As part of his continued work to find new ways to fight climate change while lowering energy prices for U.S. consumers, Senator Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, today introduced a pair of bills that would boost domestic clean energy production and reduce carbon emissions.
The geothermal bill introduced today helps would-be geothermal developers explore for and develop geothermal resources through a public-private grant program. As part of the partnership, developers report their findings, contributing to a nationwide map of geothermal potential that will reduce the risk and drive down the cost of geothermal energy for the future. The bill also makes it easier for oil and gas developers to co-produce clean geothermal energy on federal lands under existing leases.
Additionally, the bill incorporates legislation Wyden introduced earlier this year – the Geothermal Production Expansion Act – to prevent speculative bidders from unproductively driving up the price of leases for developers seeking to use land productively for geothermal projects. The bill streamlines the federal geothermal leasing program by allowing for the non-competitive leasing of a limited amount of federal land at fair market value to spur the expansion of geothermal energy on already identified “hot spots.”
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