Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2019

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Chair, I rise today to offer a bipartisan amendment to increase investments in research and development that support marine energy, hydropower, and pump storage.

I first want to thank Chairman Simpson and Ranking Member Kaptur for their leadership in supporting the Water Power Technologies Office. Robust funding for the Department of Energy's Water Power Technologies Office will support investments in innovative hydropower, marine, and hydrokinetic energy technologies.

This bipartisan amendment would increase funding for the Office of Energy and Efficiency and Renewable Energy by $10 million for water power and decrease funding for departmental administrative spending to result in no additional cost.

Harnessing energy from waves, currents, and tides is an exciting frontier in the renewable energy sector. Oregon State University, the University of Washington, and the University of Alaska Fairbanks are partnering to support marine renewable energy research and development at the Pacific Marine Energy Center.

The center relies on Federal investments from the Department of Energy to establish the Nation's fully energetic on-grid wave energy test facility off the Oregon coast. This facility will be able to test wave energy converters that capture the energy of ocean waves, current, tides, and in-river resources and turn it into electricity.

Hydropower has tremendous potential to become the major source of electricity for the United States and the world, but other countries are ahead of us here. We must continue to develop clean and sustainable energy sources, and that means supporting new solutions like marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy.

We should be doing more to harness the power of water to meet our Nation's clean energy needs, create good-paying jobs, and spur economic growth in our communities.

Mr. Chair, I again thank the chairman and ranking member for their work on this issue and also Representatives Perry and Pingree for their bipartisan leadership on water power.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Chair, I appreciate that offer of the gentleman to work together on this important issue with a lot of promise for additional renewable energy jobs and sources.

So, Mr. Chairman, we do need to be making stronger investments in clean and sustainable energy sources like water power. With that offer to work together, I will withdraw this amendment but do hope that we will work together going forward to increase funding for this very important program.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I withdraw my amendment.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source