S 3684

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IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

January 15, 2026

Ms. Murkowski (for herself and Mr. Wyden) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

To amend the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to reauthorize water power research, development, demonstration, and commercial application activities, 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 “Water Power Research and Development Reauthorization Act”.

SEC. 2. WATER POWER RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.

(a) Definitions.—Section 632 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17211) is amended by redesignating paragraphs (4), (5), and (6) as paragraphs (5), (6), and (4), respectively, and moving the paragraphs so as to appear in numerical order.

(b) Water Power Technology Research, Development, and Demonstration.—Section 633 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17212) is amended—

(1) in paragraph (1), by striking “capacity and reduce the cost” inserting “capacity or efficiency, and reduce the cost,”; and

(2) by adding at the end the following:

“(5) To advance scalable United States-based manufacturing of composite and additive manufactured marine energy components through collaborations with regional institutions of higher education and industry, including advanced composite and additive manufacturing facilities.”.

(c) Hydropower Research, Development, and Demonstration.—Section 634 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17213) is amended—

(1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), in the first sentence, by inserting “generation,” after “efficiency,”;

(2) in paragraph (2), in the matter preceding subparagraph

(A), by inserting “, cybersecurity,” after “physical”;

(3) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the following:

“(3) study, in conjunction with other relevant Federal agencies, State agencies, Tribal entities (including Alaska Native Corporations), and local agencies, as appropriate, methods to streamline and improve the hydropower licensing process, including by compiling current environmental data and studies, accepted best practices, public comments, and methodologies to assess the full range of potential environmental and economic impacts;”;

(4) in paragraph (6)—

(A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking “develop methods and technologies to improve environmental impact” and inserting “develop and support studies, methods, and technologies to assess and improve environmental impacts”; and

(B) in subparagraph (D), by inserting “hydrology,” after “water quality,”;

(5) in paragraph (7)(G), by inserting “for hydropower and pumped storage applications” after “components”;

(6) in paragraph (9), by inserting “and project management and delivery strategies” after “systems analysis”;

(7) in paragraph (10)—

(A) in subparagraph (B), by striking “and” at the end;

(B) in subparagraph (C), by inserting “and” after the semicolon; and

(C) by adding at the end the following:

“(D) improving methods for incorporating hydropower and pumped storage in grid modeling systems;”;

(8) in paragraph (13), by striking “and” at the end; and

(9) by striking paragraph (14) and inserting the following:

“(14) identify mechanisms and systems to test, validate, and improve performance and reliability of hydropower and pumped storage technologies;

“(15) conduct research on, and develop methods for, mitigating the impacts of invasive species on hydropower equipment; and

“(16) support workforce development programs (including Tribal workforce development programs), training, student-led research, and education and outreach activities to foster growth of the next generation of hydropower professionals and researchers.”.

(d) Marine Energy Research, Development, and Demonstration.— Section 635(a) of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17214(a)) is amended—

(1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by inserting a comma before “and other relevant”;

(2) in paragraph (2), in the matter preceding subparagraph

(A), by striking “infrastructure and facilities” and inserting “infrastructure, facilities, and equipment”;

(3) in paragraph (4), by striking “, which may include smart building systems” and inserting “and microgrids, which may include smart energy management systems”;

(4) in paragraph (5), by striking “maintaining a sustainable” and inserting “establish and support manufacturing and an industrial”;

(5) in paragraph (9), by inserting “, which may include production of hydrogen and other transportation fuels” before the semicolon;

(6) in paragraph (11), by inserting before the semicolon the following: “and cooperative defense research and development through demonstration projects with the Department of Defense and the Navy for resilient coastal power and surveillance systems”;

(7) in paragraph (13), by inserting “utilization of advanced manufacturing processes, including the” after “such as the”;

(8) in paragraph (17), by striking “; and” and inserting “, including data centers, subsea or offshore power, microgrids, sensors, and communications systems;”;

(9) in paragraph (18)—

(A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking “to develop” and inserting “develop”; and

(B) by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting the following:

“(B) for the generation and storage of power to promote the resilience of coastal and riverside communities (including high-energy tidal environments) and critical infrastructure (as defined in subsection

(e) of the Critical Infrastructures Protection Act of 2001 (42 U.S.C. 5195c(e))), including in applications relating to—

“(i) desalination;

“(ii) disaster recovery and resilience;

“(iii) end-user and grid resilience;

“(iv) aquaculture;

“(v) marine carbon dioxide removal;

“(vi) community microgrids and isolated power systems; and

“(vii) resilience and microgrid demonstration sites integrating marine energy and working waterfront economies; and”; and

(10) by adding at the end the following:

“(19) develop, validate, and deploy marine energy systems designed for extreme tidal, temperature, and icing conditions typical of arctic marine environments.”.

(e) National Marine Energy Centers.—Section 636 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17215) is amended—

(1) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the following:

“(4) Whether the institution has access to regional test sites demonstrating unique natural advantages, such as high tidal ranges, strong currents, and cold-water operating conditions”; and

(2) in subsection (c)—

(A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking “and National Laboratories” and inserting “National Laboratories, and other relevant Federal agencies”;

(B) in paragraph (2)(D), by striking “and” at the end;

(C) in paragraph (3), by striking the period and inserting “; and”; and

(D) by adding at the end the following:

“(4) support workforce development, training, student-led research programs, and development and dissemination of curriculum, education, and outreach activities to foster growth of the next generation of marine energy professionals and researchers.”.

(f) Organization and Administration of Programs.—Section 637 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17216) is amended—

(1) in subsection (b)—

(A) in paragraph (1)—

(i) by striking “Minority Serving Institutions” and inserting “minority-serving institutions and Tribal Colleges and Universities”; and

(ii) by inserting “other domestic and” before “international bodies”;

(B) in paragraph (2), by striking “Minority Serving Institutions” and inserting “minority-serving institutions and Tribal Colleges and Universities”;

(C) in paragraph (3), by striking “(including the United States Agency for International Development)” and inserting “, including the Department of State and the International Trade Administration of the Department of Commerce,”; and

(D) by adding at the end the following:

“(4) Interagency collaboration.—In carrying out this subtitle, the Secretary shall seek to coordinate with the Secretary of Commerce to leverage the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration and National Sea Grant Program to use existing ocean networks and coastal innovation initiatives.”;

(2) by striking subsection (d) and inserting the following:

“(d) Award Frequency.—Not less frequently than once per fiscal year, the Secretary shall—

“(1) solicit applications for awards under this subtitle; and

“(2) to the extent funding is available, make awards under this subtitle.”;

(3) in subsection (f), by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following:

“(2) workforce development and training activities to support education, recruitment, and the dissemination of standards and best practices for enabling water power production, including—

“(A) hydropower and marine energy collegiate competitions, graduate student research program and fellowships relating to marine energy, and other workforce programs; and

“(B) collaborations with foundations, nonprofit organizations, and educational institutions (including Tribal Colleges and Universities and Alaska Native- serving institutions) regarding workforce issues.”;

(4) in subsection (g)(1), by striking “an annual” and inserting “a biennial”; and

(5) by striking subsection (h) and inserting the following:

“(h) Briefing to Congress.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Water Power Research and Development Reauthorization Act, and at least once every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary shall provide to the relevant authorizing and appropriations committees of Congress a briefing on, and make available to the public, the findings of research conducted and activities carried out pursuant to this subtitle, including—

“(1) the most current strategic plan drafted under subsection (g); and

“(2) a description of the progress made in implementing the plan referred to in paragraph (1).”.

(g) Authorization of Appropriations.—Section 639 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17218) is amended by striking “$186,600,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025, including $137,428,378 for marine energy and $49,171,622 for hydropower research, development, and demonstration activities” and inserting “$300,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030, including $200,000,000 for marine energy and $100,000,000 for hydropower research, development, and demonstration activities”. <all>