1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Hydropower Policy Modernization Act of 2017 . 2. Hydropower regulatory improvements (a) Sense of Congress on the use of hydropower renewable resources It is the sense of Congress that— (1) hydropower is a renewable resource for purposes of all Federal programs and is an essential source of energy in the United States; and (2) the United States should increase substantially the capacity and generation of clean, renewable hydropower that would improve environmental quality in the United States. (b) Modifying the definition of renewable energy To include hydropower Section 203 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 ( 42 U.S.C. 15852 ) is amended— (1) in subsection (a), by striking the following amounts and all that follows through paragraph (3) and inserting not less than 15 percent in fiscal year 2017 and each fiscal year thereafter shall be renewable energy. ; and (2) in subsection (b), by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following: (2) Renewable energy The term renewable energy means electric energy generated from solar, wind, biomass, landfill gas, ocean (including tidal, wave, current, and thermal), geothermal, or municipal solid waste, or from a hydropower project. . (c) Preliminary permits Section 5 of the Federal Power Act ( 16 U.S.C. 798 ) is amended— (1) in subsection (a), by striking three and inserting 4 ; and (2) by amending subsection (b) to read as follows: (b) The Commission may— (1) extend the period of a preliminary permit once for not more than 4 additional years beyond the 4 years permitted by subsection (a) if the Commission finds that the permittee has carried out activities under such permit in good faith and with reasonable diligence