marine energy research, development, demonstration, and commercial application, 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. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Water Power Research 4 and Development Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. WATER POWER RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle C of title VI of the En- 7 ergy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 8 17211 et seq.) is amended to read as follows: 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Mar 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6084.IH H6084 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6084 IH ‘‘Subtitle C—Water Power 1 Research and Development 2 ‘‘SEC. 631. SHORT TITLE. 3 ‘‘This subtitle may be cited as the ‘Water Power Re- 4 search and Development Act’. 5 ‘‘SEC. 632. DEFINITIONS. 6 ‘‘In this subtitle: 7 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en- 8 tity’ means any of the following entities: 9 ‘‘(A) An institution of higher education. 10 ‘‘(B) A National Laboratory. 11 ‘‘(C) A Federal research agency. 12 ‘‘(D) A State research agency. 13 ‘‘(E) A nonprofit research organization. 14 ‘‘(F) An industrial entity or a multi-insti- 15 tutional consortium thereof. 16 ‘‘(2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 17 The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 18 meaning given such term in section 101 of the High- 19 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 20 ‘‘(3) MARINE ENERGY.—The term ‘marine en- 21 ergy’ means energy from— 22 ‘‘(A) waves, tides, and currents in oceans, 23 estuaries, and tidal areas; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Mar 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6084.IH H6084 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6084 IH ‘‘(B) free flowing water in rivers, lakes, 1 streams, and man-made channels; 2 ‘‘(C) differentials in salinity and pressure 3 gradients; and 4 ‘‘(D) differentials in water temperature, in- 5 cluding ocean thermal energy conversion. 6 ‘‘(4) NATIONAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘Na- 7 tional Laboratory’ has the meaning given such term 8 in section 2(3) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 9 U.S.C. 15801(3)). 10 ‘‘(5) WATER POWER.—The term ‘water power’ 11 refers to hydropower, including conduit power, 12 pumped storage, and marine energy technologies. 13 ‘‘(6) MICROGRID.—The term ‘microgrid’ has 14 the meaning given such term in section 641 of the 15 Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 16 U.S.C. 17231). 17 ‘‘SEC. 633. WATER POWER TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH, DE- 18 VELOPMENT, AND DEMONSTRATION. 19 ‘‘The Secretary shall carry out a program to conduct 20 research, development, demonstration, and commercial ap- 21 plication of water power technologies in support of each 22 of the following purposes: 23 ‘‘(1) To promote research, development, dem- 24 onstration, and commercial application of water 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Mar 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6084.IH H6084 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6084 IH power generation technologies in order to increase 1 capacity and reduce the cost of those technologies. 2 ‘‘(2) To promote research and development to 3 improve the environmental impact of water power 4 technologies. 5 ‘‘(3) To provide grid reliability and resilience, 6 including through technologies that facilitate new 7 market opportunities, such as ancillary services, for 8 water power. 9 ‘‘(4) To promote the development of water 10 power technologies to improve economic growth in 11 the water power sector, including in coastal commu- 12 nities. 13 ‘‘SEC. 634. HYDROPOWER RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND 14 DEMONSTRATION. 15 ‘‘The Secretary shall conduct a program of research, 16 development, demonstration, and commercial application 17 for technologies that improve the capacity, efficiency, resil- 18 ience, security, reliability, affordability, and environmental 19 impact, including potential cumulative environmental im- 20 pacts, of hydropower systems. In carrying out such pro- 21 gram, the Secretary shall prioritize activities designed 22 to— 23 ‘‘(1) develop technology for— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Mar 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6084.IH H6084 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 6084 IH ‘‘(A) non-powered dams, including aging 1 and potentially hazardous dams; 2 ‘‘(B) pumped storage; 3 ‘‘(C) constructed waterways; 4 ‘‘(D) new stream-reach development; 5 ‘‘(E) modular and small dams; 6 ‘‘(F) increased operational flexibility; and 7 ‘‘(G) enhancement of relevant existing fa- 8 cilities; 9 ‘‘(2) develop new strategies and technologies, 10 including analytical methods, physical and numerical 11 tools, and advanced computing, as well as methods 12 to validate such methods and tools, in order to— 13 ‘‘(A) extend the operational lifetime of hy- 14 dropower systems and their physical structures, 15 while improving environmental impact, includ- 16 ing potential cumulative environmental impacts; 17 ‘‘(B) assist in device and system design, 18 installation, operation, and maintenance; and 19 ‘‘(C) reduce costs, limit outages, and in- 20 crease unit and plant efficiencies, including by 21 examining the impact of changing water and 22 electricity demand on hydropower generation, 23 flexibility, and provision of grid services; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Mar 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6084.IH H6084 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 6084 IH ‘‘(3) study, in conjunction with other relevant 1 Federal agencies as appropriate, methods to improve 2 the hydropower licensing process, including by com- 3 piling current and accepted best practices, public 4 comments, and methodologies to assess the full 5 range of potential environmental and economic im- 6 pacts; 7 ‘‘(4) identify opportunities for joint research, 8 development, and demonstration programs between 9 hydropower systems, which may include— 10 ‘‘(A) pumped storage systems and other 11 renewable energy systems; 12 ‘‘(B) small hydro facilities and other en- 13 ergy storage systems; 14 ‘‘(C) other hybrid energy systems; 15 ‘‘(D) small hydro facilities and critical in- 16 frastructure, including water infrastructure; 17 and 18 ‘‘(E) hydro facilities and responsive load 19 technologies, which may include smart buildings 20 and city systems; 21 ‘‘(5) improve the reliability of hydropower tech- 22 nologies, including during extreme weather events; 23 ‘‘(6) develop methods and technologies to im- 24 prove environmental impact, including potential cu- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Mar 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6084.IH H6084 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 6084 IH mulative environmental impacts, of hydropower and 1 pumped storage technologies, including potential im- 2 pacts on wildlife, such as— 3 ‘‘(A) fisheries; 4 ‘‘(B) aquatic life and resources; 5 ‘‘(C) navigation of waterways; and 6 ‘‘(D) upstream and downstream environ- 7 mental conditions, including sediment move- 8 ment, water quality, and flow volumes; 9 ‘‘(7) identify ways to increase power generation 10 by— 11 ‘‘(A) diversifying plant configuration op- 12 tions; 13 ‘‘(B) improving pump-back efficiencies; 14 ‘‘(C) investigating multi-phase systems; 15 ‘‘(D) developing, testing, and monitoring 16 advanced generators with faster cycling times, 17 variable speeds, and improved efficiencies; 18 ‘‘(E) developing, testing, and monitoring 19 advanced turbines capable of improving environ- 20 mental impact, including potential cumulative 21 environmental impacts, including small turbine 22 designs; 23 ‘‘(F) developing standardized powertrain 24 components; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Mar 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6084.IH H6084 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 6084 IH ‘‘(G) developing components with advanced 1 materials and manufacturing processes, includ- 2 ing additive manufacturing; and 3 ‘‘(H) developing analytical tools that en- 4 able hydropower to provide grid services that, 5 amongst other services, improve grid integra- 6 tion of other energy sources; 7 ‘‘(8) advance new pumped storage technologies, 8 including— 9 ‘‘(A) systems with adjustable speed and 10 other new pumping and generating equipment 11 designs; 12 ‘‘(B) modular systems; 13 ‘‘(C) alternative closed-loop systems, in- 14 cluding mines and quarries; and 15 ‘‘(D) other innovative equipment and ma- 16 terials as determined by the Secretary; 17 ‘‘(9) reduce civil works costs and construction 18 times for hydropower and pumped storage systems, 19 including comprehensive data and systems analysis 20 of hydropower and pumped storage construction 21 technologies and processes in order to identify areas 22 for whole-system efficiency gains; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Mar 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6084.IH H6084 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 6084 IH ‘‘(10) advance efficient and reliable integration 1 of hydropower and pumped storage systems with the 2 electric grid by— 3 ‘‘(A) improving methods for operational 4 forecasting of renewable energy systems to 5 identify opportunities for hydropower applica- 6 tions in pumped storage and hybrid energy sys- 7 tems, including forecasting of seasonal and an- 8 nual energy storage; 9 ‘‘(B) considering aggregating small distrib- 10 uted hydropower assets; and 11 ‘‘(C) identifying barriers to grid scale im- 12 plementation of hydropower and pumped stor- 13 age technologies; 14 ‘‘(11) improve computational fluid dynamic 15 modeling methods; 16 ‘‘(12) improve flow measurement methods, in- 17 cluding maintenance of continuous flow measure- 18 ment equipment; 19 ‘‘(13) identify best methods for compiling data 20 on all hydropower resources and assets, including 21 identifying potential for increased capacity; and 22 ‘‘(14) identify mechanisms to test and validate 23 performance of hydropower and pumped storage 24 technologies. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Mar 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6084.IH H6084 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 6084 IH ‘‘SEC. 635. MARINE ENERGY RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, 1 AND DEMONSTRATION. 2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 3 with the Department of Defense, Secretary of Commerce 4 (acting through the Under Secretary of Commerce for 5 Oceans and Atmosphere) and other relevant Federal agen- 6 cies, shall conduct a program of research, development, 7 demonstration, and commercial application of marine en- 8 ergy technology, including activities to— 9 ‘‘(1) assist technology development to improve 10 the components, processes, and systems used for 11 power generation from marine energy resources at a 12 variety of scales; 13 ‘‘(2) establish and expand critical testing infra- 14 structure and facilities necessary to— 15 ‘‘(A) demonstrate and prove marine energy 16 devices at a range of scales in a manner that 17 is cost-effective and efficient; and 18 ‘‘(B) accelerate the technological readiness 19 and commercial application of such devices; 20 ‘‘(3) address marine energy resource variability 21 issues, including through the application of energy 22 storage technologies; 23 ‘‘(4) advance efficient and reliable integration 24 of marine energy with the electric grid, which may 25 include smart building systems; 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Mar 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6084.IH H6084 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 6084 IH ‘‘(5) identify and study critical short-term and 1 long-term needs to maintaining a sustainable marine 2 energy supply chain based in the United States; 3 ‘‘(6) increase the reliability, security, and resil- 4 ience of marine energy technologies; 5 ‘‘(7) validate the performance, reliability, main- 6 tainability, and cost of marine energy device designs 7 and system components in an operating environ- 8 ment; 9 ‘‘(8) consider the protection of critical infra- 10 structure, such as adequate separation between ma- 11 rine energy devices and submarine telecommuni- 12 cations cables, including through the development of 13 voluntary, consensus-based standards for such pur- 14 poses; 15 ‘‘(9) identify opportunities for crosscutting re- 16 search, development, and demonstration programs 17 between existing energy research programs; 18 ‘‘(10) identify and improve, in conjunction with 19 the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the 20 Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and At- 21 mosphere, and other relevant Federal agencies as 22 appropriate, the environmental impact, including po- 23 tential cumulative environmental impacts, of marine 24 energy technologies, including— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Mar 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6084.IH H6084 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 6084 IH ‘‘(A) potential impacts on fisheries and 1 other marine resources; and 2 ‘‘(B) developing technologies, including 3 mechanisms for self-evaluation, and other 4 means available for improving environmental 5 impact, including potential cumulative environ- 6 mental impacts; 7 ‘‘(11) identify, in consultation with relevant 8 Federal agencies, potential navigational impacts of 9 marine energy technologies and strategies to prevent 10 possible adverse impacts, in addition to opportunities 11 for marine energy systems to aid the United States 12 Coast Guard, such as remote sensing for coastal bor- 13 der security; 14 ‘‘(12) develop numerical and physical tools, in- 15 cluding models and monitoring technologies, to as- 16 sist industry in device and system design, installa- 17 tion, operation, and maintenance, including methods 18 to validate such tools; 19 ‘‘(13) support materials science as it relates to 20 marine energy technology, such as the development 21 of corrosive-resistant materials; 22 ‘‘(14) improve marine energy resource fore- 23 casting and general understanding of aquatic system 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Mar 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6084.IH H6084 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •HR [Text truncated for display. 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