42 U.S.C. § 17213 — Hydropower research, development, and

Page 9004 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 17213 (4) To promote the development of water power technologies to improve economic growth and enhance cross-institutional foundational workforce development in the water power sector, including in coastal com- munities. (Pub. L. 110–140, title VI, § 633, as added Pub. L. 116–260, div. Z, title III, § 3001(a), Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 2480.) Editorial Notes PRIOR PROVISIONS A prior section 17212, Pub. L. 110–140, title VI, § 633, Dec. 19, 2007, 121 Stat. 1686, related to marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy research and develop- ment, prior to the general amendment of this part by Pub. L. 116–260. § 17213. Hydropower research, development, and demonstration The Secretary shall conduct a program of re- search, development, demonstration, and com- mercial application for technologies that im- prove the capacity, efficiency, resilience, secu- rity, reliability, affordability, and environ- mental impact, including potential cumulative environmental impacts, of hydropower systems. In carrying out such program, the Secretary shall prioritize activities designed to— (1) develop technology for— (A) non-powered dams, including aging and potentially hazardous dams; (B) pumped storage; (C) constructed waterways; (D) new stream-reach development; (E) modular and small dams; (F) increased operational flexibility; and (G) enhancement of relevant existing fa- cilities; (2) develop new strategies and technologies, including analytical methods, physical and numerical tools, and advanced computing, as well as methods to validate such methods and tools, in order to— (A) extend the operational lifetime of hy- dropower systems and their physical struc- tures, while improving environmental im- pact, including potential cumulative envi- ronmental impacts; (B) assist in device and system design, in- stallation, operation, and maintenance; and (C) reduce costs, limit outages, and in- crease unit and plant efficiencies, including by examining the impact of changing water and electricity demand on hydropower gen- eration, flexibility, and provision of grid services; (3) study, in conjunction with other relevant Federal agencies as appropriate, methods to improve the hydropower licensing process, in- cluding by compiling current and accepted best practices, public comments, and meth- odologies to assess the full range of potential environmental and economic impacts; (4) identify opportunities for joint research, development, and demonstration programs be- tween hydropower systems, which may in- clude— (A) pumped storage systems and other re- newable energy systems; (B) small hydro facilities and other energy storage systems; (C) other hybrid energy systems; (D) small hydro facilities and critical in- frastructure, including water infrastructure; and (E) hydro facilities and responsive load technologies, which may include smart buildings and city systems; (5) improve the reliability of hydropower technologies, including during extreme weath- er events; (6) develop methods and technologies to im- prove environmental impact, including poten- tial cumulative environmental impacts, of hy- dropower and pumped storage technologies, in- cluding potential impacts on wildlife, such as— (A) fisheries; (B) aquatic life and resources; (C) navigation of waterways; and (D) upstream and downstream environ- mental conditions, including sediment movement, water quality, and flow volumes; (7) identify ways to increase power genera- tion by— (A) diversifying plant configuration op- tions; (B) improving pump-back efficiencies; (C) investigating multi-phase systems; (D) developing, testing, and monitoring ad- vanced generators with faster cycling times, variable speeds, and improved efficiencies; (E) developing, testing, and monitoring ad- vanced turbines capable of improving envi- ronmental impact, including potential cu- mulative environmental impacts, including small turbine designs; (F) developing standardized powertrain components; (G) developing components with advanced materials and manufacturing processes, in- cluding additive manufacturing; and (H) developing analytical tools that enable hydropower to provide grid services that, amongst other services, improve grid inte- gration of other energy sources; (8) advance new pumped storage tech- nologies, including— (A) systems with adjustable speed and other new pumping and generating equip- ment designs; (B) modular systems; (C) alternative closed-loop systems, in- cluding mines and quarries; and (D) other innovative equipment and mate- rials as determined by the Secretary; (9) reduce civil works costs and construction times for hydropower and pumped storage sys- tems, including comprehensive data and sys- tems analysis of hydropower and pumped stor- age construction technologies and processes in order to identify areas for whole-system effi- ciency gains; (10) advance efficient and reliable integra- tion of hydropower and pumped storage sys- tems with the electric grid by— (A) improving methods for operational forecasting of renewable energy systems to Page 9005 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 17214 1 So in original. identify opportunities for hydropower appli- cations in pumped storage and hybrid energy systems, including forecasting of seasonal and annual energy storage; (B) considering aggregating small distrib- uted hydropower assets; and (C) identifying barriers to grid scale imple- mentation of hydropower and pumped stor- age technologies; (11) improve computational fluid dynamic modeling methods; (12) improve flow measurement methods, in- cluding maintenance of continuous flow meas- urement equipment; (13) identify best methods for compiling data on all hydropower resources and assets, in- cluding identifying potential for increased ca- pacity; and (14) identify mechanisms to test and validate performance of hydropower and pumped stor- age technologies. (Pub. L. 110–140, title VI, § 634, as added Pub. L. 116–260, div. Z, title III, § 3001(a), Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 2480.) Editorial Notes PRIOR PROVISIONS A prior section 17213, Pub. L. 110–140, title VI, § 634, Dec. 19, 2007, 121 Stat. 1687, related to National Marine Renewable Energy Research, Development, and Dem- onstration Centers, prior to the general amendment of this part by Pub. L. 116–260. § 17214. Marine energy research, development, and demonstration (a) In general The Secretary, in consultation with the Sec- retary of Defense, Secretary of Commerce (act- ing through the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere) and other relevant Federal agencies, shall conduct a program of re- search, development, demonstration, and com- mercial application of marine energy tech- nology, including activities to— (1) assist technology development to im- prove the components, processes, and systems used for power generation from marine energy resources at a variety of scales; (2) establish and expand critical testing in- frastructure and facilities necessary to— (A) demonstrate and prove marine energy devices at a range of scales in a manner that is cost-effective and efficient; and (B) accelerate the technological readiness and commercial application of such devices; (3) address marine energy resource varia- bility issues, including through the applica- tion of energy storage technologies; (4) advance efficient and reliable integration of marine energy with the electric grid, which may include smart building systems; (5) identify and study critical short-term and long-term needs to maintaining a sustain- able marine energy supply chain based in the United States; (6) increase the reliability, security, and re- silience of marine energy technologies; (7) validate the performance, reliability, maintainability, and cost of marine energy de- vice designs and system components in an op- erating environment; (8) consider the protection of critical infra- structure, such as adequate separation be- tween marine energy devices and submarine telecommunications cables, including through the development of voluntary, consensus- based standards for such purposes; (9) identify opportunities for crosscutting re- search, development, and demonstration pro- grams between existing energy research pro- grams; (10) identify and improve, in conjunction with the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, and other relevant Federal agencies as appropriate, the environ- mental impact, including potential cumu- lative environmental impacts, of marine en- ergy technologies, including— (A) potential impacts on fisheries and other marine resources; and (B) developing technologies, including mechanisms for self-evaluation, and other means available for improving environ- mental impact, including potential cumu- lative environmental impacts; (11) identify, in consultation with relevant Federal agencies, potential navigational im- pacts of marine energy technologies and strat- egies to prevent possible adverse impacts, in addition to opportunities for marine energy systems to aid the United States Coast Guard, such as remote sensing for coastal border se- curity; (12) develop numerical and physical tools, in- cluding models and monitoring technologies, to assist industry in device and system design, installation, operation, and maintenance, in- cluding methods to validate such tools; (13) support materials science as it relates to marine energy technology, such as the devel- opment of corrosive-resistant materials; (14) improve marine energy resource fore- casting and general understanding of aquatic system behavior, including turbulence and ex- treme conditions; (15) develop metrics and voluntary, con- sensus-based standards, in coordination with the National Institute of Standards and Tech- nology and appropriate standard development organizations, for marine energy components, systems, and projects, including— (A) measuring performance of marine en- ergy technologies; and (B) characterizing environmental condi- tions; (16) enhance integration with hybrid energy systems, including desalination; (17) identify opportunities to integrate ma- rine energy technologies into new and existing infrastructure; and (18) to 1 develop technology necessary to sup- port the use of marine energy— (A) for the generation and storage of power at sea; and (B) for the generation and storage of power to promote the resilience of coastal commu-