Bloomberg Law: Geothermal Emerges as Rare Bipartisan Solution for Energy Crunch

Geothermal energy is drawing support from both parties on Capitol Hill as they seek to address anxiety over rising power costs. 

Lawmakers have introduced several bipartisan bills aimed at permitting changes and increased federal funding for geothermal production, an alternative energy source that taps into heat underneath the earth’s surface for power. The push comes as prices surge in connection to demand from data centers and the war in Iran. 

Geothermal is one of the few renewable energy sources the Trump administration supports. Republicans tend to appreciate geothermal’s around-the-clock production and use of oil-and-gas technologies, while Democrats support it because production has low emissions and land use requirements. Both parties want to see faster environmental reviews for geothermal projects to speed up production timelines. 

“We have geothermal technology. We know how to produce geothermal energy. We’ve just got to make sure we do it on a timeline that makes sense so people are willing to invest in geothermal plants,” said Rep. Celeste Maloy (R-Utah), who has introduced multiple bills to change geothermal permitting requirements. 

The process traditionally is expensive and location-specific. About 0.4% of US electricity generation comes from geothermal, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Most of the US’ production has been concentrated in California and Nevada, where companies drill into the earth to access hot springs and use the steam to generate electricity. But by using the oil industry’s fracking techniques, companies can pump fluids into areas where there’s underground heat but no water to produce electricity. The new system makes the energy source easier to access and commercialize, though it’s still costly. 

Global geothermal investment is expected to grow 20% each year until 2030, according to energy research firm Rystad Energy. And corporate energy buyers, such as Meta Platforms Inc. and Google, also are looking at geothermal to help supply their energy needs. 

“Next-generation geothermal is still new, and the private financial sector is still catching up to the possibilities here,” said Ann Garth, who leads the geothermal team at the Clean Air Task Force. “That’s where public support is really playing a catalytic role.” 

Getting to House Floor 

About a half-dozen proposals in the House are meant to boost the geothermal industry. The chamber last month passed a bill from Rep. Young Kim (R-Calif.) that would allow such projects to move forward without a federal drilling permit. 

“We’re at a moment in time when all forms of energy should be on the table, and this type of energy fortunately has been able to get bipartisan support,” said Rep. Susie Lee (D-Nev.), who has sponsored multiple geothermal bills with Republican counterparts. 

Still, it’s a struggle to get bills to the House floor while other priorities take precedence.

Lawmakers are discussing bundling some of the proposals into a larger geothermal permitting bill, said Richard England, senior director of government affairs at Corporate Energy Buyers Association, a trade group whose members include data center developers and major manufacturers. 

The Senate could either take up a House-passed geothermal package separately or fold it into a much-anticipated permitting overhaul that lawmakers are negotiating, England said. But Congress is contending with multiple other priorities. 

Maloy said conversations are ongoing about how to get the legislation to the floor.

“It’s on the priority list,” Maloy said. “It’s just a matter of timing.” 

Permitting Reform Promises 

Updating environmental reviews of geothermal projects is one piece of a broader conversation around a federal permitting overhaul, which is largely in the hands of the Senate leaders on the Environment and Public Works and Energy and Natural Resources committees. 

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) said she’s optimistic for a deal. “We should be leaning into this idea of all-of-the-above, including geothermal,” she said. 

Cortez Masto has sponsored two recent bills, with Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), that provide federal support for geothermal research and create a permitting task force, respectively. 

Murkowski said in a statement that her bill is needed to “deliver reliable, baseload, homegrown energy for generations” to combat rising energy costs. 

The midterm elections are shortening lawmakers’ timeline to get something passed. If the Senate folds geothermal legislation into a permitting overhaul, it may falter because of disagreements with the overall package, Lee said. 

“I do worry that we risk that it crumbles when you don’t get a big permitting reform passed,” Lee said. 

Rare Support for Renewable 

While the Trump administration has mostly promoted traditional fossil fuels, it has shown support for geothermal and nuclear. 

“I’ve never had a bad meeting on geothermal, and there are not a lot of folks on energy policy who can say that,” Garth said. 

When Republicans rolled back many of the Biden administration’s clean energy tax credits, geothermal incentives remained. And the Energy Department created a new geothermal office focused on development and innovation in the industry. That support is encouraging to lawmakers, Maloy said. 

“Congress is doing our part, writing bills, working to pass bills, to make this easier,” Maloy said. “But having the administration cooperate while we’re doing that gives us a higher chance of getting reforms that will last, and getting projects going.”