[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1057 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
114th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1057
To promote geothermal energy, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 22, 2015
Mr. Wyden introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To promote geothermal energy, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Geothermal Energy Opportunities
Act'' or the ``GEO Act''.
SEC. 2. NATIONAL GOALS FOR PRODUCTION AND SITE IDENTIFICATION.
It is the sense of Congress that, not later than 10 years after the
date of enactment of this Act--
(1) the Secretary of the Interior should seek to have
approved more than 15,000 megawatts of new geothermal energy
capacity on public land across a geographically diverse set of
States using the full range of available technologies; and
(2) the Director of the Geological Survey and the Secretary
of Energy should identify sites capable of producing a total of
50,000 megawatts of geothermal power, using the full range of
available technologies.
SEC. 3. PRIORITY AREAS FOR DEVELOPMENT ON FEDERAL LAND.
The Director of the Bureau of Land Management, in consultation with
other appropriate Federal officials, shall--
(1) identify high priority areas for new geothermal
development; and
(2) take any actions the Director determines necessary to
facilitate that development, consistent with applicable laws.
SEC. 4. FACILITATION OF COPRODUCTION OF GEOTHERMAL ENERGY ON OIL AND
GAS LEASES.
Section 4(b) of the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C.
1003(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(4) Land subject to oil and gas lease.--Land under an oil
and gas lease issued pursuant to the Mineral Leasing Act (30
U.S.C. 181 et seq.) or the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired
Lands (30 U.S.C. 351 et seq.) that is subject to an approved
application for permit to drill and from which oil and gas
production is occurring may be available for noncompetitive
leasing under this section to the holder of the oil and gas
lease--
``(A) on a determination that--
``(i) geothermal energy will be produced
from a well producing or capable of producing
oil and gas; and
``(ii) national energy security will be
improved by the issuance of such a lease; and
``(B) to provide for the coproduction of geothermal
energy with oil and gas.''.
SEC. 5. COST-SHARED EXPLORATION.
(a) In General.--To promote the goals described in section 2, the
Secretary of Energy may conduct a federally funded program of cost-
shared drilling with industry partners--
(1) to explore and document new geothermal resources in the
United States; and
(2) to develop improved tools and methods for geothermal
resource identification and extraction, with the goal of
achieving material reductions in the cost of exploration with a
corresponding increase in the likelihood of drilling success.
(b) Grants.--
(1) In general.--To carry out the program described in
subsection (a), the Secretary of Energy may award cost-share
grants on a competitive and merit basis to eligible applicants
to support exploration drilling and related activities.
(2) Project criteria.--In selecting applicants to receive
grants under paragraph (1), the Secretary of Energy shall--
(A) give preference to applicants proposing
projects located in a variety of geologic and
geographic settings with previously unexplored,
underexplored, or unproven geothermal resources; and
(B) consider--
(i) the potential that the unproven
geothermal resources would be explored and
developed under the proposed project;
(ii) the expertise and experience of an
applicant in developing geothermal resources;
and
(iii) the contribution the proposed project
would make toward meeting the goals described
in section 2.
(c) Data Sharing.--
(1) In general.--Data from all exploratory wells that are
carried out under the program described in subsection (a) shall
be provided to the Secretary of Energy and the Secretary of the
Interior for--
(A) use in mapping national geothermal resources;
and
(B) other purposes, including--
(i) subsurface geologic data;
(ii) metadata;
(iii) borehole temperature data; and
(iv) inclusion in the National Geothermal
Data System of the Department of Energy.
(2) Sharing of confidential data.--Not later than 2 years
after the date of enactment of this Act, confidential data from
all exploratory wells that are carried out under the program
described in subsection (a) shall be provided to the Secretary
of Energy and the Secretary of the Interior for the purposes
described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1), to be
available for a period of time to be determined by the
Secretary of Energy and the Secretary of the Interior.
SEC. 6. USE OF GEOTHERMAL LEASE REVENUES.
(a) Amounts Deposited.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
beginning in the first full fiscal year after the date of enactment of
this Act, any amounts received by the United States as rentals,
royalties, and other payments required under leases pursuant to the
Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) (excluding funds
required to be paid to State and county governments) and from new
geothermal leases issued after the date of enactment of this Act shall
be deposited into a separate account in the Treasury.
(b) Use of Deposits.--Amounts deposited under subsection (a) shall
be available to the Secretary of Energy for expenditure, without
further appropriation or fiscal year limitation, to carry out section
5.
(c) Transfer of Funds.--To promote the goals described in section
2, the Secretary of Energy may authorize the expenditure or transfer of
any funds that are necessary to other cooperating Federal agencies.
SEC. 7. NONCOMPETITIVE LEASING OF ADJOINING AREAS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF
GEOTHERMAL RESOURCES.
Section 4(b) of the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C.
1003(b)) (as amended by section 4) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``(5) Adjoining land.--
``(A) Definitions.--In this paragraph:
``(i) Fair market value per acre.--The term
`fair market value per acre' means a dollar
amount per acre that--
``(I) except as provided in this
clause, shall be equal to the market
value per acre (taking into account the
determination under subparagraph
(B)(iii) regarding a valid discovery on
the adjoining land), as determined by
the Secretary under regulations issued
under this paragraph;
``(II) shall be determined by the
Secretary with respect to a lease under
this paragraph, by not later than the
end of the 180-day period beginning on
the date the Secretary receives an
application for the lease; and
``(III) shall be not less than the
greater of--
``(aa) 4 times the median
amount paid per acre for all
land leased under this Act
during the preceding year; or
``(bb) $50.
``(ii) Industry standards.--The term
`industry standards' means the standards by
which a qualified geothermal professional
assesses whether downhole or flowing
temperature measurements with indications of
permeability are sufficient to produce energy
from geothermal resources, as determined
through flow or injection testing or
measurement of lost circulation while drilling.
``(iii) Qualified federal land.--The term
`qualified Federal land' means land that is
otherwise available for leasing under this Act.
``(iv) Qualified geothermal professional.--
The term `qualified geothermal professional'
means an individual who is an engineer or
geoscientist in good professional standing with
at least 5 years of experience in geothermal
exploration, development, or project
assessment.
``(v) Qualified lessee.--The term
`qualified lessee' means a person that is
eligible to hold a geothermal lease under this
Act (including applicable regulations).
``(vi) Valid discovery.--The term `valid
discovery' means a discovery of a geothermal
resource by a new or existing slim hole or
production well, that exhibits downhole or
flowing temperature measurements with
indications of permeability that are sufficient
to meet industry standards.
``(B) Authority.--An area of qualified Federal land
that adjoins other land for which a qualified lessee
holds a legal right to develop geothermal resources may
be available for a noncompetitive lease under this
section to the qualified lessee at the fair market
value per acre, if--
``(i) the area of qualified Federal land--
``(I) consists of not less than 1
acre and not more than 640 acres; and
``(II) is not already leased under
this Act or nominated to be leased
under subsection (a);
``(ii) the qualified lessee has not
previously received a noncompetitive lease
under this paragraph in connection with the
valid discovery for which data has been
submitted under clause (iii)(I); and
``(iii) sufficient geological and other
technical data prepared by a qualified
geothermal professional has been submitted by
the qualified lessee to the applicable Federal
land management agency that would lead
individuals who are experienced in the subject
matter to believe that--
``(I) there is a valid discovery of
geothermal resources on the land for
which the qualified lessee holds the
legal right to develop geothermal
resources; and
``(II) that thermal feature extends
into the adjoining areas.
``(C) Determination of fair market value.--
``(i) In general.--The Secretary shall--
``(I) publish a notice of any
request to lease land under this
paragraph;
``(II) determine fair market value
for purposes of this paragraph in
accordance with procedures for making
those determinations that are
established by regulations issued by
the Secretary;
``(III) provide to a qualified
lessee and publish, with an opportunity
for public comment for a period of 30
days, any proposed determination under
this subparagraph of the fair market
value of an area that the qualified
lessee seeks to lease under this
paragraph; and
``(IV) provide to the qualified
lessee and any adversely affected party
the opportunity to appeal the final
determination of fair market value in
an administrative proceeding before the
applicable Federal land management
agency, in accordance with applicable
law (including regulations).
``(ii) Limitation on nomination.--After
publication of a notice of request to lease
land under this paragraph, the Secretary may
not accept under subsection (a) any nomination
of the land for leasing unless the request has
been denied or withdrawn.
``(iii) Annual rental.--For purposes of
section 5(a)(3), a lease awarded under this
paragraph shall be considered a lease awarded
in a competitive lease sale.
``(D) Regulations.--Not later than 270 days after
the date of enactment of the Geothermal Energy
Opportunities Act, the Secretary shall issue
regulations to carry out this paragraph.''.
SEC. 8. LARGE-SCALE GEOTHERMAL ENERGY.
Title VI of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 is
amended by inserting after section 616 (42 U.S.C. 17195) the following:
``SEC. 616A. LARGE-SCALE GEOTHERMAL ENERGY.
``(a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
``(1) the Geothermal Technologies Program of the Office of
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy of the Department has
included a focus on direct use of geothermal energy in the low-
temperature geothermal energy subprogram (including in the
development of a research and development plan for the
program);
``(2) the Building Technologies Program of the Office of
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy of the Department--
``(A) is focused on the energy demand and energy
efficiency of buildings; and
``(B) includes geothermal heat pumps as a component
technology in the residential and commercial deployment
activities of the program; and
``(3) geothermal heat pumps and direct use of geothermal
energy, especially in large-scale applications, can make a
significant contribution to the use of renewable energy but are
underrepresented in research, development, demonstration, and
commercialization.
``(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this section are--
``(1) to improve the components, processes, and systems
used for geothermal heat pumps and the direct use of geothermal
energy; and
``(2) to increase the energy efficiency, lower the cost,
increase the use, and improve and demonstrate the applicability
of geothermal heat pumps to, and the direct use of geothermal
energy in, large buildings, commercial districts, residential
communities, and large municipal, agricultural, or industrial
projects.
``(c) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Direct use of geothermal energy.--The term `direct
use of geothermal energy' means systems that use water that is
at a temperature between approximately 38 degrees Celsius and
149 degrees Celsius directly or through a heat exchanger to
provide--
``(A) heating to buildings; or
``(B) heat required for industrial processes,
agriculture, aquaculture, and other facilities.
``(2) Geothermal heat pump.--The term `geothermal heat
pump' means a system that provides heating and cooling by
exchanging heat from shallow ground or surface water using--
``(A) a closed loop system, which transfers heat by
way of buried or immersed pipes that contain a mix of
water and working fluid; or
``(B) an open loop system, which circulates ground
or surface water directly into the building and returns
the water to the same aquifer or surface water source.
``(3) Large-scale application.--The term `large-scale
application' means an application for space or process heating
or cooling for large entities with a name-plate capacity,
expected resource, or rating of 10 or more megawatts, such as a
large building, commercial district, residential community, or
a large municipal, agricultural, or industrial project.
``(4) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary
of Energy, acting through the Assistant Secretary for Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
``(d) Program.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish a program
of research, development, and demonstration for geothermal heat
pumps and the direct use of geothermal energy.
``(2) Areas.--The program may include research,
development, demonstration, and commercial application of--
``(A) geothermal ground loop efficiency
improvements through more efficient heat transfer
fluids;
``(B) geothermal ground loop efficiency
improvements through more efficient thermal grouts for
wells and trenches;
``(C) geothermal ground loop installation cost
reduction through--
``(i) improved drilling methods;
``(ii) improvements in drilling equipment;
``(iii) improvements in design methodology
and energy analysis procedures; and
``(iv) improved methods for determination
of ground thermal properties and ground
temperatures;
``(D) installing geothermal ground loops near the
foundation walls of new construction to take advantage
of existing structures;
``(E) using gray or black wastewater as a method of
heat exchange;
``(F) improving geothermal heat pump system
economics through integration of geothermal systems
with other building systems, including providing hot
and cold water and rejecting or circulating industrial
process heat through refrigeration heat rejection and
waste heat recovery;
``(G) advanced geothermal systems using variable
pumping rates to increase efficiency;
``(H) geothermal heat pump efficiency improvements;
``(I) use of hot water found in mines and mine
shafts and other surface waters as the heat exchange
medium;
``(J) heating of districts, neighborhoods,
communities, large commercial or public buildings
(including office, retail, educational, government, and
institutional buildings and multifamily residential
buildings and campuses), and industrial and
manufacturing facilities;
``(K) geothermal system integration with solar
thermal water heating or cool roofs and solar-
regenerated desiccants to balance loads and use
building hot water to store geothermal energy;
``(L) use of hot water coproduced from oil and gas
recovery;
``(M) use of water sources at a temperature of less
than 150 degrees Celsius for direct use;
``(N) system integration of direct use with
geothermal electricity production; and
``(O) coproduction of heat and power, including on-
site use.
``(3) Environmental impacts.--In carrying out the program,
the Secretary shall identify and mitigate potential
environmental impacts in accordance with section 614(c).
``(e) Grants.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall make grants
available to State and local governments, institutions of
higher education, nonprofit entities, utilities, and for-profit
companies (including manufacturers of heat-pump and direct-use
components and systems) to promote the development of
geothermal heat pumps and the direct use of geothermal energy.
``(2) Priority.--In making grants under this subsection,
the Secretary shall give priority to proposals that apply to
large buildings (including office, retail, educational,
government, institutional, and multifamily residential
buildings and campuses and industrial and manufacturing
facilities), commercial districts, and residential communities.
``(3) National solicitation.--Not later than 180 days after
the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall
conduct a national solicitation for applications for grants
under this section.
``(f) Reports.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date of
enactment of this section and annually thereafter, the
Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space,
and Technology of the House of Representatives a report on
progress made and results obtained under this section to
develop geothermal heat pumps and direct use of geothermal
energy.
``(2) Areas.--Each of the reports required under this
subsection shall include--
``(A) an analysis of progress made in each of the
areas described in subsection (d)(2); and
``(B)(i) a description of any relevant
recommendations made during a review of the program;
and
``(ii) any plans to address the recommendations
under clause (i).''.
SEC. 9. REPORT TO CONGRESS.
Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act and
not less frequently than once every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary
of the Interior and the Secretary of Energy shall submit to the
appropriate committees of Congress a report describing the progress
made towards achieving the goals described in section 2.
SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act such
sums as are necessary.
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