113 S2705 IS: Renewable Energy Environmental Research Act of 2014
U.S. Senate
2014-07-30
text/xml
EN
Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
1.
This Act may be cited as the
Renewable Energy Environmental Research Act of 2014
.
2.
The purpose of this Act is to establish an
integrated and comprehensive ocean, coastal, Great Lakes, and atmospheric
research and environmental information sharing program to support
renewable energy.
3.
In this Act:
(1)
The term
Administration means the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration.
(2)
The term Administrator means
the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere in the Under Secretary's
capacity
as Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
(3)
The term renewable
energy means any form of renewable energy, including traditional hydropower, terrestrial renewable
energy, and renewable energy derived from the sea, such as
wave energy, tidal energy, ocean current energy, offshore wind energy,
salinity
gradient energy, ocean thermal gradient energy, and ocean thermal energy
conversion.
4.
Renewable energy research plan
(a)
Not later than 3 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall develop
a
plan—
(1)
to define requirements for a comprehensive
and integrated ocean, coastal, Great Lakes, and atmosphere science program
to
support renewable energy development in the United States based on a
review of scientific and industry
information;
(2)
to identify and describe current climate,
weather, and water data programs, products, services, and authorities
within
the Administration relevant to renewable energy development;
(3)
to provide targeted research, data,
monitoring, observation, and other information, products, and services
concerning climate, weather, and water in support of renewable energy and
smart grid
technology, including research to accurately quantify
the downstream micro-climate impacts of wind-power turbines;
(4)
to reduce duplication and leverage the
resources of existing Administration programs through coordination with—
(A)
other offices and programs within the
Administration, including the atmospheric, ocean, and coastal observation
systems;
(B)
Federal, State, tribal, and local
observation systems; and
(C)
other entities, including the private
sector organizations and institutions of higher education;
(5)
to facilitate public-private cooperation,
including identification and assessment of current private sector
capabilities; and
(6)to inform and educate the public and the private sector about the progress and findings of the
renewable research and development carried out pursuant to the plan.
(b)
In developing the plan, the Administrator
shall provide public notice and opportunity for 1 or more public hearings
and
shall seek comments from Federal and State agencies, tribes, local
governments,
representatives of the private sector, and other parties interested in
renewable energy observations, data, and use in order to improve
Administration
climate, weather, and water observation data products and services to more
effectively support renewable energy development.
5.
Establishment of research, prediction, and
environmental information program
(a)
Not later than 3 years after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall establish a program to
develop and implement an integrated and comprehensive ocean, coastal,
Great
Lakes, and atmosphere research and operations program, based on the plan
required by section 4, to support renewable energy development in the
United
States.
(b)
At a minimum, the program required by subsection (a) shall
include the following:
(1)
Improvements in coordinated climate,
weather, water research, biological and technological research monitoring,
and observations to support renewable energy siting and development.
(2)
Coordinated weather, water, and climate
prediction capability focused on renewable energy and smart grid
technology to provide information and decision services in support of
renewable
energy development.
(3)
Support for the transition to, and reliable
delivery of, sustained operational weather, water, and climate products
from
research, observation, and prediction outputs.
(4)
Means of identifying biological and
ecological effects of marine renewable energy development on living marine
resources, the marine and coastal environment, marine-dependent
industries, and
coastal communities.
(5)
Baseline ecological characterization,
including research, data collection, and mapping, of the coastal and
marine
environment and living marine resources for marine renewable energy
development.
(6)
Avoidance, minimization, and mitigation
strategies to address the potential impacts of renewable energy on
the
marine, coastal, and Great Lakes habitats resources and communities,
including developing
effective
monitoring protocols, use of adaptive management, informed engineering
design
and operating parameters, and the establishment of protocols for
minimizing the
environmental impacts of testing, developing, and deploying marine
renewable
energy devices.
(7)
Support for the development of marine
special area management plans by states as defined by the
Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972
(16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.) that would support renewable energy development
consistent with natural resource protection and other coastal-dependent
economic growth.
(8)
Coordination of comprehensive digital mapping, modeling,
and other geospatial information and services to support planning for
renewable
energy and stewardship of ecosystem and living marine ecosystems,
including
protected species, in ocean, Great Lakes, and coastal areas.
(9)
A coordinated approach for examining and
quantifying the micro-climate impacts of wind-power farms on soil
transpiration
and drying.
(10)
Provision for outreach to the public and
private sector about program research, information, and products,
including
making non-proprietary information and best management practices developed
under this program available to the public.
(c)
The program established under subsection
(a) shall be designed to collect, synthesize, and distribute data in a
manner
that can be used by resource managers responsible for making
decisions
about renewable energy projects. The Army Corps of Engineers,
Department
of Commerce, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission,
and Department of Energy shall consider this information when making
planning,
siting, and permitting decisions for renewable energy.
(d)
Support for public-Private
cooperation
To the extent
practicable, in implementing the program established under this section,
the
Administrator shall seek appropriate opportunities to facilitate and
expand
cooperation with private sector entities to develop and expand information
services that serve the renewable energy industry.
6.
(a)Not later than 2 years after the date on which the Administrator establishes the program under
section 5(a) and not less frequently than once every 2 years
thereafter, the Administrator
shall
submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the
Senate
and the Committee on Natural Resources and the Committee on Science and
Technology of the House of Representatives a report on progress made in
implementing this Act.(b)Each report submitted under subsection (a) shall include the following:
(1)
A description of activities carried out
under this Act.
(2)
Recommendations for prioritization of
activities under this Act for fiscal years beginning after the date on
which
the report is submitted.
(3)
Funding levels for activities under this
Act in those fiscal years.
7.
(a)Not later than 3 years after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Administrator, in consultation with relevant
Federal
agencies, shall establish and maintain a renewable energy information
library and data
portal to function as a common, cross agency repository of data pertinent
to renewable energy development.(b)The library required by subsection (a) shall include, at a minimum, the following:
(1)
Links to data and information products for
use in renewable energy development.
(2)
Links to planning and decision support
tools for use in renewable energy development.
(3)
Data about the baseline condition of ocean
and coastal resources.
(4)
Links to digital mapping and geospatial
information, products, and services described in section 4(b).
8.
The Secretary of the Interior, the
Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of
Defense,
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Department in which the
Coast
Guard is operating, and the heads of other relevant Federal agencies shall
cooperate with the Administrator in carrying out this Act.
9.
The Administrator may enter into and perform
such contracts, leases, grants, cooperative agreements, or other
agreements and
transactions with any agency or instrumentality of the United States, or
with
any State, local, tribal, territorial or foreign government, or with any
person, corporation, firm, partnership, educational institution, nonprofit
organization, or international organization as may be necessary to carry
out
the purposes of this Act.
10.
Authority to receive funds
The Administrator may accept, retain, and
use funds received from any party pursuant to an agreement entered into
under
section 9 for activities furthering the purposes of this Act.
11.
Use of ocean observing offshore
infrastructure
(a)
Any offshore exploration and production
facility, at the discretion of the Administrator, may execute a memorandum
of
understanding authorizing the use of offshore platforms and infrastructure
for
the placement of meteorological and oceanographic observation sensors of a
type
to be designated by the Administrator in support of the Integrated Ocean
Observing System.
(b)
Availability of information
All information collected by such sensors
shall be managed by Administration and be readily available for use in
spill
and other hazard response as well as available to the National Weather
Service, other
Administration programs, and the general public.
12.
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to
supersede or modify the jurisdiction, responsibilities, or authority of
any
Federal or State agency under any provision of law in effect on the date
of the
enactment of this Act.