I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5374 

To establish and support advanced geothermal research and development 

programs at the Department of Energy, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 10, 2019 

Mr. LUCAS (for himself and Ms. JOHNSON of Texas) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Labor, 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 

A BILL 

To establish and support advanced geothermal research and 

development programs at the Department of Energy, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Advanced Geothermal Research and Development Act of 

6 2019’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

8 this Act is as follows: 


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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

Sec. 3. Hydrothermal research and development. 

Sec. 4. General geothermal systems research and development. 

Sec. 5. Enhanced geothermal systems research and development. 

Sec. 6. Cost sharing and proposal evaluation. 

Sec. 7. Advanced geothermal computing and data science research and development. 

Sec. 8. Geothermal workforce development. 

Sec. 9. Reporting requirements. 

Sec. 10. Repeals. 

Sec. 11. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 12. International geothermal energy development. 

Sec. 13. Reauthorization of High Cost Region Geothermal Energy Grant Program. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 Section 612(1) of the Energy Independence and Se3 curity Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17191(1)) is amended to 

4 read as follows: 

5 ‘‘(1) ENGINEERED.—When referring to en6 hanced geothermal systems, the term ‘engineered’ 

7 means designed to access subsurface heat, including 

8 stimulation and nonstimulation technologies to ad9 dress one or more of the following issues: 

10 ‘‘(A) Lack of effective permeability, poros11 ity or open fracture connectivity within the heat 

12 reservoir. 

13 ‘‘(B) Insufficient contained geofluid in the 

14 heat reservoir. 

15 ‘‘(C) A low average geothermal gradient 

16 which necessitates deeper drilling, or the use of 

17 alternative heat sources or heat generation 

18 processes.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. HYDROTHERMAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. 

2 Section 613 of the Energy Independence and Security 

3 Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17192) is amended to read as 

4 follows: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 613. HYDROTHERMAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOP6 MENT. 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry out a 

8 program of research, development, demonstration, and 

9 commercial application for geothermal energy production 

10 from hydrothermal systems. 

11 ‘‘(b) PROGRAMS.—The program authorized in sub12 section (a) shall include the following: 

13 ‘‘(1) ADVANCED HYDROTHERMAL RESOURCE

14 TOOLS.—The research and development of advanced 

15 geologic tools to assist in locating hydrothermal re16 sources, and to increase the reliability of site charac17 terization, including the development of new imaging 

18 and sensing technologies and techniques to assist in 

19 prioritization of targets for characterization; 

20 ‘‘(2) EXPLORATORY DRILLING FOR GEO21 THERMAL RESOURCES.—The demonstration of ad22 vanced technologies and techniques of siting and ex23 ploratory drilling for undiscovered resources in a va24 riety of geologic settings, carried out in collaboration 

25 with industry partners that will assist in the acquisiVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:24 Dec 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5374.IH H5374

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1 tion of high quality data sets relevant for hydro2 thermal subsurface characterization activities’’. 

3 SEC. 4. GENERAL GEOTHERMAL SYSTEMS RESEARCH AND 

4 DEVELOPMENT. 

5 Section 614 of the Energy Independence and Security 

6 Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17193) is amended to read as 

7 follows: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 614. GENERAL GEOTHERMAL SYSTEMS RESEARCH 

9 AND DEVELOPMENT. 

10 ‘‘(a) SUBSURFACE COMPONENTS AND SYSTEMS.— 

11 The Secretary shall support a program of research, devel12 opment, demonstration, and commercial application of 

13 components and systems capable of withstanding geo14 thermal environments and necessary to develop, produce, 

15 and monitor geothermal reservoirs and produce geo16 thermal energy. 

17 ‘‘(b) ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS.—The Secretary 

18 shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) support a program of research, develop20 ment, demonstration, and commercial application of 

21 technologies and practices designed to mitigate or 

22 preclude potential adverse environmental impacts of 

23 geothermal energy development, production or use; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(2) support a research program to identify po2 tential environmental impacts and environmental 

3 benefits of geothermal energy development, produc4 tion, and use, and ensure that the program de5 scribed in paragraph (1) addresses such impacts, in6 cluding effects on groundwater and local hydrology; 

7 ‘‘(3) support a program of research to compare 

8 the potential environmental impacts and environ9 mental benefits identified as part of the develop10 ment, production, and use of geothermal energy with 

11 the potential emission reductions of greenhouse 

12 gases gained by geothermal energy development, 

13 production, and use; and 

14 ‘‘(4) in carrying out this section, the Secretary 

15 shall, to the maximum extent practicable, consult 

16 with relevant Federal agencies, including the Envi17 ronmental Protection Agency. 

18 ‘‘(c) RESERVOIR THERMAL ENERGY STORAGE.—The 

19 Secretary shall support a program of research, develop20 ment, and demonstration of reservoir thermal energy stor21 age, emphasizing cost-effective improvements through 

22 deep direct use engineering, design, and systems research. 

23 ‘‘(d) OIL AND GAS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER INITIA24 TIVE.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall sup2 port an initiative among the Office of Fossil Energy, 

3 the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable En4 ergy, and the private sector to research, develop, and 

5 demonstrate relevant advanced technologies and op6 eration techniques used in the oil and gas sector for 

7 use in geothermal energy development. 

8 ‘‘(2) PRIORITIES.—In carrying out paragraph 

9 (1), the Secretary shall prioritize technologies with 

10 the greatest potential to significantly increase the 

11 use and lower the cost of geothermal energy in the 

12 United States, including the cost and speed of geo13 thermal drilling. 

14 ‘‘(3) COPRODUCTION OF GEOTHERMAL ENERGY

15 AND MINERALS PRODUCTION RESEARCH AND DE16 VELOPMENT INITIATIVE.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

18 carry out a research and development initiative 

19 under which the Secretary shall award grants 

20 to demonstrate the coproduction of critical min21 erals from geothermal resources. 

22 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—An award made 

23 under subparagraph (A) shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) improve the cost effectiveness of 

2 removing minerals from geothermal brines 

3 as part of the coproduction process; 

4 ‘‘(ii) increase recovery rates of the 

5 targets mineral commodity; 

6 ‘‘(iii) decrease water use and other en7 vironmental impacts, as determined by the 

8 Secretary; and 

9 ‘‘(iv) demonstrate a path to commer10 cial viability.’’. 

11 SEC. 5. ENHANCED GEOTHERMAL SYSTEMS RESEARCH 

12 AND DEVELOPMENT. 

13 Section 615 of the Energy Independence and Security 

14 Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17194) is amended to read as 

15 follows: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 615. ENHANCED GEOTHERMAL SYSTEMS RESEARCH 

17 AND DEVELOPMENT. 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall support a 

19 program of research, development, demonstration, and 

20 commercial application for enhanced geothermal systems, 

21 including the programs described in subsection (b). 

22 ‘‘(b) ENHANCED GEOTHERMAL SYSTEMS TECH23 NOLOGIES.—In collaboration with industry partners, the 

24 Secretary shall support a program of research, develop25 ment, demonstration, and commercial application of the 


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1 technologies to achieve higher efficiency and lower cost en2 hanced geothermal systems, including— 

3 ‘‘(1) reservoir stimulation; 

4 ‘‘(2) reservoir characterization, monitoring, and 

5 modeling; 

6 ‘‘(3) stress and fracture mapping including real 

7 time monitoring and modeling; 

8 ‘‘(4) tracer development; 

9 ‘‘(5) three and four-dimensional seismic imag10 ing and tomography; 

11 ‘‘(6) well placement and orientation; 

12 ‘‘(7) long-term reservoir management; 

13 ‘‘(8) drilling technologies, methods, and tools; 

14 ‘‘(9) improved exploration tools; 

15 ‘‘(10) zonal isolation; and 

16 ‘‘(11) understanding induced seismicity risks 

17 from reservoir engineering and stimulation. 

18 ‘‘(c) FRONTIER OBSERVATORY FOR RESEARCH IN

19 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY.—The Secretary shall support the 

20 establishment and construction of up to 3 field research 

21 sites operated by public or academic entities, which shall 

22 each be known as a ‘Frontier Observatory for Research 

23 in Geothermal Energy’ or ‘FORGE’ site to develop, test, 

24 and enhance techniques and tools for enhanced geothermal 

25 energy. 


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1 ‘‘(1) DUTIES.—The Secretary shall— 

2 ‘‘(A) award grants in support of research 

3 and development projects focused on advanced 

4 monitoring technologies, new technologies and 

5 approaches for implementing multi-zone stimu6 lations, and dynamic reservoir modeling that in7 corporates all available high-fidelity character8 ization data; and 

9 ‘‘(B) seek opportunities to coordinate ef10 forts and share information with domestic and 

11 international partners engaged in research and 

12 development of geothermal systems and related 

13 technology. 

14 ‘‘(2) SITE SELECTION.—Of the FORGE sites 

15 referred to in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— 

16 ‘‘(A) consider applications through a com17 petitive, merit-reviewed process, from National 

18 Laboratories, multi-institutional collaborations, 

19 institutes of higher education and other appro20 priate entities best suited to provide national 

21 leadership on geothermal related issues and 

22 perform the duties enumerated under this sub23 section; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) prioritize existing field sites and fa2 cilities with capabilities relevant to the duties 

3 enumerated under this subsection. 

4 ‘‘(3) FUNDING.—Out of funds authorized to be 

5 appropriated under section 11 of the ‘Advanced Geo6 thermal Research and Development Act of 2019’, 

7 there shall be made available to the Secretary to 

8 carry out the FORGE activities under this para9 graph— 

10 ‘‘(A) $45,000,000 for fiscal year 2020; 

11 ‘‘(B) $55,000,000 for fiscal year 2021; 

12 ‘‘(C) $65,000,000 for fiscal year 2022; 

13 ‘‘(D) $70,000,000 for fiscal year 2023; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(E) $70,000,000 for fiscal year 2024. 

16 In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall con17 sider the balance between funds dedicated to con18 struction and operations and research activities to 

19 reflect the state of site development. 

20 ‘‘(4) ENHANCED GEOTHERMAL SYSTEMS DEM21 ONSTRATIONS.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date 

23 of enactment of the ‘Advanced Geothermal En24 ergy Research and Development Act of 2019’, 

25 the Secretary, in collaboration with industry 


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1 partners and institutions of higher education, 

2 shall support an initiative for demonstration of 

3 enhanced geothermal systems for power produc4 tion or direct use. 

5 ‘‘(B) PROJECTS.— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Under the initia7 tive described in subparagraph (A), dem8 onstration projects shall be carried out in 

9 locations that are commercially viable for 

10 enhanced geothermal systems development, 

11 while also considering environmental im12 pacts to the maximum extent practicable, 

13 as determined by the Secretary. 

14 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENTS.—Demonstra15 tion projects under clause (i) shall— 

16 ‘‘(I) collectively demonstrate— 

17 ‘‘(aa) different geologic set18 tings, such as hot sedimentary 

19 aquifers, layered geologic sys20 tems, supercritical systems, and 

21 basement rock systems; and 

22 ‘‘(bb) a variety of develop23 ment techniques, including open 

24 hole and cased hole completions, 


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1 differing well orientations, and 

2 stimulation mechanisms; and 

3 ‘‘(II) to the extent practicable, 

4 use existing sites where subsurface 

5 characterization or geothermal energy 

6 integration analysis has been con7 ducted. 

8 ‘‘(iii) EASTERN DEMONSTRATION.— 

9 Not less than 1 demonstration project car10 ried out under clause (i) shall be located in 

11 an area east of the Mississippi River that 

12 is suitable for enhanced geothermal dem13 onstration for power, heat, or a combina14 tion of power and heat.’’. 

15 SEC. 6. COST SHARING AND PROPOSAL EVALUATION. 

16 Section 617(b) of the Energy Independence and Se17 curity Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17196) is amended by strik18 ing paragraph (2) and redesignating paragraphs (3) and 

19 (4) as paragraphs (2) and (3), respectively. 

20 SEC. 7. ADVANCED GEOTHERMAL COMPUTING AND DATA 

21 SCIENCE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 618 of the Energy Inde23 pendence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17197) is 

24 amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 618. ADVANCED GEOTHERMAL COMPUTING AND 

2 DATA SCIENCE RESEARCH AND DEVELOP3 MENT. 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry out a 

5 program of research and development of advanced com6 puting and data science tools for geothermal energy. 

7 ‘‘(b) PROGRAMS.—The program authorized in sub8 section (a) shall include the following: 

9 ‘‘(1) ADVANCED COMPUTING FOR GEOTHERMAL

10 SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGIES.—Research, development, 

11 and demonstration of technologies to develop ad12 vanced data, machine learning, artificial intelligence, 

13 and related computing tools to assist in locating geo14 thermal resources, to increase the reliability of site 

15 characterization, to increase the rate and efficiency 

16 of drilling, to improve induced seismicity mitigation, 

17 and to support enhanced geothermal systems tech18 nologies. 

19 ‘‘(2) GEOTHERMAL SYSTEMS RESERVOIR MOD20 ELING.—Research, development, and demonstration 

21 of models of geothermal reservoir performance and 

22 enhanced geothermal systems reservoir stimulation 

23 technologies and techniques, with an emphasis on 

24 accurately modeling heat flow, permeability evo25 lution, seismicity, and operational performance over 


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1 time, including collaboration with industry and field 

2 validation. 

3 ‘‘(c) COORDINATION.—In carrying out these pro4 grams, the Secretary shall ensure coordination and con5 sultation with the Department of Energy’s Office of 

6 Science. The Secretary shall ensure, to the maximum ex7 tent practicable, coordination of these activities with the 

8 Department of Energy National Laboratories, institutes 

9 of higher education, and the private sector.’’. 

10 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 1(b) of the 

11 Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 

12 U.S.C. 17001 note) is amended in the table of contents 

13 by amending the item related to section 618 to read as 

14 follows: 

‘‘Sec. 618. Advanced geothermal computing and data science research and development.’’. 

15 SEC. 8. GEOTHERMAL WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 619 of the Energy Inde17 pendence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17198) is 

18 amended to read as follows: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 619. GEOTHERMAL WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT. 

20 ‘‘The Secretary shall support the development of a 

21 geothermal energy workforce through a program that— 

22 ‘‘(1) facilitates collaboration between university 

23 students and researchers at the national labora24 tories; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) prioritizes science in areas relevant to the 

2 mission of the Department through the application 

3 of geothermal energy tools and technologies.’’. 

4 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 1(b) of the 

5 Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 

6 U.S.C. 17001 note) is amended in the table of contents 

7 by amending the item related to section 619 to read as 

8 follows: 

‘‘Sec. 619. Geothermal workforce development.’’. 

9 SEC. 9. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

10 Section 621 of the Energy Independence and Security 

11 Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17200) is amended to read as 

12 follows: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 621. REPORTS. 

14 ‘‘(a) REPORT.—Every 5 years after the date of enact15 ment of Advanced Geothermal Research and Development 

16 Act of 2019 , the Secretary shall report to the Committee 

17 on Science and Technology of the House of Representa18 tives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Re19 sources of the Senate on advanced concepts and tech20 nologies to maximize the geothermal resource potential of 

21 the United States. 

22 ‘‘(b) PROGRESS REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year 

23 after the date of enactment of the ‘Advanced Geothermal 

24 Research and Development Act of 2019’, and every 2 

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1 mittee on Science and Technology of the House of Rep2 resentatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural 

3 Resources of the Senate a report on the results of projects 

4 undertaken under this part and other such information 

5 the Secretary considers appropriate.’’. 

6 SEC. 10. REPEALS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle B of title VI of the En8 ergy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 

9 17191 et seq.) is amended by striking section 620. 

10 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 1(b) of the 

11 Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 

12 U.S.C. 17001 note) is amended in the table of contents 

13 by striking the item related to section 620. 

14 SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

15 Section 623 of the Energy Independence and Security 

16 Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17202) is amended to read as 

17 follows: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 623. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

19 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec20 retary to carry out the programs under the ‘Advanced 

21 Geothermal Research and Development Act of 2019’— 

22 ‘‘(1) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2020; 

23 ‘‘(2) $111,125,000 for fiscal year 2021; 

24 ‘‘(3) $122,250,000 for fiscal year 2022; 

25 ‘‘(4) $128,375,000 for fiscal year 2023; and 


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1 ‘‘(5) $129,500,000 for fiscal year 2024.’’. 

2 SEC. 12. INTERNATIONAL GEOTHERMAL ENERGY DEVELOP3 MENT. 

4 Section 624 of the Energy Independence and Security 

5 Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17203) is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a), to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy, in co8 ordination with other appropriate Federal and multilateral 

9 agencies (including the United States Agency for Inter10 national Development) shall support collaborative efforts 

11 with international partners to promote the research, devel12 opment, and demonstration of geothermal technologies 

13 used to develop hydrothermal and enhanced geothermal 

14 system resources.’’; and 

15 (2) by striking subsection (c). 

16 SEC. 13. REAUTHORIZATION OF HIGH COST REGION GEO17 THERMAL ENERGY GRANT PROGRAM. 

18 Section 625 of the Energy Independence and Security 

19 Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17204) is amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (a)(2), by inserting ‘‘ or heat’’ 

21 after ‘‘electrical power’’; and 

22 (2) in subsection (e), to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Out of 

24 funds authorized under section 11 of the ‘Advanced Geo25 thermal Research and Development Act of 2019’, there 


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1 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

2 $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024.’’. 

Æ 


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