1.This Act may be cited as
the Offshore Wind Energy Research,
Development, Demonstration, and Commercial Application Act of
2009
.
2.In this Act:
(1)Institution of
higher educationThe term institution of higher
education has the meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1001(a)).
(2)National
offshore wind centerThe term national offshore wind
center means a national offshore wind energy research, development, and
demonstration center established under section 4(a).
(3)The
term program means a program—
(A)that includes
activities to support the research, demonstration, and development of
commercial applications for offshore wind energy; and
(B)to be carried out
by the Secretary under section 3(a).
(4)The
term Secretary means the Secretary of Energy.
3.Offshore wind
energy research and development program
(a)As soon as practicable after the date of enactment of
this Act, in accordance with subsection (b), the Secretary shall carry out the
program—
(1)to improve the
energy efficiency, reliability, and capacity of offshore wind turbines;
and
(2)to reduce the
cost of manufacturing, construction, deployment, generation, and maintenance of
offshore wind energy systems.
(b)The Secretary shall carry out the program to
support—
(1)the design,
demonstration, and deployment of advanced wind turbine foundations and support
structures, blades, turbine systems, components, and supporting land- and
water-based infrastructure for application in—
(A)shallow
water;
(B)transitional
depths; and
(C)deep offshore
water;
(2)the full-scale
testing and establishment of regional demonstrations of offshore wind
components and systems to validate technology and performance issues relating
to the components;
(3)for inclusion in
a publically accessible database, assessments of the offshore wind resources of
the United States, including—
(A)environmental
impacts and benefits;
(B)siting and
permitting issues;
(C)exclusion zones;
and
(D)transmission
needs;
(4)the design,
demonstration, and deployment of integrated sensors, actuators, and advanced
materials (including composite materials);
(5)advanced blade
manufacturing activity (including automation, materials, and the assembly of
large-scale components) to stimulate the development of the blade manufacturing
capacity of the United States;
(6)methods to assess
and mitigate the effects of wind energy systems on marine ecosystems and marine
industries; and
(7)other research
areas, as determined to be appropriate by the Secretary.
4.National
offshore wind energy research, development, and demonstration centers
(a)As soon as practicable after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Secretary shall award, on a competitive basis and with an
emphasis on technical merit, grants to institutions of higher education to
establish 1 or more national offshore wind centers.
(b)In selecting institutions of higher education under
subsection (a), the Secretary shall give preference to institutions of higher
education that—
(1)agree to cover
transitional depth technologies to complement the activities of a national
offshore wind center;
(2)agree to host an
offshore wind energy research and development program funded by the Department
of Energy in coordination with an engineering program of the institution of
higher education;
(3)employ
individuals who have proven expertise relating to the development of novel
materials for commercial applications; and
(4)have access to,
and use the resources of—
(A)the Atlantic
Ocean;
(B)the Gulf of
Mexico; or
(C)the Pacific
Ocean.
(c)A
national offshore wind center established with funds provided by the Secretary
through a grant under subsection (a) shall be designed—
(1)to focus on
deepwater floating offshore wind energy technologies; and
(2)to facilitate the
conduct of initiatives to advance 1 or more activities described in section
3(b).
5.Authorization of
appropriationsThere is
authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this Act
$50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2011 through 2021.