I 

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118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8665 

To amend the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to direct 

research, development, demonstration, and commercial application activities in support of supercritical geothermal and closed-loop geothermal 

systems in supercritical various conditions, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 7, 2024 

Mr. LUCAS (for himself and Ms. SALINAS) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and 

in addition to the Committee on Natural Resources, 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 amend the Energy Independence and Security Act of 

2007 to direct research, development, demonstration, and 

commercial application activities in support of supercritical geothermal and closed-loop geothermal systems in 

supercritical various conditions, 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 ‘‘Supercritical Geo5 thermal Research and Development Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. GEOTHERMAL ENERGY. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Energy Independence and 

3 Security Act of 2007 is amended— 

4 (1) in section 612 (42 U.S.C. 17191; relating 

5 to definitions)— 

6 (A) by redesignating paragraph (8) as 

7 paragraph (9); and 

8 (B) by inserting after paragraph (7) the 

9 following new paragraph: 

10 ‘‘(8) SUPERCRITICAL GEOTHERMAL.—The term 

11 ‘supercritical geothermal’ means energy derived from 

12 a subsurface rock resource in-situ existing at or 

13 above the supercritical conditions of the primary 

14 fluid present.’’; 

15 (2) in section 613 (42 U.S.C. 17192; relating 

16 to hydrothermal research and development), by 

17 striking ‘‘advanced geologic tools to assist’’ and in18 serting ‘‘advanced tools, including machine learning 

19 algorithms, to assist’’; 

20 (3) in section 614 (42 U.S.C. 17193; relating 

21 to general geothermal systems research and develop22 ment)— 

23 (A) in paragraph (1) of subsection (d), by 

24 striking ‘‘among the Office of Fossil Energy, 

25 the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable 


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1 Energy,’’ and inserting ‘‘across the Depart2 ment’’; and 

3 (B) in subsection (h)— 

4 (i) in paragraph (1), by inserting 

5 ‘‘and publicly available subsurface data, in6 cluding data reported as part of fossil fuel 

7 and mining operations,’’ after ‘‘geothermal 

8 drilling information’’; and 

9 (ii) in paragraph (2), by adding at the 

10 end the following new subparagraphs: 

11 ‘‘(C) UPDATES.—The repository estab12 lished under paragraph (1) shall be periodically 

13 updated in order to carry out the following: 

14 ‘‘(i) Standardize data in a uniform 

15 manner to the maximum extent practicable 

16 and enable analysis across different 

17 projects. 

18 ‘‘(ii) Enhance the accessibility and 

19 usability of data to increase analysis of 

20 geothermal energy, including enhanced, 

21 closed-loop, and supercritical geothermal, 

22 on regional, local, and site-specific scales. 

23 ‘‘(iii) Increase uses of data, including 

24 data viewable by map and organization by 

25 common attributes such as region. 


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1 ‘‘(iv) Make other improvements in 

2 functionality and usability, as determined 

3 by the Secretary. 

4 ‘‘(D) MEMORANDUM OF UNDER5 STANDING.—The Secretary shall enter into a 

6 memorandum of understanding with the Sec7 retary of the Interior, along with the heads of 

8 other relevant Federal departments, for noti9 fying, sharing, and providing opportunities for 

10 additional data collection regarding shared geo11 thermal development data from projects funded 

12 by each such department, including data from 

13 mining, critical minerals, and energy projects, 

14 such as subsurface heat data, seismic data, li15 thology data, boundaries of State and federally 

16 protected areas, and existing transmission ca17 pacity. To the maximum extent practicable, ac18 tivities conducted under such a memorandum of 

19 understanding shall prioritize heat, lithology, 

20 and strain profiles through deep exploration 

21 boreholes and control points for deep heat map22 ping and geothermal development. 

23 ‘‘(E) REGIONAL DEEP DATA PROBES.— 

24 The Secretary shall work with the Secretary of 

25 the Interior, who shall be responsible for comVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:00 Aug 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8665.IH H8665

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1 missioning the drilling of deep exploration 

2 boreholes deeper than eight kilometers in depth 

3 in representative geological provinces in the 

4 United States to provide control points for deep 

5 heat mapping and geothermal development. The 

6 resulting data shall include an exploration of 

7 heat, lithology, and strain profiles, and shall be 

8 shared publicly on the drilling data repository.’’; 

9 (4) in section 615 (42 U.S.C. 17194; relating 

10 to enhanced geothermal systems research and devel11 opment)— 

12 (A) in subsection (b)— 

13 (i) in paragraph (11), by striking 

14 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 

15 (ii) in paragraph (12), by striking the 

16 period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

17 (iii) by adding at the end the fol18 lowing new paragraph: 

19 ‘‘(13) the research topics specified in subpara20 graphs (1) through (12) in supercritical condi21 tions.’’; 

22 (B) in subsection (c), by adding at the end 

23 the following new paragraph: 

24 ‘‘(8) SUPERCRITICAL NEXT GENERATION GEO25 THERMAL TESTING.—Not later than one year after 


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1 the date of the enactment of this paragraph, the 

2 Secretary shall take such actions as may be nec3 essary to ensure that at least one FORGE site has 

4 the capabilities to include supercritical geothermal 

5 testing and, if practicable and technically feasible, 

6 closed-loop geothermal systems in supercritical con7 ditions.’’; and 

8 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

9 subsection: 

10 ‘‘(e) SUPERCRITICAL GEOTHERMAL RESEARCH AND

11 DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Within the Geothermal 

13 Technologies Office of the Department, the Sec14 retary shall support a program of supercritical geo15 thermal research, development, demonstration, and 

16 commercial application activities and, if practicable 

17 and technically feasible, closed-loop geothermal sys18 tems in supercritical conditions. 

19 ‘‘(2) FOCUS AREAS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The program de21 scribed in paragraph (1) shall focus on the fol22 lowing topics: 

23 ‘‘(i) Well completion. 

24 ‘‘(ii) Permeability creation and man25 agement, including proppants and packers. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) Materials development and 

2 equipment design, including power produc3 tion, specific to supercritical geothermal 

4 systems. 

5 ‘‘(iv) Sensor development. 

6 ‘‘(v) Water-rock geochemistry. 

7 ‘‘(vi) Rock properties. 

8 ‘‘(vii) Hard rock and deep drilling. 

9 ‘‘(viii) Any other topics the Secretary 

10 determines necessary. 

11 ‘‘(B) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary 

12 may administer grants to universities and pri13 vate sector entities to carry out activities on the 

14 topics specified in subparagraph (A) and, to the 

15 maximum extent practicable, share data, re16 sults, and information publicly. 

17 ‘‘(3) REPORT ON WATER USE.—Not later than 

18 five years after the date of the enactment of this 

19 subsection, the Secretary shall submit to the Com20 mittee on Natural Resources and the Committee on 

21 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 

22 Representatives and the Committee on Energy and 

23 Natural Resources of the Senate a report on the fol24 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(A) Water use and estimated needs of en2 hanced geothermal systems. 

3 ‘‘(B) Water use and estimated needs for 

4 closed-loop, and superhot geothermal energy 

5 production. 

6 ‘‘(4) NEXT GENERATION GEOTHERMAL CENTER

7 OF EXCELLENCE.— 

8 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary 

9 shall award grants through a competitive, 

10 merit-reviewed process, to National Labora11 tories (as such term is defined in section 2 of 

12 the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 

13 15801)), multi-institutional collaborations, or 

14 institutes of higher education (or consortia 

15 thereof) for the following: 

16 ‘‘(i) The continuation and expansion 

17 of research, development, demonstration, 

18 testing, and commercial application activi19 ties applicable to FORGE sites. 

20 ‘‘(ii) The establishment of a next-gen21 eration geothermal center of excellence. 

22 ‘‘(B) LOCATION.—In selecting institutions 

23 of higher education for a center referred to in 

24 subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall consider 

25 the following criteria: 


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1 ‘‘(i) Whether the institution hosts an 

2 existing geothermal energy research and 

3 development program. 

4 ‘‘(ii) Whether the institution has prov5 en technical expertise to support geo6 thermal energy research. 

7 ‘‘(iii) Whether the institution has ac8 cess to geothermal resources. 

9 ‘‘(C) PURPOSE.—The center referred to in 

10 subparagraph (A) shall coordinate among exist11 ing FORGE sites, the Department, and na12 tional laboratories to carry out the following: 

13 ‘‘(i) Advance research, development, 

14 demonstration, and commercial application 

15 of enhanced geothermal energy tech16 nologies, including supercritical geothermal 

17 technologies, in response to industry and 

18 commercial needs, including by partnering 

19 with other academic or research institu20 tions, industry, non-governmental organi21 zations, and State, local, or Tribal govern22 ments. 

23 ‘‘(ii) Foster collaboration for edu24 cation, research, and partnership initiatives 

25 in order to support the technology, deployVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:00 Aug 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8665.IH H8665

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1 ment, and workforce needs of the United 

2 States geothermal energy industry, includ3 ing a focus on enhanced, closed-loop, and 

4 supercritical geothermal systems. 

5 ‘‘(iii) Support workforce development 

6 across the enhanced geothermal energy de7 velopment lifecycle. 

8 ‘‘(iv) Provide educational, technical, 

9 and analytical assistance on enhanced geo10 thermal systems to Federal agencies, in11 dustry, and State, local, and Tribal govern12 ments. 

13 ‘‘(v) Collect and disseminate informa14 tion on best practices in all areas relating 

15 to developing and managing geothermal 

16 energy resources and energy systems, in17 cluding enhanced, closed-loop, and super18 critical geothermal. 

19 ‘‘(5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

20 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec21 retary $5,000,000 for each fiscal years 2026 

22 through 2030 to carry out this subsection.’’; and 

23 (5) in section 617 (42 U.S.C. 17196; relating 

24 to organization and administration of programs)— 


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1 (A) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘Com2 mittee on Science and Technology’’ and insert3 ing ‘‘Committee on Science, Space, and Tech4 nology’’; and 

5 (B) by amending subsection (f) to read as 

6 follows: 

7 ‘‘(f) PROGRESS REPORTS.—Not later than one year 

8 after the date of the enactment of this subsection and 

9 every two years thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to 

10 the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

11 House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy 

12 and Natural Resources of the Senate a report that con13 tains the following: 

14 ‘‘(1) A description of the maximum potential of 

15 geothermal resources in the United States. 

16 ‘‘(2) Information relating to the results of 

17 projects undertaken under this section. 

18 ‘‘(3) An assessment of the barriers to commer19 cialization of enhanced, closed-loop, and supercritical 

20 geothermal technologies. 

21 ‘‘(4) Such other information as the Secretary 

22 considers appropriate.’’. 

23 (b) UPDATE TO GEOTHERMAL RESOURCE ASSESS24 MENT.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 2501 of the Energy 

2 Policy Act of 1992 (30 U.S.C. 1028) is amended— 

3 (A) in subsection (c)— 

4 (i) in the matter preceding paragraph 

5 (1), by inserting ‘‘quadrennially’’ before 

6 ‘‘update’’; and 

7 (ii) in paragraph (1)(D)(ii), by strik8 ing ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 

9 (iii) in paragraph (2), by striking the 

10 period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

11 (iv) by adding at the end the following 

12 new paragraph: 

13 ‘‘(3) assessing regions of the United States with 

14 significant potential for supercritical geothermal.’’; 

15 and 

16 (B) by striking subsection (d). 

17 (2) FIRST UPDATE.—The first quadrennial up18 date to the geothermal resource assessment carried 

19 out by the United States Geological Survey under 

20 subsection (c) of section 2501 of the Energy Policy 

21 Act of 1992, as amended by paragraph (1), shall be 

22 completed by not later than 180 days after the date 

23 of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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