119-hr5692

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5692 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 5692

To accelerate the competitiveness of the United States in marine energy 
 technologies, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 October 6, 2025

 Ms. Barragan (for herself, Ms. Bonamici, and Ms. Pingree) 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 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 competitiveness of the United States in 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 Acceleration Fund.--

    (1) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a fund, 
 to be known as the ``Marine Energy 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 
 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 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 and offshore 
 marine structures, or projects with all necessary 
 local, State, and Federal licenses or permits in place;
        (B) open water prototype testing;
            (C) projects that support energy resilience and 
 economic opportunities for rural communities, remote 
 areas, Tribal communities, and low-income communities; 
 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 industry, the National Marine 
 Energy Centers, non-profits, 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 demonstration.

    (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 to improve 
 efficiency, reduce costs, reduce environmental impacts, 
 increase power production, and improve reliability at a 
 variety of technology readiness levels that promote 
 domestic manufacturing, a domestic supply chain, and 
 energy independence;
        (B) 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 marine energy 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 economic 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, with input from interested parties, 
 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 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 
 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 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 the prospective marine energy workforce and 
 hiring needs and 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 
 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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