[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2313 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2313

   To establish research, development, demonstration, and commercial 
     application programs for marine renewable energy technologies.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 15, 2007

  Ms. Hooley introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                  Committee on Science and Technology

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To establish research, development, demonstration, and commercial 
     application programs for marine renewable energy technologies.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Marine Renewable Energy Research and 
Development Act of 2007''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The United States has a critical national interest in 
        developing clean, domestic, renewable sources of energy in 
        order to reduce other environmental impacts of energy 
        production, increase national security, improve public health, 
        and bolster economic stability.
            (2) Marine renewable energy is a nonpolluting energy 
        resource.
            (3) Marine renewable energy may serve as an alternative to 
        fossil fuels and create thousands of new jobs within the United 
        States.
            (4) Europe has already successfully delivered electricity 
        to the grid through the deployment of wave and tidal energy 
        devices off the coast of Scotland.
            (5) Recent studies from the Electric Power Research 
        Institute, in conjunction with the Department of Energy's 
        National Renewable Energy Laboratory, have identified an 
        abundance of viable sites within the United States with ample 
        wave, tidal, and thermal resources to be harnessed by marine 
        power technologies.
            (6) Sustained and expanded research, development, 
        demonstration, and commercial application programs are needed 
        to locate and characterize marine renewable energy resources, 
        and to develop the technologies that will enable their 
        widespread commercial development.
            (7) Federal support is critical to reduce the financial 
        risk associated with developing new marine renewable energy 
        technologies, thereby encouraging the private sector investment 
        necessary to make marine renewable energy resources 
        commercially viable as a source of electric power and for other 
        applications.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act--
            (1) Marine renewable energy.--The term ``Marine Renewable 
        Energy'' means energy derived from one or more of the following 
        sources:
                    (A) Waves.
                    (B) Tidal flows.
                    (C) Ocean currents.
                    (D) Ocean thermal energy conversion.
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Energy.

SEC. 4. MARINE RENEWABLE ENERGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.

    The Secretary shall support programs of research, development, 
demonstration, and commercial application to expand the use of marine 
renewable energy production from marine renewable energy technology 
systems, including programs to--
            (1) explore and compare existing marine renewable energy 
        extraction technologies;
            (2) research, develop, and demonstrate advanced marine 
        renewable energy systems and technologies;
            (3) reduce the manufacturing and operation costs of marine 
        renewable energy technologies;
            (4) investigate efficient and reliable integration with the 
        utility grid and intermittency issues;
            (5) advance wave forecasting technologies;
            (6) conduct experimental and numerical modeling for device 
        and marine energy conversion device array optimization;
            (7) increase the reliability and survivability of marine 
        renewable energy facilities;
            (8) study the compatibility with the environment of marine 
        renewable energy technologies and systems;
            (9) establish protocols for how the ocean community best 
        interacts with marine renewable energy devices and parks;
            (10) develop marine renewable energy power measurement and 
        identification standards; and
            (11) address standards development, demonstration, and 
        technology transfer for advanced systems engineering and system 
        integration methods to identify critical interfaces.

SEC. 5. NATIONAL MARINE RENEWABLE ENERGY RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND 
              DEMONSTRATION CENTERS.

    (a) Centers.--The Secretary, acting through the National Renewable 
Energy Laboratory, shall award grants to institutions of higher 
education (or consortia thereof) for the establishment of 1 or more 
National Marine Renewable Energy Research, Development, and 
Demonstration Centers. In selecting locations for Centers, the 
Secretary shall choose at least 1 site from among sites that host an 
existing marine renewable energy research and development program in 
coordination with a public university engineering program.
    (b) Purposes.--The Centers shall advance research, development, 
demonstration, and commercial application of marine renewable energy 
through a number of initiatives including for the purposes described in 
section 4(1) through (11), and shall serve as an information 
clearinghouse for the marine renewable energy industry, collecting and 
disseminating information on best practices in all areas related to 
developing and managing enhanced marine renewable energy systems 
resources.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 
out this Act $50,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 
2012.
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