[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1511 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1511

To promote the development and use of marine and hydrokinetic renewable 
              energy technologies, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 24, 2007

 Mr. Akaka (for himself, Ms. Murkowski, and Ms. Snowe) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                                Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To promote the development and use of marine and hydrokinetic renewable 
              energy technologies, and for other purposes.

    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 and Hydrokinetic Renewable 
Energy Promotion Act of 2007''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITION.

    For purposes of this Act, the term ``marine and hydrokinetic 
renewable energy'' means electrical energy from--
            (1) waves, tides, and currents in oceans, estuaries, and 
        tidal areas;
            (2) free flowing water in rivers, lakes, and streams;
            (3) free flowing water in man-made channels, including 
        projects that utilize nonmechanical structures to accelerate 
        the flow of water for electric power production purposes; and
            (4) differentials in ocean temperature (ocean thermal 
        energy conversion).
The term shall not include energy from any source that utilizes a dam, 
diversionary structure, or impoundment for electric power purposes, 
except as provided in paragraph (3).

SEC. 3. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.

    (a) Program.--The Secretary of Energy, in consultation with the 
Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of the Interior, shall 
establish a program of marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy 
research focused on--
            (1) developing and demonstrating marine and hydrokinetic 
        renewable energy technologies;
            (2) reducing the manufacturing and operation costs of 
        marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy technologies;
            (3) increasing the reliability and survivability of marine 
        and hydrokinetic renewable energy facilities;
            (4) integrating marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy 
        into electric grids;
            (5) identifying opportunities for cross fertilization and 
        development of economies of scale between offshore wind and 
        marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy sources;
            (6) identifying, in consultation with the Secretary of 
        Commerce and the Secretary of the Interior, the environmental 
        impacts of marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy 
        technologies and ways to address adverse impacts, and providing 
        public information concerning technologies and other means 
        available for monitoring and determining environmental impacts; 
        and
            (7) standards development, demonstration, and technology 
        transfer for advanced systems engineering and system 
        integration methods to identify critical interfaces.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary of Energy for carrying out this section 
$50,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2017.

SEC. 4. ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL FUND.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
            (1) the use of marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy 
        technologies can avoid contributions to global warming gases, 
        and such technologies can be produced domestically;
            (2) marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy is a nascent 
        industry; and
            (3) the United States must work to promote new renewable 
        energy technologies that reduce contributions to global warming 
        gases and improve our country's domestic energy production in a 
        manner that is consistent with environmental protection, 
        recreation, and other public values.
    (b) Establishment.--The Secretary of Energy shall establish an 
Adaptive Management and Environmental Fund, and shall lend amounts from 
that fund to entities described in subsection (f) to cover the costs of 
projects that produce marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy. Such 
costs include design, fabrication, deployment, operation, monitoring, 
and decommissioning costs. Loans under this section may be subordinate 
to project-related loans provided by commercial lending institutions to 
the extent the Secretary of Energy considers appropriate.
    (c) Reasonable Access.--As a condition of receiving a loan under 
this section, a recipient shall provide reasonable access, to Federal 
or State agencies and other research institutions as the Secretary 
considers appropriate, to the project area and facilities for the 
purposes of independent environmental research.
    (d) Public Availability.--The results of any assessment or 
demonstration paid for, in whole or in part, with funds provided under 
this section shall be made available to the public, except to the 
extent that they contain information that is protected from disclosure 
under section 552(b) of title 5, United States Code.
    (e) Repayment of Loans.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Energy shall require a 
        recipient of a loan under this section to repay the loan, plus 
        interest at a rate of 2.1 percent per year, over a period not 
        to exceed 20 years, beginning after the commercial generation 
        of electric power from the project commences. Such repayment 
        shall be required at a rate that takes into account the 
        economic viability of the loan recipient and ensures regular 
        and timely repayment of the loan.
            (2) Beginning of repayment period.--No repayments shall be 
        required under this subsection until after the project 
        generates net proceeds. For purposes of this paragraph, the 
        term ``net proceeds'' means proceeds from the commercial sale 
        of electricity after payment of project-related costs, 
        including taxes and regulatory fees that have not been paid 
        using funds from a loan provided for the project under this 
        section.
            (3) Termination.--Repayment of a loan made under this 
        section shall terminate as of the date that the project for 
        which the loan was provided ceases commercial generation of 
        electricity if a governmental permitting authority has ordered 
        the closure of the facility because of a finding that the 
        project has unacceptable adverse environmental impacts, except 
        that the Secretary shall require a loan recipient to continue 
        making loan repayments for the cost of equipment, obtained 
        using funds from the loan that have not otherwise been repaid 
        under rules established by the Secretary, that is utilized in a 
        subsequent project for the commercial generation of 
        electricity.
    (f) Adaptive Management Plan.--In order to receive a loan under 
this section, an applicant for a Federal license or permit to 
construct, operate, or maintain a marine or hydrokinetic renewable 
energy project shall provide to the Federal agency with primary 
jurisdiction to issue such license or permit an adaptive management 
plan for the proposed project. Such plan shall--
            (1) be prepared in consultation with other parties to the 
        permitting or licensing proceeding, including all Federal, 
        State, municipal, and tribal agencies with authority under 
        applicable Federal law to require or recommend design or 
        operating conditions, for protection, mitigation, and 
        enhancement of fish and wildlife resources, water quality, 
        navigation, public safety, land reservations, or recreation, 
        for incorporation into the permit or license;
            (2) set forth specific and measurable objectives for the 
        protection, mitigation, and enhancement of fish and wildlife 
        resources, water quality, navigation, public safety, land 
        reservations, or recreation, as required or recommended by 
        governmental agencies described in paragraph (1), and shall 
        require monitoring to ensure that these objectives are met;
            (3) provide specifically for the modification or, if 
        necessary, removal of the marine or hydrokinetic renewable 
        energy project based on findings by the licensing or permitting 
        agency that the marine or hydrokinetic renewable energy project 
        has not attained or will not attain the specific and measurable 
        objectives set forth in paragraph (2); and
            (4) be approved and incorporated in the Federal license or 
        permit.
    (g) Sunset.--The Secretary of Energy shall transmit a report to the 
Congress when the Secretary of Energy determines that the technologies 
supported under this Act have achieved a level of maturity sufficient 
to enable the expiration of the programs under this Act. The Secretary 
of Energy shall not make any new loans under this section after the 
report is transmitted under this subsection.

SEC. 5. PROGRAMMATIC ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT.

    The Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of the Interior shall, 
in cooperation with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the 
Secretary of Energy, and in consultation with appropriate State 
agencies, jointly prepare programmatic environmental impact statements 
which contain all the elements of an environmental impact statement 
under section 102 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 
U.S.C. 4332), regarding the impacts of the deployment of marine and 
hydrokinetic renewable energy technologies in the navigable waters of 
the United States. One programmatic environmental impact statement 
shall be prepared under this section for each of the Environmental 
Protection Agency regions of the United States. The agencies shall 
issue the programmatic environmental impact statements under this 
section not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this 
Act. The programmatic environmental impact statements shall evaluate 
among other things the potential impacts of site selection on fish and 
wildlife and related habitat. Nothing in this section shall operate to 
delay consideration of any application for a license or permit for a 
marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy technology project.

SEC. 6. PRODUCTION CREDIT FOR ELECTRICITY PRODUCED FROM MARINE 
              RENEWABLES.

    (a) In General.--Subsection (c) of section 45 of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to resources) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph 
                (G),
                    (B) by striking the period at the end of 
                subparagraph (H) and inserting ``, and'', and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following new 
                subparagraph:
                    ``(I) marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy.'', 
                and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(10) Marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The term `marine and 
                hydrokinetic renewable energy' means energy derived 
                from--
                            ``(i) waves, tides, and currents in oceans, 
                        estuaries, and tidal areas,
                            ``(ii) free flowing water in rivers, lakes, 
                        and streams,
                            ``(iii) free flowing water in man-made 
                        channels, including projects that utilize 
                        nonmechanical structures to accelerate the flow 
                        of water for electric power production 
                        purposes, or
                            ``(iv) differentials in ocean temperature 
                        (ocean thermal energy conversion).
                    ``(B) Exceptions.--Such term shall not include any 
                energy which is--
                            ``(i) described in subparagraphs (A) 
                        through (H) of paragraph (1), or
                            ``(ii) derived from any source that 
                        utilizes a dam, diversionary structure, or 
                        impoundment for electric power production 
                        purposes, except as provided in subparagraph 
                        (A)(iii).''.
    (b) Definition of Facility.--Subsection (d) of section 45 of such 
Code (relating to qualified facilities) is amended by adding at the end 
the following new paragraph:
            ``(11) Marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy 
        facilities.--In the case of a facility producing electricity 
        from marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy, the term 
        `qualified facility' means any facility owned by the taxpayer 
        which is originally placed in service after the date of the 
        enactment of this paragraph and before January 1, 2009.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to electricity produced and sold after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, in taxable years ending after such date.

SEC. 7. INVESTMENT CREDIT AND 5-YEAR DEPRECIATION FOR EQUIPMENT WHICH 
              PRODUCES ELECTRICITY FROM MARINE AND HYDROKINETIC 
              RENEWABLE ENERGY.

    (a) In General.--Subparagraph (A) of section 48(a)(3) of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to energy property) is 
amended--
            (1) by striking ``or'' at the end of clause (iii),
            (2) by inserting ``or'' at the end of clause (iv), and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new clause:
                            ``(v) equipment which uses marine and 
                        hydrokinetic renewable energy (as defined in 
                        section 45(c)(10)) but only with respect to 
                        periods ending before January 1, 2018,''.
    (b) 30 Percent Credit.--Clause (i) of section 48(a)(2)(A) of such 
Code (relating to 30 percent credit) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of subclause (II), and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subclause:
                                    ``(IV) energy property described in 
                                paragraph (3)(A)(v), and''.
    (c) Credits Allowed for Investment and Production.--Paragraph (3) 
of section 48(a) of such Code (relating to energy property) is amended 
by inserting ``(other than property described in subparagraph (A)(v))'' 
after ``any property'' in the last sentence thereof.
    (d) Denial of Dual Benefit.--Paragraph (9) of section 45(e) of such 
Code (relating to coordination with credit for producing fuel from a 
nonconventional source) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``shall not include'' 
        and all that follows and inserting ``shall not include--
                            ``(i) any facility which produces 
                        electricity from gas derived from the 
                        biodegradation of municipal solid waste if such 
                        biodegradation occurred in a facility (within 
                        the meaning of section 45K) the production from 
                        which is allowed as a credit under section 45K 
                        for the taxable year or any prior taxable year, 
                        or
                            ``(ii) any marine and hydrokinetic facility 
                        for which a credit is claimed by the taxpayer 
                        under section 48 for the taxable year.'', and
            (2) in the header--
                    (A) by striking ``credit'' and inserting 
                ``credits'', and
                    (B) by inserting ``and investment in marine and 
                hydrokinetic renewable energy'' after ``nonconventional 
                source''.
    (e) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to property placed in service after the date of the enactment of 
this Act, in taxable years ending after such date.
                                 <all>