I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5375 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow the energy credit 
for certain ocean thermal energy equipment. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 10, 2019 
Ms. GABBARD (for herself and Mr. CASE) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow the 
energy credit for certain ocean thermal energy equipment. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘E. 
Cooper Brown Ocean Clean Energy Act of 2019’’. 
(b) FINDINGS RELATED TO OCEAN THERMAL EN-
ERGY CONVERSION.—Congress finds the following with re-
spect to ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC): 
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(1) OTEC is a clean energy technology that 
produces energy by using temperature differentials 
between cooler deep and warm surface seawaters. 
(2) OTEC technology has the potential to 
produce massive levels of clean energy to generate 
electricity. 
(3) Deployment of OTEC technology will reduce 
greenhouse gases and reliance on fossil fuels. 
(4) In tropical and subtropical remote locations, 
electricity is expensive to generate. Power generated 
from OTEC technology will be inexpensive when 
compared to the unit cost of power from a tradi-
tional oil based electrical generation system. 
(5) OTEC generated energy would reduce oper-
ational costs for remote military bases such as Kwaj-
alein and Diego Garcia;. 
(6) The United States became involved in 
OTEC research in 1974 with the establishment of 
the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority. 
The laboratory is one of the world’s leading test fa-
cilities for OTEC technology. The United States 
Navy supported the development of a 105 kW dem-
onstration OTEC plant at the laboratory site. This 
facility became operational in 2015 and supplies 
electricity to the local electricity grid. 
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(7) In certain regions, onshore OTEC plants 
are also feasible and they can be configured to sup-
port seawater or lake water air conditioning (SWAC/ 
LWAC) systems for refrigeration and cooling, agri-
culture, and desalination systems for water purifi-
cation. 
(8) Economic benefits of OTEC include reduced 
fuel imports, stable utilities pricing, reduced capital 
expense to power companies and governments, and 
significant energy costs savings. 
(9) Social benefits of OTEC include and an 
ability to produce freshwater and promotion of aqua-
culture. 
(c) FINDINGS RELATED TO SEAWATER AIR CONDI-
TIONING.—Congress finds the following with respect to 
seawater air conditioning (SWAC): 
(1) SWAC is an alternate-energy system that 
uses the cold water from the deep ocean (and in 
some cases a deep lake) to cool buildings. 
(2) SWAC was developed as a secondary benefit 
in the development of ocean thermal energy conver-
sion (OTEC) and can be used in conjunction with an 
OTEC system or as a standalone alternate energy 
system. 
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(3) The basic process involves water that is 
pumped from a deep cold-water source (ocean or 
lake) and then passed through a heat exchanger. A 
closed-loop freshwater water distribution system is 
pumped through a heat exchanger cooling the water 
and the cooled water is distributed throughout a 
building or group of buildings (i.e., a district cooling 
system). 
(4) The SWAC technology has been proven suc-
cessful with large systems at Cornell University, To-
ronto, Canada, and the Natural Energy Authority of 
Hawaii (NELHA). 
(5) Environmental benefits of SWAC include 
being a clean, renewable source of energy, decreased 
reliance on fossil fuels for cooling, and reduction in 
greenhouse gas emissions. 
(6) Economic benefits of SWAC include stable 
long-term energy costs and independence from mar-
ket trends, reduced operating costs (including lower 
costs in fuel, freshwater, equipment, and equipment 
maintenance), and being a cost-effective and attrac-
tive energy technology investment. 
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SEC. 2. ENERGY CREDIT FOR CERTAIN OCEAN THERMAL 
ENERGY PROPERTY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 48(a)(3)(A) of the Inter-
nal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘or’’ 
at the end of clause (vi), by adding ‘‘or’’ at the end of 
clause (vii), and by adding at the end the following new 
clause: 
‘‘(viii) 
equipment 
which 
converts 
ocean thermal energy to usable energy or 
which uses ocean water as a thermal en-
ergy sink to cool a structure,’’. 
(b) 15-PERCENT CREDIT.—Section 48(a)(2)(A) of 
such Code is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause 
(i)(IV); 
(2) by redesignating clause (ii) as clause (iii); 
(3) by striking ‘‘any energy property to which 
clause (i) does not apply’’ in clause (iii) (as so redes-
ignated) and inserting ‘‘any other energy property’’; 
and 
(4) by inserting after clause (i) the following 
new clause: 
‘‘(ii) 15 percent in the case of any en-
ergy property described in paragraph 
(3)(A)(viii), and’’. 
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(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to periods after December 31, 
2019, under rules similar to the rules of section 48(m) 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as in effect on the 
day before the date of the enactment of the Revenue Rec-
onciliation Act of 1990). 
Æ 
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