Pro-geothermal policies being pushed in the US at federal, state levels

United States Capitol, Washington, DC (source: USCapitol, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Carlo Cariaga 12 Mar 2024

The geothermal sector in the United States is receiving much needed support from policymakers, both at the federal and state levels. This is naturally a welcome development for geothermal development, especially as policy support seeks for the establishment of research institutes, more streamlined permitting procedures, and funding bodies for geothermal projects.

With legislative efforts happening in several fronts, we have collated several stories on proposed legislation that supports geothermal the US in this article. This is possibly an incomplete list (we are open to hearing about those we have missed) and the status of proposed bills and other initiatives may change significantly from the time of publication of this article.

Expediting the permitting process for geothermal

Dr. Bryant Jones, Executive Director of US-based nonprofit organization Geothermal Rising (GR), provided expert testimony during a House Committee on Natural Resources hearing in 12 December 2023 on a proposed amendment to the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The proposal seeks to streamline the process of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reviews particularly for areas or projects with minimal environmental impact based on long-standing data from past environmental assessment (EAs) and environmental impact statements (EISs).

The bipartisan legislation, HR 6474, that proposes the NEPA amendment was filed by Reps. Michelle Steel (R-CA) and Susie Lee (D-NV). The proposal seeks to allow for a new categorical exclusion for geothermal drilling in situations where drilling has occurred in the last 5 years or drilling will occur within an area with an approved NEPA-pursuant environmental document within the last 5 years. This will mirror existing categorical exclusions under the NEPA.

HR 6474 is currently under review by the Committee on Natural Resources.

In his testimony, Jones advocated for a balanced approach to NEPA reviews that upholds environmental standards while enabling streamlined development of geothermal energy. The current permitting timeline of 6 to 8 years, within which a NEPA review can be triggered up to 6 times, seriously hampers the project development process for geothermal with added costs, time, and litigation risk.

Jones cites the difficulties encountered by the planned Dixie Meadows geothermal project in Nevada as one of the compelling reasons for such policy amendment.

Jones also urged policymakers to encourage the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to address the difficulties of the geothermal permitting review workforce that have resulted in delays in geothermal leasing.

Increased funding for DOE initiatives

In a letter published in February 2024, Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), and John Hicken (D-Colo.) urged the House Committee on Appropriations to include USD 118 million for the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Geothermal Technologies Office for the 2024 Fiscal Year.  The letter specifies that at least USD 100 million of this funding be allocated to next-generation geothermal technologies. such as EGS.

“We believe it is important for Congress to continue to support and incentivize geothermal energy research and development to not only provide a reliable source of power generation but also shore up our domestic supply of lithium and other critical minerals as we continue to push toward reaching the United States’ emission reduction goals,” said the Senators in the letter.

The US DOE is currently funding the  Utah Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy (Utah FORGE), a groundbreaking EGS research project that aims to help revitalize other EGS projects worldwide. Aside from their technical work in Beaver County, members of the FORGE team are actively engaged in promoting geothermal education to the local communities.

New Mexico

In the 5th of March 2024, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico signed House Bill 91 or the “Geothermal Resources Development Act” which seeks the creation of a fund that can provide grants of up to USD 250,000 for cost-benefit studies for geothermal projects.

The new law also changes the duties of the Energy Conservation and Management Division of the Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources Department to make them the authority in regulating the exploration, development, and production of geothermal resources on public and private land.

Lastly, the law creates a revolving loan fund in the state treasury to provide loans to political subdivisions of the state working on geothermal development projects based on the approval of the Secretary of Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources.

The signing of HB 91 comes a year after a similar bill was pocket vetoed by the Governor. The bill was sponsored by Senator Gerald Ortiz y Pino (D) and Representatives Tara L. Lujan (D) and Patricia Roybal Caballero (D).

Utah

Representative John Curtis (R) is sponsoring House Resolution 7370 or the “Geothermal Opportunity Act” / “GEO Act” that seeks to amend the existing Geothermal Steam Act of 1970. The main theme of the proposal is to establish a deadline for processing applications related to geothermal leasing.

More specifically, the HR proposes that applications for a geothermal drilling permit, notice to proceed, right-of-way, or other authorizations under a valid existing geothermal lease be processed not later than 30 days after the applicant has completed provided all required environmental documents.

HR 7370 has already been introduced to the House and is now referred to the Subcommittee of Energy and Mineral Resources.

Senator Nate Blouin (D) had previously proposed SB 257 which seeks to require the Utah’s Unified Economic Opportunity Commission to conduct a study on accelerating geothermal energy development in the State and provide a report to the Public Utilities, Energy, and Technology Interim Committee. A “strike enacting clause” decision was made on the bill, thus making it unenforceable.

Washington

Senator Liz Lovelett (D) has filed SB 6039 which directs the Washington Geological Survey to compile and maintain a comprehensive database of publicly available subsurface geologic data relevant to the Washington State. This database will include the results of geothermal well logging, magnetotelluric surveys, gravity surveys, seismic surveys, and geothermal play fairway studies.

SB 6039 has been approved by both the Senate and the House of Representatives and is currently at the desk of the Governor. A companion bill, HB 2129, was filed by Rep. Alex Ramel (D-Bellingham) and is currently at the House Committee on Environment and Energy.

Maryland

House Bill 397, or the Working for Accessible Renewable Maryland Thermal Heat (WARMTH ACT) proposes the implementation of a pilot program that will establish networked geothermal projects in several underserved communities across the state. The bill was introduced by Del. Lorig Charkoudian (D-Montgomery) and cross-filed by Sen. Katie Fry Hester (D-Howard and Montgromery).

Charkoudian clarified that while WARMTH targets low-income communities, its benefits will extend to other neighborhoods. Geothermal networked heating is cheaper and more efficient, and the resulting savings will benefit all ratepayers.

HB 397 had just passed the Third Reading in the House of Representatives and has been referred by the Senate to the Committee for Education, Energy, and the Environment.

The world is watching

A multi-sectoral approach is an absolute necessity to push the geothermal agenda, and support from policymakers is a crucial step in addressing the challenges of the sector in terms of funding, project development times, and risk mitigation. The recent support of policymakers in the US is an encouraging sign for the sector and may be the jumpstart that it needs for the next wave of geothermal development.

Over in Europe, the geothermal sector has also had a major victory in the policy front with the European Parliament voting overwhelmingly positive for an EU-wide geothermal energy strategy. As with the US, this progress in pro-geothermal policy may have a ripple effect on other regions also working on building their geothermal sectors.

“The world is watching the United States for how it designs its portfolio in the energy transformation. Geothermal energy must be leveraged if we are to rapidly develop a nation-wide robust power system and a clean sustainable fuel mix, all while creating jobs and bolstering innovative economic and industrial outputs,” said Jones during his testimony.

Sources: Testimony of Dr. Bryant Jones (US Congress library), Washington State Legislature, LegiScan, US Congress, New Mexico Legislature, Sen. Alex Padilla