Sponsors
Last progress June 4, 2025 (8 months ago)
Introduced on June 4, 2025 by Paul Tonko
Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, and Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Creates a federal push to expand offshore renewable energy by funding U.S. shipyards and vessel production, speeding permitting and environmental review, setting national offshore wind capacity goals, creating an Offshore Renewable Energy Compensation Fund, and standing up a new Offshore Power Administration to plan and finance offshore transmission. It also requires Tribal consultation, protections for fishing and cultural uses, prevailing local wages on grant-funded construction, and authorizes tens of millions for capacity building and mapping studies. The bill makes multiple changes to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to modernize leasing, environmental protections, revenue sharing for conservation and compensation, and planning for offshore transmission. It includes specific funding authorizations (for example, $100 million for shipyard grants, $95 million in FY2026 for permitting capacity, $10 billion Treasury loan limit for the new Administration) and several deadlines for establishing new programs and reports.
The Secretary of Energy must establish a program (called the offshore wind shipyard grant program) to support refurbishment, retooling, expansion, modernization, and establishment of shipyards and other manufacturing facilities by providing grants for the fabrication, repair, and conversion of vessels needed for pre-construction assessment, construction, operation, and maintenance of offshore wind energy projects.
Under the grant program, the Secretary of Energy may provide grants to shipyard owners and operators, fabricators of the described vessels, and relevant component suppliers.
The Secretary of Energy must ensure that all laborers and mechanics employed by contractors or subcontractors during construction, alteration, or repair supported (in whole or in part) by these grants are paid wages no less than the prevailing wages for similar work in the locality, as determined by the Secretary of Labor under subchapter IV of title 40, United States Code; the Secretary of Labor retains the authorities described in Reorganization Plan Number 14 of 1950 and section 3145 of title 40.
Cost-share rules in Section 988(c) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16352(c)) apply to grants under this section as if the grants were demonstration or commercial application activities described in section 988(a) of that Act.
There is an authorization of appropriations of $100,000,000 to the Secretary of Energy to carry out this section; these funds shall remain available until expended.
Who is affected and how:
Potential trade-offs and risks:
Overall, the legislation accelerates federal support and coordination for offshore renewable deployment, domestic vessel capacity, and transmission buildout while seeking to protect fishing and Tribal uses and provide compensation mechanisms for harms. The primary beneficiaries are renewable energy developers, U.S. shipyards, coastal and Tribal communities, and the grid planning enterprise, while leaseholders and federal agencies will face new obligations and administrative burdens.