NHA Supports Senate Bill to Accelerate Marine Energy Research and Development

NHA Supports Senate Bill to Accelerate Marine Energy Research and Development

Legislation supports critical research for wave, currents, tidal technologies

Washington, D.C. (May 4, 2017) – The National Hydropower Association (NHA) today applauded U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Angus King, I-Maine, Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, and Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, for introducing legislation to support research programs that foster the development of marine energy technologies, including waves, tidal and currents. The Marine Energy Act reauthorizes the U.S. Department of Energy’s marine renewable energy programs through 2022. The bill also includes funding authorization for the national marine renewable energy research centers, which are located in Florida, Hawaii and the Pacific Northwest. Additionally, the bill directs DOE to research ways of building a stable marine energy supply chain in the U.S., as well as ways of harmonizing marine energy development with ocean navigation, fisheries, and critical infrastructure.

“Marine energy, the nation’s next-generation renewable, is on the cusp of powering millions of homes,” said Linda Church Ciocci, NHA Executive Director. “Research and development, however, is critical to accelerating marine energy to full commercialization. The clean energy promise of wave, tidal and currents technology is real, and NHA applauds the leadership of Sens. Wyden, King, Merkley, Schatz and Hirono. According to estimates from the Department of Energy, there is enough potential energy in this next-generation form of hydropower to one day power two hundred million homes.