II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5288 

To require the Secretary of Energy to establish a program to provide grants 

to States to award grants for the establishment of networked geothermal 

heating and cooling systems, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 25, 2024 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself and Ms. SMITH) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Energy to establish a program 

to provide grants to States to award grants for the 

establishment of networked geothermal heating and cooling systems, 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 ‘‘Grants Enabling Opti5 mized Thermal Handling from Energy Recovered from 

6 Mediums that are Aquatic or Land-based Act of 2024’’ 

7 or ‘‘GEOTHERMAL Act of 2024’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) BASELINE ENERGY USAGE INTENSITY.— 

4 The term ‘‘baseline energy usage intensity’’ means— 

5 (A) the annual site energy usage intensity 

6 (as measured in British thermal units per year 

7 per square foot) for a 12-month period ending 

8 as of any date during the 24-month period im9 mediately preceding the installation of a 

10 networked geothermal heating and cooling sys11 tem at the site; and 

12 (B) in the case of new construction, the 

13 modeled site energy usage intensity of the new 

14 construction, subject to the condition that the 

15 project shall be minimally code compliant. 

16 (2) ELIGIBLE RECIPIENT.—The term ‘‘eligible 

17 recipient’’ means— 

18 (A) a nonprofit entity that owns— 

19 (i) a building that may be connected 

20 to a networked geothermal heating and 

21 cooling system; or 

22 (ii) multiple buildings that may be 

23 connected by and to a networked geo24 thermal heating and cooling system; 

25 (B) an institution of higher education; 


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1 (C) a municipality or neighborhood asso2 ciation; 

3 (D) an owner of a multifamily housing de4 velopment or mixed-use community development 

5 with at least 50-percent low-income or mod6 erate-income households; 

7 (E) a wastewater treatment authority seek8 ing to install a networked geothermal heating 

9 and cooling system that would utilize waste 

10 heat from greywater, sewage, or treated sewage 

11 effluent; 

12 (F) an electric utility (as defined in section 

13 3 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 796)), 

14 an electric cooperative (as defined in that sec15 tion), or a natural gas utility seeking to install 

16 a networked geothermal heating and cooling 

17 system as a thermal distribution demonstration 

18 project; 

19 (G) a third-party developer seeking to in20 stall a networked geothermal heating and cool21 ing system on behalf of any entity described in 

22 subparagraphs (A) through (F); and 

23 (H) a consortium of 2 or more entities de24 scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (G). 


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1 (3) GEOTHERMAL HEAT PUMP.—The term 

2 ‘‘geothermal heat pump’’ means a heat pump that 

3 uses the thermal energy of the ground or water to 

4 provide space heating, space cooling, water heating, 

5 or a combination of those functions. 

6 (4) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 

7 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 

8 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

9 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

10 (5) NETWORKED GEOTHERMAL HEATING AND

11 COOLING SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘networked geo12 thermal heating and cooling system’’ means a sys13 tem— 

14 (A) that provides space heating, space 

15 cooling, water heating, or a combination of 

16 those functions to a set of buildings; 

17 (B) that utilizes— 

18 (i) heat pumps that use, as a heat 

19 source or sink, the ground, groundwater, 

20 surface water, industrial process or com21 mercial building waste heat, greywater, 

22 sewage, or treated sewage effluent; 

23 (ii) direct use of geothermal heat; or 

24 (iii) a combination of the systems de25 scribed in clauses (i) and (ii); 


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1 (C) that is a stand-alone system or is cou2 pled with another energy system; 

3 (D) the ground-source or waste heat com4 ponent of which is designed to provide at least 

5 90 percent of the combined annual heating and 

6 cooling energy (as measured in British thermal 

7 units per year); and 

8 (E) that may use— 

9 (i) subsurface or surface thermal stor10 age in the form of borehole thermal energy 

11 storage, aquifer thermal energy storage, 

12 reservoir thermal energy storage, thermal 

13 storage tanks, or other thermal storage; 

14 and 

15 (ii) waste heat or other thermal dis16 charge from commercial, institutional, or 

17 public buildings or industrial facilities as 

18 an additional heat source. 

19 (6) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 

20 the program established under section 3(a). 

21 (7) REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM.— 

22 The term ‘‘registered apprenticeship program’’ 

23 means an apprenticeship program registered under 

24 the Act of August 16, 1937 (50 Stat. 664, chapter 

25 663; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.) (commonly known as the 


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1 ‘‘National Apprenticeship Act’’), that meets the 

2 standards of part 29 and part 30 of title 29, Code 

3 of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations). 

4 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

5 the Secretary of Energy. 

6 (9) SITE ENERGY USAGE INTENSITY.—The 

7 term ‘‘site energy usage intensity’’ means a site en8 ergy usage intensity (as measured in British thermal 

9 units per year per square foot) determined for a 

10 building or set of buildings in accordance with such 

11 regulations or other guidance as the Secretary may 

12 provide. 

13 (10) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 

14 (A) a State; 

15 (B) an Indian Tribe; 

16 (C) the District of Columbia; 

17 (D) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 

18 and 

19 (E) any other territory or possession of the 

20 United States. 

21 (11) STATE ENERGY PROGRAM.—The term 

22 ‘‘State Energy Program’’ means the State Energy 

23 Program established under part D of title III of the 

24 Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 

25 6321 et seq.). 


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1 SEC. 3. NETWORKED GEOTHERMAL HEATING AND COOL2 ING GRANT PROGRAM. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

4 date of enactment of this Act, under the State Energy 

5 Program, the Secretary shall establish a program under 

6 which the Secretary shall provide grants to States— 

7 (1) that are eligible for funding under the State 

8 Energy Program; 

9 (2) in accordance with the allocation formula 

10 established under section 420.11 of title 10, Code of 

11 Federal Regulations (or successor regulations); and 

12 (3) that the States shall use to provide grants 

13 to eligible recipients in accordance with this section. 

14 (b) APPLICATIONS FOR GRANTS.—A State seeking a 

15 grant under the program shall submit to the Secretary an 

16 application at such time, in such manner, and containing 

17 such information as the Secretary may require, includ18 ing— 

19 (1) a description of the expected benefits that 

20 networked geothermal heating and cooling systems 

21 will have on communities in the State; and 

22 (2) a plan for the use of the grant to assist the 

23 State in achieving those benefits. 

24 (c) USE OF STATE GRANT.— 

25 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State that receives a 

26 grant under the program shall award grants to eligiVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Oct 17, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5288.IS S5288

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1 ble recipients in accordance with paragraphs (2) and 

2 (3). 

3 (2) PROJECT DEPLOYMENT GRANTS.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—A State that receives a 

5 grant under the program may provide a grant 

6 to an eligible recipient to finance the deploy7 ment of a networked geothermal heating and 

8 cooling system that meets the requirements de9 scribed in subparagraph (B), including the in10 stallation of in-building or behind-the-meter 

11 equipment. 

12 (B) SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS.—A 

13 networked geothermal heating and cooling sys14 tem deployed pursuant to subparagraph (A) 

15 shall— 

16 (i) use— 

17 (I) geothermal heat pumps to 

18 provide heating, cooling, or heating 

19 and cooling of space, water, or space 

20 and water from— 

21 (aa) the ground through 1 

22 or more closed-loop geo-exchange 

23 boreholes in which water pumped 

24 through pipes that exchange heat 


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1 with the surrounding rock or soil 

2 returns to the surface; 

3 (bb) groundwater using 1 or 

4 more open-loop well doublets that 

5 pump groundwater from an aqui6 fer and inject the water into a 

7 second well following heat ex8 change in a heat pump or water9 to-water heat exchanger; 

10 (cc) surface water through 

11 heat exchange in a heat pump or 

12 water-to-water heat exchanger, 

13 with the water returned to the 

14 surface water body; or 

15 (dd) greywater, sewage, or 

16 treated sewage effluent through a 

17 heat exchanger installed in a sew18 age pipe, treated sewage effluent 

19 pipe, or above-ground plant con20 sisting of a water-to-water heat 

21 exchanger or heat pump; 

22 (II) hot water obtained from geo23 thermal wells to produce hot water 

24 through a water-to-water heat exVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Oct 17, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5288.IS S5288

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1 changer for direct use in building 

2 heating; 

3 (III) hot water produced by deep 

4 geothermal wells in which water is 

5 pumped through pipes containing a 

6 fluid that exchanges heat with the 

7 surrounding rock or soil and returns 

8 to the surface for direct use for build9 ing heating; 

10 (IV) industrial process waste 

11 heat; or 

12 (V) a combination of the systems 

13 described in subclauses (I) through 

14 (IV); 

15 (ii) reduce the greenhouse gas emis16 sions associated with heating and cooling 

17 the building, set of buildings, or facility of 

18 the eligible recipient; and 

19 (iii)(I) reduce the site energy intensity 

20 of the building, set of buildings, or facility 

21 of the eligible recipient in comparison to 

22 the baseline energy usage intensity of the 

23 building, set of buildings, or facility, as ap24 plicable; 


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1 (II) improve the control and manage2 ment of energy usage of the building, set 

3 of buildings, or facility to reduce demand 

4 during peak times; 

5 (III) substantially reduce the amount 

6 of water used to provide heating and cool7 ing to the building, set of buildings, or fa8 cility; or 

9 (IV) improve, with respect to the 

10 building, set of buildings, or facility of the 

11 eligible recipient— 

12 (aa) the physical comfort of the 

13 building, set of buildings, or facility 

14 occupants; 

15 (bb) the energy efficiency of the 

16 building, set of buildings, or facility; 

17 or 

18 (cc) the quality of the air in the 

19 building, set of buildings, or facility. 

20 (C) PRIORITY.—Each State providing 

21 grants under this paragraph shall give pri22 ority— 

23 (i) to the maximum extent practicable, 

24 to eligible recipients that do not have ac25 cess to private capital; 


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1 (ii) to larger block-scale projects com2 prising at least 100,000 square feet of 

3 building space for which the networked 

4 geothermal heating and cooling system will 

5 be used; 

6 (iii) to projects that may be extended 

7 to multiple blocks or wider scales, includ8 ing systems featuring decentralized heat 

9 pumps interconnected by a single under10 ground shared loop pipe of ambient-tem11 perature water; or 

12 (iv) to projects located in an energy 

13 community (as defined in section 

14 45(b)(11)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code 

15 of 1986), a low-income community, or a 

16 disadvantaged community. 

17 (D) WAGE RATE AND APPRENTICESHIP

18 REQUIREMENTS.— 

19 (i) DAVIS-BACON.—All laborers and 

20 mechanics employed by contractors or sub21 contractors in the performance of construc22 tion, alteration, or repair work on a project 

23 assisted in whole or in part by a grant 

24 awarded by a State under this paragraph 

25 shall be paid wages at rates not less than 


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1 those prevailing on similar projects in the 

2 locality, as determined by the Secretary of 

3 Labor in accordance with subchapter IV of 

4 chapter 31 of title 40, United States Code 

5 (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Davis6 Bacon Act’’). 

7 (ii) AUTHORITY.—With respect to the 

8 labor standards specified in clause (i), the 

9 Secretary of Labor shall have the authority 

10 and functions set forth in Reorganization 

11 Plan Numbered 14 of 1950 (64 Stat. 

12 1267; 5 U.S.C. App.) and section 3145 of 

13 title 40, United States Code. 

14 (iii) APPRENTICESHIP.— 

15 (I) IN GENERAL.—All laborers 

16 and mechanics employed by contrac17 tors or subcontractors in the perform18 ance of construction, alteration, or re19 pair work on a project assisted in 

20 whole or in part by a grant awarded 

21 by a State under this paragraph shall 

22 participate in, and all such contrac23 tors or subcontractors shall sponsor, a 

24 registered apprenticeship program for 


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1 each crafts or trade employed on the 

2 project. 

3 (II) ANNUAL CERTIFICATION.— 

4 In order to remain eligible for funding 

5 under a grant awarded by a State 

6 under this paragraph, each contractor 

7 and subcontractor described in sub8 clause (I) shall annually submit to the 

9 Secretary of Labor a certification 

10 verifying that— 

11 (aa) the contractor or sub12 contractor sponsors a registered 

13 apprenticeship program for each 

14 applicable craft or trade; and 

15 (bb) the sponsored reg16 istered apprenticeship program 

17 has graduated apprentices for at 

18 least 3 of the preceding 5 years. 

19 (3) GRANTS FOR STUDIES AND TECHNICAL AS20 SISTANCE.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—A State that receives a 

22 grant under the program may use not more 

23 than 50 percent of the grant funds— 

24 (i) to award grants or provide tech25 nical assistance to eligible recipients to 


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1 carry out the activities described in sub2 paragraph (B); and 

3 (ii) to conduct broad surveys to ascer4 tain the localities or projects in the State 

5 that are best suited to receive grants under 

6 paragraph (2). 

7 (B) USE OF GRANTS.—Grant funds re8 ceived by eligible recipients under subparagraph 

9 (A)(i) may be used to partially or fully fund— 

10 (i) community thermal opportunity as11 sessments— 

12 (I) to identify potential thermal 

13 resources, including heat sources or 

14 sinks, including the geological nature 

15 or other characteristics of the local 

16 ground, groundwater, surface water, 

17 greywater, sewage or sewage effluent 

18 thermal, waste heat from commercial 

19 or industrial sources, or deep earth 

20 geological heat potential; and 

21 (II) to assess proximity of ther22 mal sources, sinks, or storage, as ap23 plicable, to existing or potential con24 centrations of thermal loads; 


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1 (ii) studies to demonstrate the relative 

2 potential of different locations for deploy3 ment of networked geothermal heating and 

4 cooling systems; 

5 (iii) feasibility studies and designs for 

6 networked geothermal heating and cooling 

7 systems; 

8 (iv) geoscientific investigation, includ9 ing test bores, thermal response tests, and 

10 thermal conductivity tests, to determine 

11 underground thermal and hydraulic char12 acteristics; and 

13 (v) activities, studies, or research to 

14 assess and overcome barriers to the imple15 mentation of networked geothermal heat16 ing and cooling systems, including finan17 cial, contracting, siting, permitting, tech18 nical, and technology barriers. 

19 (4) MULTIPLE GRANTS.—A State may provide 

20 more than 1 grant under this subsection to the same 

21 eligible recipient to facilitate multiple steps in the 

22 planning and deployment of a networked geothermal 

23 heating and cooling system. 

24 (5) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—A State that 

25 receives a grant under the program may use not 


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1 more than 5 percent of the grant funds for adminis2 trative expenses. 

3 (d) COORDINATION WITH EXISTING PROGRAMS.—A 

4 State receiving a grant under the program is encouraged 

5 to utilize and build on existing programs and infrastruc6 ture, including physical infrastructure such as pipes or 

7 wells, existing rights-of-way, and land leases, within the 

8 State that may aid the State in awarding grants under 

9 subsection (c). 

10 (e) OUTREACH.—The Secretary shall engage in out11 reach to inform States of the availability of grants under 

12 the program. 

13 (f) STATE ENERGY PROGRAM EXCLUSIONS.— 

14 (1) NO MATCHING.—A State receiving a grant 

15 under the program shall not be subject, for that 

16 grant, to the matching requirement under the item 

17 relating to ‘‘ENERGY CONSERVATION’’ under the 

18 heading ‘‘DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY’’ in title II 

19 of the Department of the Interior and Related Agen20 cies Appropriations Act, 1985 (42 U.S.C. 6323a; 98 

21 Stat. 1861). 

22 (2) EXPENDITURE PROHIBITIONS AND LIMITA23 TIONS.—Nothing in section 420.18 of title 10, Code 

24 of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations), 


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1 shall prohibit projects carried out using grants pro2 vided by States under this section. 

3 (g) REPORT.—Each State that receives a grant under 

4 the program shall, not later than 18 months after a grant 

5 is received, and annually thereafter, submit to the Sec6 retary a report that describes— 

7 (1) for each grant awarded to an eligible recipi8 ent under subsection (c)(2), data on the projects to 

9 be carried out using the grant, organized in a for10 mat to be determined by the Secretary; 

11 (2) for each grant awarded or any technical as12 sistance provided under subsection (c)(3), any out13 put in the form of feasibility studies, geoscientific in14 vestigation, thermal mapping of heat sources or sink 

15 or waste heat sources in an area, or other study re16 sults; and 

17 (3) any statutory or regulatory changes under18 taken by the State or other local regulatory body to 

19 facilitate projects carried out using a grant awarded 

20 or technical assistance provided by the State under 

21 subsection (c). 

22 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

24 appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this sec25 tion, to remain available until expended— 


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1 (A) $150,000,000 for fiscal year 2025; and 

2 (B) $120,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

3 2026 through 2029. 

4 (2) INDIAN TRIBES.—Of the amounts made 

5 available under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year, not 

6 less than 2 percent shall be used to award grants 

7 under the program to Indian Tribes. 

8 SEC. 4. REPORTS ON NETWORKED GEOTHERMAL HEATING 

9 AND COOLING SYSTEMS. 

10 (a) ANALYSIS AND REPORT.—Not later than 2 years 

11 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

12 shall— 

13 (1) perform an analysis of air source and geo14 thermal heat pump system performance, including 

15 determining the full-year, 8,760-hour coefficient of 

16 performance curves or seasonal performance factor, 

17 from a range of building types, in a variety of rep18 resentative regional climate zones, and from a rep19 resentative sample of heat pump models; and 

20 (2) submit to Congress and make publicly avail21 able on the website of the Department of Energy a 

22 report, to be entitled ‘‘Real world considerations on 

23 the deployment of heat pump technologies’’, that de24 scribes— 


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1 (A) factors that the Secretary is able to 

2 analyze that may impact the decision to pursue 

3 a networked geothermal heating and cooling 

4 system, such as the seasonal performance data 

5 and peak summer and winter power draw pro6 files for air source and geothermal heat pumps 

7 for each building type and climate region ana8 lyzed under paragraph (1); and 

9 (B) information that the Secretary is able 

10 to ascertain regarding capital or operating cost, 

11 regulatory hurdles, site considerations, or other 

12 factors. 

13 (b) SURVEY AND REPORT.—Not later than 2 years 

14 after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 

15 thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress and 

16 make publicly available on the website of the Department 

17 of Energy— 

18 (1) a compendium of available heat mapping, 

19 feasibility, or other studies undertaken by a State or 

20 the Department of Energy that serves to support de21 cisions relating to locations, layouts, and designs for 

22 networked geothermal heating and cooling systems; 

23 (2) a repository of formatted data on the 

24 projects funded under grants awarded by States 

25 under section 3(c); and 


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1 (3) a report summarizing the statutory or regu2 latory changes undertaken by States or localities to 

3 support or facilitate those projects. 

4 SEC. 5. MODEL GUIDANCE FOR WASTE HEAT TO DIRECT 

5 USE SYSTEMS. 

6 Section 40556 of the Infrastructure Investment and 

7 Jobs Act (42 U.S.C. 18842) is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (a)— 

9 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and 

10 (3) as paragraphs (3) and (4), respectively; and 

11 (B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(2) WASTE HEAT TO DIRECT USE SYSTEM.— 

14 The term ‘waste heat to direct use system’ means a 

15 system that directly heats a building or directly uti16 lizes heat for other commercial or industrial applica17 tions through the recovery of waste energy.’’; 

18 (2) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘and waste 

19 heat to power systems’’ and inserting ‘‘, waste heat 

20 to power systems, and waste heat to direct use sys21 tems’’; and 

22 (3) in subsection (c)— 

23 (A) in paragraph (2), in the matter pre24 ceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘and 

25 waste heat to power systems’’ and inserting ‘‘, 


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1 waste heat to power systems, and waste heat to 

2 direct use systems’’; and 

3 (B) in paragraph (3)(G), by striking ‘‘and 

4 waste heat to power systems’’ and inserting ‘‘, 

5 waste heat to power systems, and waste heat to 

6 direct use systems’’. 

Æ 


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