[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9238 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9238

To accelerate the commercialization of marine energy technologies, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 2, 2024

   Ms. Barragan (for herself, Ms. Bonamici, Mr. Case, Ms. Tlaib, Mr. 
Mullin, Ms. Hoyle of Oregon, Mr. Carter of Louisiana, Mr. Carbajal, and 
 Ms. Kuster) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
  Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and in addition to the 
Committees on Energy and Commerce, Natural Resources, and Education and 
   the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To accelerate the commercialization of marine 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 Energy Technologies 
Acceleration Act''.

SEC. 2. MARINE ENERGY ACCELERATION.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Fund.--The term ``Fund'' means the Marine Energy 
        Acceleration Fund established under subsection (b).
            (2) Marine energy.--The term ``marine energy'' has the 
        meaning given that term in section 632 of the Energy 
        Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17211).
            (3) National marine energy centers.--The term ``National 
        Marine Energy Centers'' means the National Marine Energy 
        Centers referred to in, or established under, section 636 of 
        the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 
        17215).
            (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Energy.
    (b) Marine Energy Technologies Acceleration Fund.--
            (1) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a fund, 
        to be known as the ``Marine Energy Technologies Acceleration 
        Fund''.
            (2) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized 
        to be appropriated to the Fund $1,000,000,000, to remain 
        available until expended.
    (c) Marine Energy Demonstration Projects.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall conduct competitive 
        solicitations for not fewer than twenty marine energy 
        technology demonstration projects that export power to 
        microgrids, community grids, or utility-scale grids.
            (2) Coordination.--In carrying out this subsection, the 
        Secretary may coordinate with the National Marine Energy 
        Centers, non-profits that promote the growth and development of 
        the blue economy, universities with relevant facilities and 
        access to marine energy resources, and other entities with 
        proven technical expertise to support marine energy 
        demonstration projects.
            (3) Priority.--In carrying out this subsection, the 
        Secretary shall prioritize--
                    (A) projects that integrate marine energy 
                technologies with existing onshore and offshore 
                transmission infrastructure, nearshore marine 
                structures, or projects with all necessary local, 
                State, and Federal licenses or permits in place;
                    (B) open water prototype testing for more mature 
                and advanced microgrid, community grid, or utility-
                scale grid marine energy technologies nearing market 
                adoption;
                    (C) projects that support energy resilience and 
                economic sustainability for rural and remote 
                disadvantaged communities, Tribal communities, and 
                communities of color; and
                    (D) projects that power ocean-based scientific 
                research and education, and support workforce 
                development, national security, and commercial 
                activities limited by the availability of existing 
                energy resources.
            (4) Funds.--Of the amounts in the Fund, $600,000,000 shall 
        be available to the Secretary to carry out this subsection.
    (d) Advancement of Marine Energy Technologies.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall conduct competitive 
        solicitations for--
                    (A) research and development projects to advance 
                marine energy technologies; and
                    (B) upgrades to research and development facilities 
                that advance marine energy technologies.
            (2) Coordination.--In carrying out this subsection, the 
        Secretary may coordinate with the National Marine Energy 
        Centers, non-profits that promote the growth and development of 
        the blue economy, universities with relevant facilities and 
        access to marine energy resources, entities with all necessary 
        local, State, and Federal licenses or permits in place, 
        National Laboratories, Federal agencies involved in the 
        development of marine energy technology, other existing marine 
        energy research and development programs, and other entities 
        with proven technical expertise to support marine energy 
        research, development, and commercialization.
            (3) Priority.--In carrying out this subsection, the 
        Secretary shall prioritize research and development projects 
        that--
                    (A) rapidly design, fabricate, and test marine 
                energy systems, subsystems, components, controls, 
                domestic manufacturing, and materials in order to 
                advance efficiency, reduce costs, reduce environmental 
                impacts, increase power production, and improve 
                reliability at a variety of technology readiness 
                levels;
                    (B) can be used to educate the public, 
                policymakers, investors, educators, and other 
                stakeholders about the potential for deployment of 
                marine energy technologies, and identify the needs and 
                concerns of local communities where projects may be 
                placed; and
                    (C) support the development of technologies to 
                monitor and mitigate impacts to marine and coastal 
                ecosystems and communities.
            (4) Funds.--Of the amounts in the Fund--
                    (A) $230,000,000 shall be available to the 
                Secretary for technology research and development 
                activities under this subsection; and
                    (B) $20,000,000 shall be available to the Secretary 
                for providing marine energy and education activities 
                under this subsection through the National Marine 
                Energy Centers.
    (e) Assessment of Technical Resource Potential.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary, in coordination with the 
        National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Bureau of 
        Ocean Energy Management, and other agencies, as appropriate, 
        shall assess the technical resource potential of marine energy 
        at not fewer than 50 sites that previous agency assessments and 
        modeling have determined to have significant marine energy 
        potential.
            (2) Requirements.--In carrying out this subsection, the 
        Secretary shall--
                    (A) develop in-depth marine energy resource and 
                conditions characterizations for each site;
                    (B) deploy environmental monitoring technologies, 
                tools, and data collection to understand and mitigate 
                potential environmental risks, characterize potential 
                conflicts with other users of the local marine 
                resources, optimize marine energy devices and arrays, 
                and reduce costs;
                    (C) ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that 
                the sites are geographically distributed to assess 
                marine energy resources and technologies in different 
                regions of the United States;
                    (D) where applicable, carry out technical resource 
                assessments in coordination with Regional Ocean 
                Partnerships of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
                Administration Office for Coastal Management; and
                    (E) use such technical resource assessments to 
                inform the location of the marine energy technology 
                demonstration projects under subsection (c).
            (3) Data sharing.--Data collected under this subsection 
        shall be shared with public data repositories for use among 
        regional ocean data portals and partnerships.
            (4) Funds.--Of the amounts in the Fund, $50,000,000 shall 
        be available to the Secretary to carry out this subsection.
    (f) Improvement of Permitting.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary, in coordination with the 
        Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Bureau of Ocean 
        Energy Management, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration, the Corps of Engineers, and other agencies as 
        needed, shall convene a task force with the appropriate Federal 
        and State agencies to prepare a report that--
                    (A) describes any barriers under the jurisdiction 
                of such agencies to the development of marine energy 
                technology projects; and
                    (B) provides recommendations on reducing such 
                barriers, including identification and determination of 
                opportunities to improve the regulatory process 
                associated with the authorities required to deploy and 
                license marine energy technology projects, consistent 
                with the National Environmental Policy Act.
            (2) Requirements.--The task force convened under paragraph 
        (1) shall--
                    (A) develop recommendations for efficient 
                permitting processes that reduce the time, cost, and 
                uncertainty for marine energy projects, consistent with 
                the National Environmental Policy Act;
                    (B) determine whether additional staff are required 
                to be hired and trained at the appropriate Federal 
                agencies to process permits and conduct environmental 
                reviews in a timely and efficient manner;
                    (C) conduct outreach to stakeholders;
                    (D) facilitate Federal coordination with State 
                permitting processes for marine energy projects, 
                including by providing staff training for State and 
                territory permitting agencies; and
                    (E) not later than 1 year after the date of 
                enactment of this Act, submit to Congress the report 
                prepared under paragraph (1).
            (3) Funds.--Of the amounts in the Fund, to carry out this 
        subsection--
                    (A) $5,000,000 shall be available to the Department 
                of Energy;
                    (B) $5,000,000 shall be available to the Federal 
                Energy Regulatory Commission; and
                    (C) $5,000,000 shall be available to the Bureau of 
                Ocean Energy Management.
    (g) Workforce.--
            (1) Assessment.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall conduct a national 
        assessment of--
                    (A) the prospective marine energy workforce and 
                hiring needs; and
                    (B) the educational pathways and programs that 
                would address those needs.
            (2) Development programs.--The Secretary shall launch 
        workforce development programs based on the assessment 
        conducted under paragraph (1), in partnership with the National 
        Marine Energy Centers, the marine energy industry, institutions 
        of higher education, labor unions, non-profits, and career and 
        technical education programs.
            (3) Priority.--In carrying out this subsection, the 
        Secretary shall prioritize workforce development programs in 
        communities near the location of the marine energy technology 
        demonstration projects under subsection (c).
            (4) Funds.--Of the amounts in the Fund, $85,000,000 shall 
        be available to the Secretary to carry out this subsection.
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