I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7722 

To establish the Integrated Blue Economy and Blue Energy Technologies 

Program, and a Blue Economy Center of Excellence, to support research 

and development of blue energy technologies. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 19, 2024 

Mr. KILMER (for himself and Mr. NEWHOUSE) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

A BILL 

To establish the Integrated Blue Economy and Blue Energy 

Technologies Program, and a Blue Economy Center of 

Excellence, to support research and development of blue 

energy technologies. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Blue Ocean Energy 

5 Innovation Act of 2024’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. INTEGRATED BLUE ECONOMY AND BLUE ENERGY 

2 TECHNOLOGIES PROGRAM. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy shall es4 tablish and carry out a program, to be known as the ‘‘Inte5 grated Blue Economy and Blue Energy Technologies Pro6 gram’’, under which the Secretary of Energy shall provide 

7 funding for research and development of blue energy tech8 nologies for purposes of— 

9 (1) decarbonizing activities that contribute to 

10 the blue economy, including— 

11 (A) improving port and other maritime 

12 transportation infrastructure; 

13 (B) producing algae for use as a biofuel, 

14 and for other applications; and 

15 (C) operating ocean- and water-based tour16 ism industries; 

17 (2) increasing blue energy technology genera18 tion capacity while reducing the cost to produce such 

19 energy; 

20 (3) improving performance of blue energy tech21 nologies; 

22 (4) capturing, removing, and sequestering 

23 greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide and 

24 methane; 

25 (5) developing new blue energy technology mar26 ket opportunities; 


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1 (6) promoting job creation in the blue economy 

2 and blue energy technology sectors; 

3 (7) supporting the development of a skilled, di4 verse, and inclusive blue economy workforce; 

5 (8) remediating and improving coastal and 

6 aquatic ecosystems; 

7 (9) addressing technical and development chal8 lenges that are unique to operating in marine and 

9 freshwater environments, including by— 

10 (A) developing tools, sensors, and models 

11 to advance scientific understanding of 

12 metocean, geotechnical, geophysical, and bio13 logical conditions in marine and freshwater en14 vironments applicable to blue energy tech15 nologies; 

16 (B) advancing social science related to 

17 community and industry engagement to inform 

18 future development; 

19 (C) conducting feasibility analyses for en20 ergy storage and microgrid deployments; 

21 (D) planning for power transmission and 

22 distribution; 

23 (E) advancing technologies for anchoring 

24 and mooring systems; 


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1 (F) addressing challenges of integrating 

2 with the bulk-power system, especially in deep 

3 water environments; 

4 (G) deploying energy storage and charging 

5 infrastructure; and 

6 (H) developing advanced materials capable 

7 of enduring harsh environmental conditions; 

8 and 

9 (10) supporting any other activities as identi10 fied by the Secretary. 

11 (b) CROSSCUT BUDGET.—In carrying out the Inte12 grated Blue Economy and Blue Energy Technologies Pro13 gram, the Secretary of Energy shall prepare a crosscut 

14 budget based on the research and development activities 

15 conducted by relevant Department of Energy offices, in16 cluding the following: 

17 (1) The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renew18 able Energy. 

19 (2) The Office of Science. 

20 (3) The Office of Electricity. 

21 (4) The Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Secu22 rity, and Emergency Response. 

23 (5) The Advanced Research Projects Agency— 

24 Energy. 


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1 (6) The Office of Clean Energy Demonstra2 tions. 

3 (7) The Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon 

4 Management. 

5 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

7 appropriated such sums as may be necessary to 

8 carry out this section for each of fiscal years 2024 

9 through 2034. 

10 (2) SUPPLEMENT AND NOT SUPPLANT.—The 

11 amounts authorized to be appropriated under this 

12 subsection shall supplement, and not supplant, any 

13 other amounts made available to the Department of 

14 Energy. 

15 SEC. 3. BLUE ECONOMY CENTER OF EXCELLENCE. 

16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Energy 

17 shall establish a Blue Economy Center of Excellence to 

18 support the Integrated Blue Economy and Blue Energy 

19 Technologies Program established in section 2. 

20 (b) LOCATION.—The Blue Economy Center of Excel21 lence shall be co-located at an existing National Labora22 tory that— 

23 (1) is working to develop blue energy tech24 nologies; 


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1 (2) hosts a blue energy technology research and 

2 development program; 

3 (3) is able to investigate and resolve environ4 mental and policy-related questions associated with 

5 the generation of blue energy technology; and 

6 (4) has direct access to natural ocean-based re7 sources and test sites. 

8 (c) FACILITIES.—The Secretary of Energy may con9 struct new facilities or expand and upgrade existing facili10 ties to establish the Blue Economy Center of Excellence 

11 under subsection (a). 

12 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

13 authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be nec14 essary to carry out this section and such amount is au15 thorized to remain available until expended. 

16 SEC. 4. INTERAGENCY COORDINATION, REPORTING, AND 

17 OVERSIGHT. 

18 (a) COORDINATION.—In carrying out this Act, the 

19 Secretary of Energy shall coordinate with— 

20 (1) other Federal agencies that share mission 

21 objectives with the Integrated Blue Economy and 

22 Blue Energy Technologies Program, including the 

23 Maritime Administration of the Department of 

24 Transportation, the National Science Foundation, 

25 the Economic Development Administration of the 


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1 Department of Commerce, the Bureau of Ocean En2 ergy Management, the National Marine Fisheries 

3 Service, the United States Army Corps of Engineers, 

4 the Bureau of Reclamation, the National Oceanic 

5 and Atmospheric Administration, and the National 

6 Institute of Standards and Technology; and 

7 (2) State and Tribal government agencies, insti8 tutions of higher education, nonprofit research insti9 tutions, and National Laboratories. 

10 (b) ANNUAL BUDGET MATERIALS.—The Secretary of 

11 Energy shall include in the Department of Energy’s an12 nual budget materials submitted to the Office of Manage13 ment and Budget pursuant to section 1105 of title 31, 

14 United States Code, a report on— 

15 (1) with respect to the fiscal year preceding the 

16 fiscal year for which such budget materials are sub17 mitted, the amount of funds obligated and expended 

18 for research and development of blue energy tech19 nologies across all line offices and programs of the 

20 Department of Energy; and 

21 (2) the projected expenditures necessary to fill 

22 any gaps in funding for research and development of 

23 blue energy technologies across all line offices and 

24 programs of the Department of Energy. 


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1 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) BLUE ECONOMY.—The term ‘‘blue econ4 omy’’ means the sustainable use of ocean and aquat5 ic resources to grow the economy, improve liveli6 hoods, and create jobs in a manner that preserves 

7 the health of ocean and aquatic ecosystems. 

8 (2) BLUE ENERGY TECHNOLOGY.—The term 

9 ‘‘blue energy technology’’ means any technology 

10 that— 

11 (A)(i) derives or generates energy from a 

12 renewable energy resource; or 

13 (ii) captures, removes, and sequesters 

14 greenhouse gases; and 

15 (B) is located in an aquatic environment. 

16 (3) BULK-POWER SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘bulk17 power system’’ has the meaning given such term in 

18 section 215(a) of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 

19 824o(a)). 

20 (4) NATIONAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘‘Na21 tional Laboratory’’ has the meaning given such term 

22 in section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

23 U.S.C. 15801). 

24 (5) RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCE.—The 

25 term ‘‘renewable energy resource’’ has the meaning 


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1 given such term in section 403 of the Energy Secu2 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 7372). 

Æ 


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