,i  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #ecge  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,december #aj1       
#bjai,ms4 ,gabbard 7for herself and ,mr4
 ,case7 introduced the following bill2  
which was referred to the ,committee on 
,ways and ,means  ,a ,,bill  ,to amend  
the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf to
 allow the energy credit for certain    
ocean thermal energy equipment4  #a4    
,short title2 findings  7a7 ,short title
 ,this ,act may be cited as the ,e4     
,cooper ,brown ,ocean ,clean ,energy    
,act of #bjai4  7b7 ,findings related to
 ,ocean ,thermal ,energy ,conversion    
,congress finds the following with      
respect to ocean thermal energy         
conversion 7,,otec73  7#a7 ,,otec is a  
clean energy technology that produces   
energy by using temperature             
differentials between cooler deep and   
warm surface seawaters4  7#b7 ,,otec    
technology has the potential to produce 
massive levels of clean energy to       
generate electricity4  7#c7 ,deployment 

of ,,otec technology will reduce        
greenhouse gases and reliance on fossil 
fuels4  7#d7 ,in tropical and           
subtropical remote locations1           
electricity is expensive to generate4   
,power generated from ,,otec technology 
will be inexpensive when compared to the
 unit cost of power from a traditional  
oil based electrical generation system4 
7#e7 ,,otec generated energy would      
reduce operational costs for remote     
military bases such as ,kwajalein and   
,diego ,garcia24  7#f7 ,the ,united     
,states became involved in ,,otec       
research in #aigd with the establishment
 of the ,natural ,energy ,laboratory of 
,hawaii ,authority4 ,the laboratory is  
one of the world's leading test         
facilities for ,,otec technology4 ,the  
,united ,states ,navy supported the     
development of a #aje k,w demonstration 
,,otec plant at the laboratory site4    
,this facility became operational in    
#bjae and supplies electricity to the   
local electricity grid4  7#g7 ,in       

certain regions1 onshore ,,otec plants  
are also feasible and they can be       
configured to support seawater or lake  
water air conditioning 7,,swac_/,,lwac7 
systems for refrigeration and cooling1  
agriculture1 and desalination systems   
for water purification4  7#h7 ,economic 
benefits of ,,otec include reduced fuel 
imports1 stable utilities pricing1      
reduced capital expense to power        
companies and governments1 and          
significant energy costs savings4  7#i7 
,social benefits of ,,otec include and  
an ability to produce freshwater and    
promotion of aquaculture4  7c7 ,findings
 related to seawater air conditioning   
,congress finds the following with      
respect to seawater air conditioning    
7,,swac73  7#a7 ,,swac is an            
alternate-energy system that uses the   
cold water from the deep ocean 7and in  
some cases a deep lake7 to cool         
buildings4  7#b7 ,,swac was developed as
 a secondary benefit in the development 
of ocean thermal energy conversion      

7,,otec7 and can be used in conjunction 
with an ,,otec system or as a standalone
 alternate energy system4  7#c7 ,the    
basic process involves water that is    
pumped from a deep cold-water source    
7ocean or lake7 and then passed through 
a heat exchanger4 ,a closed-loop        
freshwater water distribution system is 
pumped through a heat exchanger cooling 
the water and the cooled water is       
distributed throughout a building or    
group of buildings 7i4e41 a district    
cooling system74  7#d7 ,the ,,swac      
technology has been proven successful   
with large systems at ,cornell          
,university1 ,toronto1 ,canada1 and the 
,natural ,energy ,authority of ,hawaii  
7,,nelha74  7#e7 ,environmental benefits
 of ,,swac include being a clean1       
renewable source of energy1 decreased   
reliance on fossil fuels for cooling1   
and reduction in greenhouse gas         
emissions4  7#f7 ,economic benefits of  
,,swac include stable long-term energy  
costs and independence from market      

trends1 reduced operating costs         
7including lower costs in fuel1         
freshwater1 equipment1 and equipment    
maintenance71 and being a cost-effective
 and attractive energy technology       
investment4  #b4 ,energy credit for     
certain ocean thermal energy property   
7a7 ,in general ,section                
#dh7;a77#c77;,a7 of the ,internal       
,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended by   
striking or at the end of clause 7vi71  
by adding or at the end of clause 7vii71
 and by adding at the end the following 
new clause3  7viii7 equipment which     
converts ocean thermal energy to usable 
energy or which uses ocean water as a   
thermal energy sink to cool a structure1
  4  7b7 #ae-,percent credit ,section   
#dh7;a77#b77;,a7 of such ,code is       
amended-- 7#a7 by striking and at the   
end of clause 7i77,,iv72  7#b7 by       
redesignating clause 7ii7 as clause     
7iii72  7#c7 by striking any energy     
property to which clause 7i7 does not   
apply in clause 7iii7 7as so            

redesignated7 and inserting any other   
energy property2 and  7#d7 by inserting 
after clause 7i7 the following new      
clause3  7ii7 #ae percent in the case of
 any energy property described in       
paragraph 7#c77;,a77viii71 and  4  7c7  
,effective date ,the amendments made by 
this section shall apply to periods     
after ,december #ca1 #bjai1 under rules 
similar to the rules of section #dh7m7  
of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf
 7as in effect on the day before the    
date of the enactment of the ,revenue   
,reconciliation ,act of #aiij74