No person may engage in the ownership, construction, or operation of an ocean thermal energy conversion facility which is documented under the laws of the United States, which is located in whole or in part between the highwater mark and the seaward boundary of the territorial sea of the United States, or which is connected to the United States by pipeline or cable, except in accordance with a license issued pursuant to this chapter. No citizen of the United States may engage in the ownership, construction or operation of an ocean thermal energy conversion plantship except in accordance with a license issued pursuant to this chapter, or in accordance with a license issued by a foreign nation whose licenses are found by the Administrator, after consultation with the Secretary of State, to be compatible with licenses issued pursuant to this chapter.
Upon application, a license issued under this chapter may be transferred if the Administrator determines that such transfer is in the public interest and that the transferee meets the requirements of this chapter and the prerequisites to issuance under subsection (c) of this section.
Any United States citizen who otherwise qualifies under the terms of this chapter shall be eligible to be issued a license for the ownership, construction, and operation of an ocean thermal energy conversion facility or plantship.
Licenses issued under this chapter shall be for a term of not to exceed 25 years. Each licensee shall have a preferential right to renew his license subject to the requirements of subsection (c) of this section, upon such conditions and for such term, not to exceed an additional 10 years upon each renewal, as the Administrator determines to be reasonable and appropriate.