Thanks to the vision of Congressman Jay Inslee (D-WA) and the hardwork of lots of stakeholders, a bill has been proposed that would provide funding for marine renewable research and provide low interest loans to finance demonstration projects and study environmental effects. What’s unique about the Inslee legislation is that it acknowleges uncertainty about marine renewable’s environmental effects, but puts in place a mechanism to study those effects and share the results with the public. The Inslee Bill, H.R. 2036 can be viewed here.
This article from Renewable Energy Access (4/25/07) has additional details. OREC is now hard at work on the Senate side, to find sponsors for a Senate version of the Inslee bill. State tuned for updates.