Geothermal Cost-Recovery Authority Act of 2024

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

I rise in support of my bill, H.R. 7422, the Geothermal Cost Recovery Authority Act of 2024. As colleagues on both sides of the aisle can agree, geothermal energy is an extremely promising and growing source of renewable energy.

Since the 1960s, geothermal energy has been used as a sustainable and reliable source of electricity, but even though it has grown significantly since then, it still only makes up less than half of one percent of our energy generation mix.

Fortunately, new breakthroughs in technology are massively expanding where geothermal energy can be developed. This is particularly exciting because of some of the unique benefits of geothermal energy for the clean energy transition.

Geothermal provides consistent baseload power, which is available 24/ 7 with minimal emissions. This complements the mix of solar, wind, and storage needed to build a clean grid and is crucial for maintaining stability in our energy systems, replacing dirty baseload energy like coal.

Many of the skills needed for geothermal development are directly transferrable from industries like oil and gas. As geothermal technologies advance, we will be able to site those power plants at places like retired coal plants where fossil fuel workers can find jobs.

Better yet, many of these fossil trades are already organized and unionized. Everyone from the laborers to the workers in the power plant control rooms, to the steamfitters, pipefitters, and operating engineers can find work in geothermal. Geothermal shows truly exciting promise to help union workers transition to a clean energy economy.

As all this growth occurs, the Federal Government will also have an important role to play. The Department of Energy is supporting pilot projects and advancements in technology. Within the jurisdiction of the Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee, where I serve as ranking member, the Department of the Interior is often in charge of permitting.

In fact, the first renewable energy project sited on U.S. public lands back in 1978 was geothermal energy. Right now, nearly 70 percent of geothermal energy capacity is on federally managed Bureau of Land Management lands.

With the technological advancements we are seeing now, the Bureau of Land Management needs to be ready to scale up the deployment of this clean energy while remaining diligent about permitting responsibly, considering public input and respecting indigenous knowledge and Tribal consultation.

We have heard from geothermal developers that there can be challenges when it comes to permitting new geothermal plants. Much of that stems from capacity constraints, the need for more expertise or more staff in the right locations.

My bill, the Geothermal Cost Recovery Authority Act of 2024, will allow BLM the flexibility to charge companies cost recovery for things like inspections and monitoring, and my bill will enable BLM to hire third-party experts to help review permit applications. This flexibility will improve permitting capacity and timelines without sacrificing any of the important steps for environmental review and community input.

At a time when permitting is a contentious word in Washington, this bill shows both parties can come together around commonsense approaches to advance commonsense solutions.

I greatly appreciate my colleagues across the aisle who worked with us on the language in my bill, and I am excited to see it moving forward today, along with other positive bills for geothermal energy, like Congressman Curtis' GEO Act.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 7422) to amend the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to provide cost-recovery authority for the Department of the Interior, 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. 7422, the bill now under consideration.

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

H.R. 7422, the Geothermal Cost Recovery Authority Act of 2024 grants the Department of the Interior the authority to impose fees on geothermal leaseholders. The fees would cover costs related to geothermal lease applications, production and development plans, site licenses, permits, and approvals, as well as inspection and monitoring activities.

In 2022, BLM updated its regulations and created new geothermal cost recovery fees but did not include a fee for geothermal permits to drill. BLM argued that there is no mechanism under FLPMA to charge cost recovery fees for geothermal facilities like there is for wind and solar.

This bill would provide DOI with explicit authority to charge geothermal leaseholder fees to recover costs for geothermal lease applications and other approvals associated with exploration, drilling, construction, and operation of well sites.

As we have seen in the past, agencies have blamed slow permitting processes on a lack of funding. However, when Congress provided additional funding, permitting timelines did not improve, and taxpayer dollars were squandered.

I appreciate the changes made to the bill during the committee process to ensure fees charged under the legislation will be used explicitly for geothermal permitting. Reporting language was also included to better enable Congress to ensure these funds are used appropriately.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, as part of an all-of-the-above approach to energy security, geothermal energy has great potential to help meet the United States' growing energy demands.

I appreciate Ms. Ocasio-Cortez' work with my team to address concerns raised about H.R. 7422 during the committee's hearing and markup process. I yield back the balance of my time.