Title: GEO Act
Policy area: Energy

Summary:
Geothermal Energy Opportunities Act or the GEO Act
This bill addresses the exploration, development, and production of geothermal resources and energy on federal land.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1901 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1901

         To promote geothermal energy, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 19, 2019

 Ms. Cortez Masto (for herself and Mr. Wyden) introduced the following 
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                           Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
         To promote geothermal energy, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Geothermal Energy Opportunities 
Act'' or the ``GEO Act''.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL GOALS FOR PRODUCTION AND SITE IDENTIFICATION.

    It is the sense of Congress that, not later than 10 years after the 
date of enactment of this Act--
            (1) the Secretary of the Interior should seek to have 
        approved more than 15,000 megawatts of new geothermal energy 
        capacity on public land across a geographically diverse set of 
        States using the full range of available technologies; and
            (2) the Director of the United States Geological Survey and 
        the Secretary of Energy should identify sites capable of 
        producing a total of 50,000 megawatts of geothermal power, 
        using the full range of available technologies.

SEC. 3. PRIORITY AREAS FOR DEVELOPMENT ON FEDERAL LAND.

    The Director of the Bureau of Land Management, in consultation with 
other appropriate Federal officials, shall--
            (1) identify high-priority areas for new geothermal 
        development; and
            (2) take any actions the Director determines necessary to 
        facilitate that development, consistent with applicable laws.

SEC. 4. FACILITATION OF COPRODUCTION OF GEOTHERMAL ENERGY ON OIL AND 
              GAS LEASES.

    Section 4(b) of the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 
1003(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) Land subject to oil and gas lease.--Land under an oil 
        and gas lease issued pursuant to the Mineral Leasing Act (30 
        U.S.C. 181 et seq.) or the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired 
        Lands (30 U.S.C. 351 et seq.) that is subject to an approved 
        application for permit to drill and from which oil and gas 
        production is occurring may be available for noncompetitive 
        leasing under this section to the holder of the oil and gas 
        lease--
                    ``(A) on a determination that--
                            ``(i) geothermal energy will be produced 
                        from a well producing or capable of producing 
                        oil and gas; and
                            ``(ii) national energy security will be 
                        improved by the issuance of such a lease; and
                    ``(B) to provide for the coproduction of geothermal 
                energy with oil and gas.''.

SEC. 5. COST-SHARED EXPLORATION.

    (a) In General.--To promote the goals described in section 2, the 
Secretary of Energy may conduct a federally funded program of cost-
shared drilling with industry partners--
            (1) to explore and document new geothermal resources in the 
        United States; and
            (2) to develop improved tools and methods for geothermal 
        resource identification and extraction, with the goal of 
        achieving material reductions in the cost of exploration with a 
        corresponding increase in the likelihood of drilling success.
    (b) Grants.--
            (1) In general.--To carry out the program described in 
        subsection (a), the Secretary of Energy may award cost-share 
        grants on a competitive and merit basis to eligible applicants 
        to support exploration drilling and related activities.
            (2) Project criteria.--In selecting applicants to receive 
        grants under paragraph (1), the Secretary of Energy shall--
                    (A) give preference to applicants proposing 
                projects located in a variety of geologic and 
                geographic settings with previously unexplored, 
                underexplored, or unproven geothermal resources; and
                    (B) consider--
                            (i) the potential that the unproven 
                        geothermal resources would be explored and 
                        developed under the proposed project;
                            (ii) the expertise and experience of an 
                        applicant in developing geothermal resources; 
                        and
                            (iii) the contribution the proposed project 
                        would make toward meeting the goals described 
                        in section 2.
    (c) Data Sharing.--
            (1) In general.--Data from all exploratory wells that are 
        carried out under the program described in subsection (a) shall 
        be provided to the Secretary of Energy and the Secretary of the 
        Interior for--
                    (A) use in mapping national geothermal resources; 
                and
                    (B) other purposes, including--
                            (i) subsurface geologic data;
                            (ii) metadata;
                            (iii) borehole temperature data; and
                            (iv) inclusion in the National Geothermal 
                        Data System of the Department of Energy.
            (2) Sharing of confidential data.--Not later than 2 years 
        after the date of enactment of this Act, confidential data from 
        all exploratory wells that are carried out under the program 
        described in subsection (a) shall be provided to the Secretary 
        of Energy and the Secretary of the Interior for the purposes 
        described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1), to be 
        available for a period of time to be determined by the 
        Secretary of Energy and the Secretary of the Interior.

SEC. 6. USE OF GEOTHERMAL LEASE REVENUES.

    (a) Amounts Deposited.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
beginning in the first full fiscal year after the date of enactment of 
this Act, any amounts received by the United States as rentals, 
royalties, and other payments required under leases pursuant to the 
Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) (excluding funds 
required to be paid to State and county governments) and from new 
geothermal leases issued after the date of enactment of this Act shall 
be deposited into a separate account in the Treasury.
    (b) Use of Deposits.--Amounts deposited under subsection (a) shall 
be available to the Secretary of Energy for expenditure, without 
further appropriation or fiscal year limitation, to carry out section 
5.
    (c) Transfer of Funds.--To promote the goals described in section 
2, the Secretary of Energy may authorize the expenditure or transfer of 
any funds that are necessary to other cooperating Federal agencies.

SEC. 7. NONCOMPETITIVE LEASING OF ADJOINING AREAS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF 
              GEOTHERMAL RESOURCES.

    Section 4(b) of the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 
1003(b)) (as amended by section 4) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
            ``(5) Adjoining land.--
                    ``(A) Definitions.--In this paragraph:
                            ``(i) Fair market value per acre.--The term 
                        `fair market value per acre' means a dollar 
                        amount per acre that--
                                    ``(I) except as provided in this 
                                clause, shall be equal to the market 
                                value per acre (taking into account the 
                                determination under subparagraph 
                                (B)(iii) regarding a valid discovery on 
                                the adjoining land), as determined by 
                                the Secretary under regulations issued 
                                under this paragraph;
                                    ``(II) shall be determined by the 
                                Secretary with respect to a lease under 
                                this paragraph, by not later than the 
                                end of the 180-day period beginning on 
                                the date the Secretary receives an 
                                application for the lease; and
                                    ``(III) shall be not less than the 
                                greater of--
                                            ``(aa) 4 times the median 
                                        amount paid per acre for all 
                                        land leased under this Act 
                                        during the preceding year; or
                                            ``(bb) $50.
                            ``(ii) Industry standards.--The term 
                        `industry standards' means the standards by 
                        which a qualified geothermal professional 
                        assesses whether downhole or flowing 
                        temperature measurements with indications of 
                        permeability are sufficient to produce energy 
                        from geothermal resources, as determined 
                        through flow or injection testing or 
                        measurement of lost circulation while drilling.
                            ``(iii) Qualified federal land.--The term 
                        `qualified Federal land' means land that is 
                        otherwise available for leasing under this Act.
                            ``(iv) Qualified geothermal professional.--
                        The term `qualified geothermal professional' 
                        means an individual who is an engineer or 
                        geoscientist in good professional standing with 
                        at least 5 years of experience in geothermal 
                        exploration, development, or project 
                        assessment.
                            ``(v) Qualified lessee.--The term 
                        `qualified lessee' means a person that is 
                        eligible to hold a geothermal lease under this 
                        Act (including applicable regulations).
                            ``(vi) Valid discovery.--The term `valid 
                        discovery' means a discovery of a geothermal 
                        resource by a new or existing slim hole or 
                        production well, that exhibits downhole or 
                        flowing temperature measurements with 
                        indications of permeability that are sufficient 
                        to meet industry standards.
                    ``(B) Authority.--An area of qualified Federal land 
                that adjoins other land for which a qualified lessee 
                holds a legal right to develop geothermal resources may 
                be available for a noncompetitive lease under this 
                section to the qualified lessee at the fair market 
                value per acre, if--
                            ``(i) the area of qualified Federal land--
                                    ``(I) consists of not less than 1 
                                acre and not more than 640 acres; and
                                    ``(II) is not already leased under 
                                this Act or nominated to be leased 
                                under subsection (a);
                            ``(ii) the qualified lessee has not 
                        previously received a noncompetitive lease 
                        under this paragraph in connection with the 
                        valid discovery for which data has been 
                        submitted under clause (iii)(I); and
                            ``(iii) sufficient geological and other 
                        technical data prepared by a qualified 
                        geothermal professional has been submitted by 
                        the qualified lessee to the applicable Federal 
                        land management agency that would lead 
                        individuals who are experienced in the subject 
                        matter to believe that--
                                    ``(I) there is a valid discovery of 
                                geothermal resources on the land for 
                                which the qualified lessee holds the 
                                legal right to develop geothermal 
                                resources; and
                                    ``(II) that thermal feature extends 
                                into the adjoining areas.
                    ``(C) Determination of fair market value.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The Secretary shall--
                                    ``(I) publish a notice of any 
                                request to lease land under this 
                                paragraph;
                                    ``(II) determine fair market value 
                                for purposes of this paragraph in 
                                accordance with procedures for making 
                                those determinations that are 
                                established by regulations issued by 
                                the Secretary;
                                    ``(III) provide to a qualified 
                                lessee and publish, with an opportunity 
                                for public comment for a period of 30 
                                days, any proposed determination under 
                                this subparagraph of the fair market 
                                value of an area that the qualified 
                                lessee seeks to lease under this 
                                paragraph; and
                                    ``(IV) provide to the qualified 
                                lessee and any adversely affected party 
                                the opportunity to appeal the final 
                                determination of fair market value in 
                                an administrative proceeding before the 
                                applicable Federal land management 
                                agency, in accordance with applicable 
                                law (including regulations).
                            ``(ii) Limitation on nomination.--After 
                        publication of a notice of request to lease 
                        land under this paragraph, the Secretary may 
                        not accept under subsection (a) any nomination 
                        of the land for leasing unless the request has 
                        been denied or withdrawn.
                            ``(iii) Annual rental.--For purposes of 
                        section 5(a)(3), a lease awarded under this 
                        paragraph shall be considered a lease awarded 
                        in a competitive lease sale.
                    ``(D) Regulations.--Not later than 270 days after 
                the date of enactment of the Geothermal Energy 
                Opportunities Act, the Secretary shall issue 
                regulations to carry out this paragraph.''.

SEC. 8. LARGE-SCALE GEOTHERMAL ENERGY.

    Title VI of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 is 
amended by inserting after section 616 (42 U.S.C. 17195) the following:

``SEC. 616A. LARGE-SCALE GEOTHERMAL ENERGY.

    ``(a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            ``(1) the Geothermal Technologies Program of the Office of 
        Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy of the Department has 
        included a focus on direct use of geothermal energy in the low-
        temperature geothermal energy subprogram (including in the 
        development of a research and development plan for the 
        program);
            ``(2) the Building Technologies Program of the Office of 
        Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy of the Department--
                    ``(A) is focused on the energy demand and energy 
                efficiency of buildings; and
                    ``(B) includes geothermal heat pumps as a component 
                technology in the residential and commercial deployment 
                activities of the program; and
            ``(3) geothermal heat pumps and direct use of geothermal 
        energy, especially in large-scale applications, can make a 
        significant contribution to the use of renewable energy but are 
        underrepresented in research, development, demonstration, and 
        commercialization.
    ``(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this section are--
            ``(1) to improve the components, processes, and systems 
        used for geothermal heat pumps and the direct use of geothermal 
        energy; and
            ``(2) to increase the energy efficiency, lower the cost, 
        increase the use, and improve and demonstrate the applicability 
        of geothermal heat pumps to, and the direct use of geothermal 
        energy in, large buildings, commercial districts, residential 
        communities, and large municipal, agricultural, or industrial 
        projects.
    ``(c) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Direct use of geothermal energy.--The term `direct 
        use of geothermal energy' means systems that use water that is 
        at a temperature between approximately 38 degrees Celsius and 
        149 degrees Celsius directly or through a heat exchanger to 
        provide--
                    ``(A) heating to buildings; or
                    ``(B) heat required for industrial processes, 
                agriculture, aquaculture, and other facilities.
            ``(2) Geothermal heat pump.--The term `geothermal heat 
        pump' means a system that provides heating and cooling by 
        exchanging heat from shallow ground or surface water using--
                    ``(A) a closed loop system, which transfers heat by 
                way of buried or immersed pipes that contain a mix of 
                water and working fluid; or
                    ``(B) an open loop system, which circulates ground 
                or surface water directly into the building and returns 
                the water to the same aquifer or surface water source.
            ``(3) Large-scale application.--The term `large-scale 
        application' means an application for space or process heating 
        or cooling for large entities with a name-plate capacity, 
        expected resource, or rating of 10 or more megawatts, such as a 
        large building, commercial district, residential community, or 
        a large municipal, agricultural, or industrial project.
            ``(4) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary 
        of Energy, acting through the Assistant Secretary for Energy 
        Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
    ``(d) Program.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish a program 
        of research, development, and demonstration for geothermal heat 
        pumps and the direct use of geothermal energy.
            ``(2) Areas.--The program may include research, 
        development, demonstration, and commercial application of--
                    ``(A) geothermal ground loop efficiency 
                improvements through more efficient heat transfer 
                fluids;
                    ``(B) geothermal ground loop efficiency 
                improvements through more efficient thermal grouts for 
                wells and trenches;
                    ``(C) geothermal ground loop installation cost 
                reduction through--
                            ``(i) improved drilling methods;
                            ``(ii) improvements in drilling equipment;
                            ``(iii) improvements in design methodology 
                        and energy analysis procedures; and
                            ``(iv) improved methods for determination 
                        of ground thermal properties and ground 
                        temperatures;
                    ``(D) installing geothermal ground loops near the 
                foundation walls of new construction to take advantage 
                of existing structures;
                    ``(E) using gray or black wastewater as a method of 
                heat exchange;
                    ``(F) improving geothermal heat pump system 
                economics through integration of geothermal systems 
                with other building systems, including providing hot 
                and cold water and rejecting or circulating industrial 
                process heat through refrigeration heat rejection and 
                waste heat recovery;
                    ``(G) advanced geothermal systems using variable 
                pumping rates to increase efficiency;
                    ``(H) geothermal heat pump efficiency improvements;
                    ``(I) use of hot water found in mines and mine 
                shafts and other surface waters as the heat exchange 
                medium;
                    ``(J) heating of districts, neighborhoods, 
                communities, large commercial or public buildings 
                (including office, retail, educational, government, and 
                institutional buildings and multifamily residential 
                buildings and campuses), and industrial and 
                manufacturing facilities;
                    ``(K) geothermal system integration with solar 
                thermal water heating or cool roofs and solar-
                regenerated desiccants to balance loads and use 
                building hot water to store geothermal energy;
                    ``(L) use of hot water coproduced from oil and gas 
                recovery;
                    ``(M) use of water sources at a temperature of less 
                than 150 degrees Celsius for direct use;
                    ``(N) system integration of direct use with 
                geothermal electricity production; and
                    ``(O) coproduction of heat and power, including on-
                site use.
            ``(3) Environmental impacts.--In carrying out the program, 
        the Secretary shall identify and mitigate potential 
        environmental impacts in accordance with section 614(c).
    ``(e) Grants.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall make grants 
        available to State and local governments, institutions of 
        higher education, nonprofit entities, utilities, and for-profit 
        companies (including manufacturers of heat-pump and direct-use 
        components and systems) to promote the development of 
        geothermal heat pumps and the direct use of geothermal energy.
            ``(2) Priority.--In making grants under this subsection, 
        the Secretary shall give priority to proposals that apply to 
        large buildings (including office, retail, educational, 
        government, institutional, and multifamily residential 
        buildings and campuses and industrial and manufacturing 
        facilities), commercial districts, and residential communities.
            ``(3) National solicitation.--Not later than 180 days after 
        the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall 
        conduct a national solicitation for applications for grants 
        under this section.
    ``(f) Reports.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
        enactment of this section and annually thereafter, the 
        Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
        Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, 
        and Technology of the House of Representatives a report on 
        progress made and results obtained under this section to 
        develop geothermal heat pumps and direct use of geothermal 
        energy.
            ``(2) Areas.--Each of the reports required under this 
        subsection shall include--
                    ``(A) an analysis of progress made in each of the 
                areas described in subsection (d)(2); and
                    ``(B)(i) a description of any relevant 
                recommendations made during a review of the program; 
                and
                    ``(ii) any plans to address the recommendations 
                under clause (i).''.

SEC. 9. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

    Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, and 
not less frequently than once every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary 
of the Interior and the Secretary of Energy shall submit to the 
appropriate committees of Congress a report describing the progress 
made towards achieving the goals described in section 2.

SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act such 
sums as are necessary.
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