U.S. Senate Committee Passes Geothermal Leasing Measure (Renewable Energy World.com)
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources met Thursday, May 16th, to vote on a series of measures that included S. 363, The Geothermal Expansion and Production Act. The legislation was sponsored by Senator Wyden (D-OR), and co-sponsored by Senators Murkowski (R-AK), Begich (D-AK), Crapo (R-ID), Risch (R-ID) and Merkley (D-OR).
The legislation would allow the Secretary of the Interior to issue one additional non-competitive lease of no more than 640 acres to a federal lessee that makes a discovery on an existing lease. Given the uncertainties of locating geothermal resources precisely without drilling, the bill is intended to provide some flexibility for companies taking the risk of finding a new geothermal reservoir to obtain additional lands should the thermal feature extend into an adjacent area. The legislation includes provisions to ensure fair market value is paid for the small additional lease that could be offered.
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