I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2304 

To direct the Secretary of Energy to conduct a program of research, development, demonstration, and commercial application for geothermal energy, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 14, 2007 

Mr. MCNERNEY (for himself, Mr. GORDON of Tennessee, and Mr. LAMPSON) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Science and Technology 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Energy to conduct a program 

of research, development, demonstration, and commercial 

application for geothermal 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Advanced Geothermal 

5 Energy Research and Development Act of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) The United States has a critical national in2 terest in developing clean, domestic, renewable 

3 sources of energy in order to mitigate the causes of 

4 climate change, reduce other environmental impacts 

5 of energy production, increase national security, im6 prove public health, and bolster economic stability. 

7 (2) Geothermal energy is a renewable energy re8 source. 

9 (3) Geothermal energy is unusual among renew10 able energy sources because of its ability to provide 

11 an uninterrupted supply of baseload electricity. 

12 (4) Recently published assessments by rep13 utable experts, including the Massachusetts Institute 

14 of Technology, the Western Governors Association, 

15 and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, in16 dicate that the Nation’s geothermal resources are 

17 widely distributed, vast in size, and barely tapped. 

18 (5) Sustained and expanded research, develop19 ment, demonstration, and commercial application 

20 programs are needed to locate and characterize geo21 thermal resources, and to develop the technologies 

22 that will enable their widespread commercial devel23 opment. 

24 (6) Federal support is critical to reduce the fi25 nancial risk associated with developing new geoVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:25 May 15, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2304.IH H2304

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1 thermal technologies, thereby encouraging the pri2 vate sector investment necessary to make geothermal 

3 resources commercially viable as a source of electric 

4 power and for other applications. 

5 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

6 For purposes of this Act: 

7 (1) ENHANCED GEOTHERMAL SYSTEMS.—The 

8 term ‘‘enhanced geothermal systems’’ means geo9 thermal reservoir systems that are engineered, as op10 posed to occurring naturally. 

11 (2) GEOFLUID.—The term ‘‘geofluid’’ means 

12 any fluid used to extract thermal energy from the 

13 Earth which is transported to the surface for direct 

14 use or electric power generation, except that such 

15 term shall not include oil or natural gas. 

16 (3) GEOTHERMAL.—The term ‘‘geothermal’’ re17 fers to heat energy stored in the Earth’s crust that 

18 can be accessed for direct use or electric power gen19 eration. 

20 (4) HYDROTHERMAL.—The term ‘‘hydro21 thermal’’ refers to naturally occurring subsurface 

22 reservoirs of hot water or steam. 

23 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

24 the Secretary of Energy. 


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1 (6) SYSTEMS APPROACH.—The term ‘‘systems 

2 approach’’ means an approach to solving problems 

3 or designing systems that considers the entire sys4 tem, rather than a particular component of the sys5 tem. 

6 SEC. 4. HYDROTHERMAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall support pro8 grams of research, development, demonstration, and com9 mercial application to expand the use of geothermal en10 ergy production from hydrothermal systems, including the 

11 programs described in subsection (b). 

12 (b) PROGRAMS.— 

13 (1) ADVANCED HYDROTHERMAL RESOURCE

14 TOOLS.—The Secretary, in consultation with other 

15 appropriate agencies, shall support a program to de16 velop advanced geophysical, geochemical, and geo17 logic tools to assist in locating hidden hydrothermal 

18 resources, and to increase the reliability of site char19 acterization before, during, and after initial drilling. 

20 The program shall develop new prospecting tech21 niques to assist in prioritization of targets for char22 acterization. The program shall include a field com23 ponent. 

24 (2) INDUSTRY COUPLED EXPLORATORY DRILL25 ING.—The Secretary shall support a program of 


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1 cost-shared field demonstration programs, to be pur2 sued, simultaneously and independently, in collabo3 ration with industry partners, for the demonstration 

4 of technologies and techniques of exploratory drilling 

5 for undiscovered resources in a variety of geologic 

6 settings. The program shall include incentives to en7 courage the use of advanced technologies and tech8 niques. 

9 SEC. 5. GENERAL GEOTHERMAL SYSTEMS RESEARCH AND 

10 DEVELOPMENT. 

11 (a) SUBSURFACE COMPONENTS AND SYSTEMS.—The 

12 Secretary shall support a program of research, develop13 ment, demonstration, and commercial application of com14 ponents and systems capable of withstanding extreme geo15 thermal environments and necessary to cost-effectively de16 velop, produce, and monitor geothermal reservoirs and 

17 produce geothermal energy. These components and sys18 tems shall include advanced casing systems (expandable 

19 tubular casing, low-clearance casing designs, and others), 

20 high-temperature cements, high-temperature submersible 

21 pumps, and high-temperature packers, as well as tech22 nologies for under-reaming, multilateral completions, 

23 high-temperature logging, and logging while drilling. 

24 (b) RESERVOIR PERFORMANCE MODELING.—The 

25 Secretary shall support a program of research, developVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:25 May 15, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2304.IH H2304

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1 ment, demonstration, and commercial application of mod2 els of geothermal reservoir performance, with an emphasis 

3 on accurately modeling performance over time. Models 

4 shall be developed to assist both in the development of geo5 thermal reservoirs and to more accurately account for 

6 stress-related effects in stimulated hydrothermal and en7 hanced geothermal systems production environments. 

8 SEC. 6. ENHANCED GEOTHERMAL SYSTEMS RESEARCH 

9 AND DEVELOPMENT. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall support a 

11 program of research, development, demonstration, and 

12 commercial application for enhanced geothermal systems, 

13 including the programs described in subsection (b). 

14 (b) PROGRAMS.— 

15 (1) ENHANCED GEOTHERMAL SYSTEMS TECH16 NOLOGIES.—The Secretary shall support a program 

17 of research, development, demonstration, and com18 mercial application of the technologies and knowl19 edge necessary for enhanced geothermal systems to 

20 advance to a state of commercial readiness, includ21 ing advances in— 

22 (A) reservoir stimulation; 

23 (B) reservoir characterization, monitoring, 

24 and modeling; 

25 (C) stress mapping; 


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1 (D) tracer development; 

2 (E) three-dimensional tomography; and 

3 (F) understanding seismic effects of deep 

4 drilling and reservoir engineering. 

5 (2) ENHANCED GEOTHERMAL SYSTEMS RES6 ERVOIR STIMULATION.— 

7 (A) PROGRAM.—In collaboration with in8 dustry partners, the Secretary shall support a 

9 program of research, development, and dem10 onstration of enhanced geothermal systems res11 ervoir stimulation technologies and techniques. 

12 A minimum of 5 sites shall be selected in loca13 tions that show particular promise for enhanced 

14 geothermal systems development. Each site 

15 shall— 

16 (i) represent subsurface geological 

17 conditions; and 

18 (ii) take advantage of an existing site 

19 where subsurface characterization has been 

20 conducted or existing drill holes can be uti21 lized, if possible. 

22 (B) CONSIDERATION OF EXISTING

23 SITES.—The following 2 sites, where Depart24 ment of Energy and industry cooperative en25 hanced geothermal systems projects are already 


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1 underway, may be considered for inclusion 

2 among the sites selected under subparagraph 

3 (A): 

4 (i) Desert Peak, Nevada. 

5 (ii) Coso, California. 

6 SEC. 7. COST SHARING. 

7 (a) APPLICABILITY.—In carrying out the research, 

8 development, demonstration, and commercial application 

9 programs under this Act, the Secretary shall require cost10 sharing as follows: 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—For the programs described 

12 in sections 4(b)(1), 5(a), 5(b), and 6(b)(1), except as 

13 provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, the 

14 Secretary shall require that not less than 20 percent 

15 of the cost of an activity be provided by non-Federal 

16 sources. For the programs described in sections 

17 4(b)(2) and 6(b)(2), except as provided in paragraph 

18 (2) of this subsection, the Secretary shall require 

19 that not less than 50 percent of the cost of an activ20 ity be provided by non-Federal sources. 

21 (2) REDUCTION OF NON-FEDERAL SHARE.— 

22 The Secretary may reduce or eliminate the require23 ment of paragraph (1) for an activity if the Sec24 retary determines that the reduction is necessary 

25 and appropriate. 


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1 (b) NON-FEDERAL CONTRIBUTIONS.—Non-Federal 

2 contributions required under subsection (a)— 

3 (1) may include— 

4 (A) personnel costs; 

5 (B) the value of a service, other resource, 

6 or third party in-kind contribution; and 

7 (C) indirect costs or facilities and adminis8 trative costs; and 

9 (2) shall not include— 

10 (A) revenues or royalties from the prospec11 tive operation of an activity beyond the dura12 tion of the award; or 

13 (B) proceeds from the prospective sale of 

14 an asset of an activity. 

15 (c) REPAYMENT OF FEDERAL SHARE.—The Sec16 retary shall not require repayment of the Federal share 

17 of a cost-shared activity under this section as a condition 

18 of making an award. 

19 (d) ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF PRO20 GRAMS.—Programs under this Act shall incorporate the 

21 following organizational and administrative elements: 

22 (1) Non-Federal participants shall be chosen 

23 through a competitive selection process. 

24 (2) The request for proposals for each program 

25 shall stipulate, at a minimum, the following: 


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1 (A) The non-Federal funding requirements 

2 for projects. 

3 (B) The funding mechanism to be used 

4 (i.e. grants, contracts, or cooperative agree5 ments). 

6 (C) Milestones and a schedule for comple7 tion. 

8 (D) Criteria for evaluating proposals. 

9 (3) In evaluating proposals, the Secretary shall 

10 give priority to proposals that draw on relevant ex11 pertise from industry, academia, and the national 

12 laboratories, as appropriate. 

13 (4) In evaluating proposals, the Secretary shall 

14 consult with relevant experts from industry, aca15 demia, and the national laboratories, as appropriate. 

16 (5) In evaluating proposals, the Secretary shall 

17 give priority to proposals that demonstrate clear evi18 dence of employing a systems approach. 

19 (6) Data collected by the Secretary as a result 

20 of any project supported with funds provided under 

21 this Act shall be made available to the public, except 

22 to the extent that they contain information that is 

23 protected from disclosure under section 552(b) of 

24 title 5, United States Code. 


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1 SEC. 8. CENTERS FOR GEOTHERMAL TECHNOLOGY TRANS2 FER. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award grants 

4 to institutions of higher education (or consortia thereof) 

5 to establish 2 Centers for Geothermal Technology Trans6 fer. 

7 (b) CENTERS.— 

8 (1) HYDROTHERMAL CENTER.—The purpose of 

9 one Technology Transfer Center shall be to serve as 

10 an information clearinghouse for the geothermal in11 dustry, collecting and disseminating information on 

12 best practices in all areas related to developing and 

13 managing hydrothermal resources, including data 

14 available for disclosure as provided under section 

15 7(d)(6). This Center shall be based at the institution 

16 west of the Mississippi River that the Secretary con17 siders to be best suited to the purpose. The Center 

18 shall collect and disseminate information on all sub19 jects germane to the development of hydrothermal 

20 systems, including— 

21 (A) resource location; 

22 (B) reservoir characterization, monitoring, 

23 and modeling; 

24 (C) drilling techniques; and 

25 (D) reservoir management techniques. 


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1 (2) ENHANCED GEOTHERMAL SYSTEMS CEN2 TER.—The purpose of a second Technology Transfer 

3 Center shall be to serve as an information clearing4 house for the geothermal industry, collecting and 

5 disseminating information on best practices in all 

6 areas related to developing and managing enhanced 

7 geothermal systems resources, including data avail8 able for disclosure as provided under section 7(d)(6). 

9 This Center shall be based at an academic institu10 tion east of the Mississippi River which, in the opin11 ion of the Secretary is best suited to provide na12 tional leadership on enhanced geothermal systems13 related issues. 

14 (c) AWARD DURATION.—An award made by the Sec15 retary under this section shall be for an initial period of 

16 5 years, and may be renewed for additional 5-year periods 

17 on the basis of— 

18 (1) satisfactory performance in meeting the 

19 goals of the research plan proposed by the Center; 

20 and 

21 (2) other requirements as specified by the Sec22 retary. 


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1 SEC. 9. STUDY ON ADVANCED USES OF GEOTHERMAL EN2 ERGY. 

3 Not later than 1 year, 3 years, and 5 years, after 

4 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall re5 port to the Committee on Science and Technology of the 

6 House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy 

7 and Natural Resources of the Senate on advanced con8 cepts and technologies to maximize the geothermal re9 source potential of the United States. The reports shall 

10 include— 

11 (1) the use of carbon dioxide as an alternative 

12 geofluid with potential carbon sequestration benefits; 

13 (2) mineral recovery from geofluids; 

14 (3) use of geothermal energy to produce hydro15 gen; 

16 (4) use of geothermal energy to produce 

17 biofuels; 

18 (5) use of geothermal heat for oil recovery from 

19 oil shales and tar sands; 

20 (6) coproduction of geofluids for direct use or 

21 electric power generation in conjunction with exist22 ing oil and gas extraction operations; and 

23 (7) other advanced geothermal technologies, in24 cluding advanced drilling technologies and advanced 

25 power conversion technologies. 


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1 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec3 retary to carry out this Act $80,000,000 for each of the 

4 fiscal years 2008 through 2012. 

Æ 


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