II 

Calendar No. 261 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1821 

[Report No. 116–141] 

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. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 12, 2019 

Mr. WYDEN (for himself, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. KING, Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. REED, 

and Ms. HIRONO) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

OCTOBER 23, 2019 

Reported by Ms. MURKOWSKI, with amendments 

[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic] 

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. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Marine Energy Re3 search and Development Act of 2019’’. 

4 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

5 The purpose of this Act is to support marine energy 

6 programs that— 

7 (1) promote research on, and the development 

8 of, increased energy generation and capacity at re9 duced costs; 

10 (2) promote research and development activities 

11 that improve environmental outcomes of marine en12 ergy technologies; 

13 (3) provide grid stability and create new market 

14 opportunities; and 

15 (4) promote job creation in the energy sector. 

16 SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF MARINE ENERGY. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 632 of the Energy Inde18 pendence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17211) is 

19 amended to read as follows: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 632. DEFINITION OF MARINE ENERGY. 

21 ‘‘In this subtitle, the term ‘marine energy’ means en22 ergy from— 

23 ‘‘(1) waves, tides, and currents in oceans, estu24 aries, and tidal areas; 

25 ‘‘(2) free-flowing hydrokinetic water in rivers, 

26 lakes, and streams; 


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1 ‘‘(3) free-flowing hydrokinetic water in man2 made channels; and 

3 ‘‘(4) differentials in ocean temperature or ocean 

4 thermal energy conversion.’’. 

5 (b) CONFORMING EDITS.— 

6 (1) The subtitle heading for subtitle C of title 

7 VI of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 

8 2007 (Public Law 110–440; 121 Stat. 1686) is 

9 amended by striking ‘‘and Hydrokinetic Re10 newable’’. 

11 (2) Section 631 of the Energy Independence 

12 and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17001 note; 

13 121 Stat. 1686) is amended by striking ‘‘and 

14 Hydrokinetic Renewable’’. 

15 SEC. 4. MARINE ENERGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. 

16 Section 633 of the Energy Independence and Security 

17 Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17212) is amended to read as 

18 follows: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 633. MARINE ENERGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOP20 MENT. 

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 

22 the Director of the Water Power Technologies Office, in 

23 consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, the Sec24 retary of Commerce, and the Federal Energy Regulatory 

25 Commission, shall carry out a program to accelerate the 


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1 introduction of marine energy production into the United 

2 States energy supply, giving priority to technologies most 

3 likely to lead to commercial utilization, while fostering ac4 celerated research, development, demonstration, and com5 mercial application of technology, including programs— 

6 ‘‘(1) to assist technology development on a vari7 ety of scales, including full-scale prototypes, to im8 prove the components, processes, and systems used 

9 for power generation from marine energy resources; 

10 ‘‘(2) to establish and expand critical testing in11 frastructure and facilities necessary— 

12 ‘‘(A) to cost-effectively and efficiently test 

13 and prove marine energy devices; and 

14 ‘‘(B) to accelerate the technological readi15 ness and commercialization of those devices; 

16 ‘‘(3) to support efforts to increase the efficiency 

17 of energy conversion, lower the cost, increase the 

18 use, improve the reliability, and demonstrate the ap19 plicability of marine energy technologies by partici20 pating in demonstration projects; 

21 ‘‘(4) to investigate variability issues and the ef22 ficient and reliable integration of marine energy with 

23 the utility grid; 


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1 ‘‘(5) to identify and study critical short- and 

2 long-term needs to create a sustainable marine en3 ergy supply chain based in the United States; 

4 ‘‘(6) to increase the reliability and survivability 

5 of marine energy technologies; 

6 ‘‘(7) to verify the performance, reliability, main7 tainability, and cost of new marine energy device de8 signs and system components in an operating envi9 ronment; 

10 ‘‘(8) to consider the protection of critical infra11 structure, such as adequate separation between ma12 rine energy devices and projects and submarine tele13 communications cables, including consideration of 

14 established industry standards; 

15 ‘‘(9)(A) to coordinate the programs carried out 

16 under this section with, and avoid duplication of ac17 tivities across, programs of the Department and 

18 other applicable Federal agencies, including National 

19 Laboratories; and 

20 ‘‘(B) to coordinate public-private collaboration 

21 in carrying out the programs under this section; 

22 ‘‘(10) to identify opportunities for joint re23 search and development programs and the develop24 ment of economies of scale between— 

25 ‘‘(A) marine energy technologies; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) other renewable energy and fossil en2 ergy programs, offshore oil and gas production 

3 activities, and activities of the Department of 

4 Defense; 

5 ‘‘(11) to identify, in conjunction with the Sec6 retary of Commerce, acting through the Under Sec7 retary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, 

8 and other relevant Federal agencies as appropriate, 

9 the potential environmental impacts, including po10 tential impacts on fisheries and other marine re11 sources, of marine energy technologies, measures to 

12 prevent adverse impacts, and technologies and other 

13 means available for monitoring and determining en14 vironmental impacts; 

15 ‘‘(12) to identify, in conjunction with the Sec16 retary of the Department in which the United States 

17 Coast Guard is operating, acting through the Com18 mandant of the United States Coast Guard, the po19 tential navigational impacts of marine energy tech20 nologies and measures to prevent adverse impacts on 

21 navigation; and 

22 ‘‘(13) to support in-water technology develop23 ment with international partners using existing co24 operative procedures (including memoranda of un25 derstanding)— 


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1 ‘‘(A) to allow cooperative funding and 

2 other support of value to be exchanged and le3 veraged; and 

4 ‘‘(B) to encourage international research 

5 centers and international companies to partici6 pate in the development of marine energy tech7 nology in the United States and to encourage 

8 United States research centers and companies 

9 to participate in marine energy projects abroad. 

10 abroad; and 

11 ‘‘(14) to assist in the development of technology 

12 necessary to support the use of marine energy— 

13 ‘‘(A) for the generation and storage of power 

14 at sea, including in applications relating to— 

15 ‘‘(i) ocean observation and navigation; 

16 ‘‘(ii) underwater vehicle charging; 

17 ‘‘(iii) marine aquaculture; 

18 ‘‘(iv) production of marine algae; and 

19 ‘‘(v) extraction of critical minerals and 

20 gasses from seawater; 

21 ‘‘(B) for the generation and storage of 

22 power to promote the resilience of coastal com23 munities, including in applications relating to— 

24 ‘‘(i) desalination; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) disaster recovery and resilience; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(iii) community microgrids in iso4 lated power systems; and 

5 ‘‘(C) in any other applications, as deter6 mined by the Secretary. 

7 ‘‘(b) COST SHARING AND MERIT REVIEW.—The Sec8 retary shall carry out the program under this section in 

9 accordance with sections 988 and 989 of the Energy Pol10 icy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16352, 16353).’’. 

11 SEC. 5. NATIONAL MARINE ENERGY CENTERS. 

12 Section 634 of the Energy Independence and Security 

13 Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17213) is amended— 

14 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘RE15 NEWABLE ENERGY RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, 

16 AND DEMONSTRATION’’ and inserting ‘‘ENERGY’’; 

17 (2) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub18 section (d); and 

19 (3) by striking subsections (a) and (b) and in20 serting the following: 

21 ‘‘(a) CENTERS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 

23 grants to institutions of higher education for— 

24 ‘‘(A) the continuation and expansion of re25 search, development, and testing activities at 


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1 National Marine Energy Centers established as 

2 of January 1, 2019; and 

3 ‘‘(B) the establishment of new National 

4 Marine Energy Centers. 

5 ‘‘(2) CRITERIA.—In selecting locations for new 

6 National Marine Energy Centers to be established 

7 under paragraph (1)(B), the Secretary shall consider 

8 sites that meet one of the following criteria: 

9 ‘‘(A) The new Center hosts an existing ma10 rine energy research and development program 

11 in coordination with an engineering program at 

12 an institution of higher education. 

13 ‘‘(B) The new Center has proven expertise 

14 to support environmental and policy-related 

15 issues associated with the harnessing of energy 

16 in the marine environment. 

17 ‘‘(C) The new Center has access to and 

18 uses marine resources. 

19 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The National Marine Energy Cen20 ters shall coordinate with other National Marine Energy 

21 Centers, the Department, and the National Labora22 tories— 

23 ‘‘(1) to advance research, development, and 

24 demonstration of marine energy technologies; 


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1 ‘‘(2) to support in-water testing and demonstra2 tion of marine energy technologies, including facili3 ties capable of testing— 

4 ‘‘(A) marine energy systems of various 

5 technology readiness levels and scales; 

6 ‘‘(B) a variety of technologies in multiple 

7 test berths at a single location; and 

8 ‘‘(C) arrays of technology devices; and 

9 ‘‘(3) to serve as information clearinghouses for 

10 the marine energy industry by collecting and dis11 seminating information on best practices in all areas 

12 relating to developing and managing marine energy 

13 resources and energy systems. 

14 ‘‘(c) COST SHARING.—The Secretary shall carry out 

15 the program under this section in accordance with section 

16 988(b)(4) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 

17 16352(b)(4)).’’. 

18 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

19 Section 636 of the Energy Independence and Security 

20 Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17215) is amended by striking 

21 ‘‘$50,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 

22 2012’’ and inserting ‘‘$150,000,000 $160,000,000 for each 

23 of fiscal years 2020 and 2021’’. 


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1 SEC. 7. STUDY OF ENERGY INNOVATION IN MARINE TRANS2 PORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE RESIL3 IENCE. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy, in con5 sultation with the Secretary of Transportation and the Sec6 retary of Commerce, shall conduct a study to examine op7 portunities for research and development in advanced ma8 rine energy technologies— 

9 (1) to support the maritime transportation sector 

10 to enhance job creation, economic development, and 

11 competitiveness; 

12 (2) to support associated maritime energy infra13 structure, including infrastructure that serves ports, 

14 to improve system resilience and disaster recovery; 

15 and 

16 (3) to enable scientific missions at sea and in ex17 treme environments, including the Arctic. 

18 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date of 

19 enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy shall submit 

20 to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 

21 Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech22 nology of the House of Representatives a report that de23 scribes the results of the study conducted under subsection 

24 (a). 


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Calendar No. 261 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1821 

[Report No. 116–141] 

A BILL 

To amend the Energy Independence and Security 

and for other purposes. development and deployment of, marine energy, Act of 2007 to provide for research on, and the 

OCTOBER 23, 2019 

Reported with amendments 


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