Detailed Summary

Marine Renewable Energy Promotion Act of 2009 - Requires the Department of Energy (DOE) to establish a program of marine renewable energy research, separated from the Wind and Hydropower program, focused on: (1) developing new marine renewable energy technologies; (2) reducing the manufacturing and operation costs of such technologies; (3) increasing the reliability and survivability of marine renewable energy facilities; (4) integrating marine renewable energy into the national electric grid; (5) identifying opportunities for cross pollination and development of economies of scale between offshore wind and marine renewable energy sources; (6) identifying the environmental impacts of marine renewable energy and ways to address negative impacts; (7) applying advanced systems engineering and system integration methods to identify critical interfaces and develop open standards for marine renewable energy; (8) transferring the resulting intellectual property to industry stakeholders as public information through published interface definitions, standards, and demonstration projects; and (9) developing incentives for industry to comply with such standards.<br>

Requires DOE to establish a Marine-based Energy Device Verification Program to provide a bridge from the wave, tidal, or current energy capture device design and development efforts underway across the industry to commercial deployment of marine renewable energy devices. Requires the Program to fund, facilitate the development and installation of, and evaluate marine renewable energy projects, in partnership with the Electric Power Research Institute, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Marine Sciences Laboratory, and the Sandia National Laboratories in order to: (1) increase marine renewable energy experience; and (2) build and operate enough candidate devices to obtain statistically significant operating and maintenance data.

Requires DOE to establish an Adaptive Management and Environmental Fund to provide grants for complying with requirements to assess and demonstrate the environmental effects of marine renewable energy projects.

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to include as &quot;five-year property&quot; for purposes of accelerated depreciation provisions equipment that converts marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy into useable electricity.

Status of the Legislation

Latest Major Action: 5/5/2009: Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Environment.

Points in Favor

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Points Against

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