GEO Act

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 7370) to amend the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to establish a deadline for processing applications related to geothermal leasing, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 7370, the bill now under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 7370, the Geothermal Energy Opportunity Act. Geothermal power has serious potential for growth in this country. In fact, DOE estimates that next-generation geothermal technologies, like enhanced geothermal systems, could provide up to 90 gigawatts of reliable baseload energy by 2050.

The best geothermal resources are located out West on Federal lands, and we must do all we can to ensure that bureaucratic red tape does not hamper the development of this resource moving forward.

H.R. 7370, the GEO Act, introduced by the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Curtis), requires the Bureau of Land Management to process geothermal permits and authorizations unless a Federal court says otherwise.

In some cases, the Biden administration has stopped processing permits and authorizations for geothermal and oil and gas projects solely because of the threat of litigation or because they have unilaterally decided to wait for the appearance of new information.

Often, this delay tactic is meant to appease radical special interest groups who wish to stop all energy development on Federal lands and whose former employees have infiltrated the Department.

Simply put, agencies should continue to move projects forward until they are directed otherwise by a court, and agencies should defend their work in court.

Geothermal energy is becoming easier to produce every day, thanks to enhanced geothermal systems and the advanced methods these developers have borrowed from the oil and gas industry.

We cannot allow the mere threat of frivolous litigation to hamper domestic energy production. This bill would address concerns voiced by the Bureau of Land Management during our hearing to ensure they can comply with existing laws.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from

Utah (Mr. Curtis), the lead sponsor of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time. I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I commend the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Curtis) for working on this commonsense piece of legislation. Again, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the bill led by the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Curtis), H.R. 7370, the GEO Act.

The GEO Act would support the efficient approval of geothermal permit applications without sacrificing thorough review under the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the National Historic Preservation Act.

I thank Republicans for their willingness to work across the aisle on improvements to this legislation. Through this bipartisan work, we were able to safeguard important community protections to ensure compliance with Federal laws. This way, we can ensure projects are built in a way that is safe for the communities and the environment.

We have also updated the timelines for approval so that we equip the Bureau of Land Management with adequate time to process applications. With these safeguards in place, this bill takes a step toward sustainably building a clean-energy future that centers our people and our planet.

Geothermal energy will play an especially important role in this clean-energy future. Geothermal has the smallest footprint of any energy-generation technology and uses significantly fewer resources than other sources, especially conventional fossil fuels.

According to the Department of Energy, geothermal uses about 1 to 8 acres per megawatt versus 5 to 10 acres per megawatt for nuclear operations and 19 acres per megawatt for a coal power plant.

Deploying more geothermal will allow us to protect strained resources while protecting the clean energy we know we need, and the GEO Act will assist in the deployment of this exciting technology by ensuring timeliness in permit-approval processes for geothermal energy.

Importantly, it does so without sacrificing the holistic review of environmental and community impacts during the permitting process. It is because of this that I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, the GEO Act. Utah is a leader in geothermal energy, but many companies are being held back by the current regulatory environment.

My bill simply requires the Department of the Interior to continue issuing all authorizations as long as the underlying lease remains unchallenged. Geothermal energy is affordable, reliable, and clean energy.

After companies have invested substantial time and resources in obtaining permits, the Department of the Interior sometimes withholds notices to proceed, drilling permits, and other authorizations due to litigation threats against the project.

To be clear, these pauses have occurred without any evidence of wrongdoing by the Department of the Interior or the operators. Instead, they result from unsubstantiated threats made by private organizations. This isn't sustainable if we want geothermal to be part of our clean- energy future.

The chart to my right demonstrates how important this is throughout the West, particularly rural parts of the West, where economic development can be enhanced dramatically by these projects.

The Department of Energy projects that enhanced geothermal systems could contribute up to 90 gigawatts of electricity by 2050, accounting for almost 9 percent of U.S. energy-generation capacity.

Utah is a case study in geothermal energy, and I was proud to support the establishment of Utah FORGE in southern Utah, a dedicated underground field laboratory sponsored by the Department of Energy focused on developing, testing, and accelerating geothermal breakthroughs.

Mr. Speaker, the GEO Act is a critical step toward ensuring that Utah and the United States lead in geothermal energy and technology.