[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 98 (Wednesday, June 12, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S3367]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. WYDEN (for himself, Mr. Merkley, Mr. King, Mr. Schatz, and 
        Mr. Reed):
  S. 1821. A bill to amend the Energy Independence and Security Act of 
2007 to provide for research on, and the development and deployment of, 
marine energy, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and 
Natural Resources.
  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, marine energy technologies generate 
electricity using the natural power found in ocean waves, tides, 
currents, and temperature differences in ocean water. This 
nontraditional form of hydropower has the potential to fuel American 
homes and businesses with renewable electricity and address the very 
real challenge of climate change. Additionally, establishing a 
commercially viable marine energy industry in the United States would 
support a robust manufacturing and construction supply chain and create 
thousands of good-paying clean energy jobs.
  The Department of Energy (DOE) estimates that marine energy could 
produce enough renewable energy to power millions of homes. 
Furthermore, with more than half of the U.S. population living within 
50 miles of a body of water, there is vast potential for marine energy 
to efficiently provide clean electricity to communities across the 
country--from large cities to remote coastal communities.
  Because these promising marine renewable energy technologies are 
still in the early stages of development, federal support is needed to 
encourage private investments in marine energy projects, moving the 
United States closer to large-scale deployment of these innovative 
clean energy technologies.
  The Marine Energy Research and Development Act advances this research 
by reauthorizing DOE's marine renewable energy programs from 2020 
through 2021. The bill gives priority to projects and technologies that 
have the highest likelihood to lead to commercial utilization of new 
marine energy systems.
  The bill also directs DOE to research ways of building a stable 
marine energy supply chain in the United States, as well as ways of 
harmonizing marine energy development with ocean navigation, fisheries, 
and critical infrastructure such as undersea cables.
  The bill includes funding authorization for the National Marine 
Renewable Energy Research Centers, which are located in Florida, Hawaii 
and the Pacific Northwest. These three centers make use of federal 
funding and the resources of five universities to test and refine 
various marine energy technologies. The bill also provides DOE new 
authority to establish new National Marine Energy Centers.
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