House passes bipartisan measures to speed geothermal energy projects

The U.S. House just approved a bipartisan package of bills to accelerate geothermal energy as the nation clamors for more around-the-clock clean electricity.

The Geothermal Energy Advancement Act, or H.R. 5631, passed with broad support on Tuesday. The legislation — led by U.S. Reps. Jeff Hurd (R-Colo.) and Susie Lee (D-Nev.) — includes the text of six bills that tackle some of the key permitting and regulatory challenges that companies face when building and scaling geothermal systems.

The measures ​“seem like low-hanging fruit, but they can actually make a tangible difference as we try and develop projects,” Ben Brenner, who leads federal policy and outreach for the geothermal startup Zanskar, told Canary Media. ​“It’s a huge milestone for these bills to pass the House.”

Also on Tuesday, the House separately passed another geothermal bill — sponsored by Rep. Russ Fulcher (R-Idaho) — that aims to increase the frequency and consistency of geothermal lease sales on federal land.

America has been converting earth’s heat into electricity for nearly 70 years, beginning with The Geysers power plant in Northern California. Yet the carbon-free energy source still accounts for only 0.4% of the nation’s annual electricity generation, largely owing to geographical constraints.

A new generation of technologies has made it possible to extract heat from places without simmering hot springs and natural reservoirs. The startup Fervo Energy, which just went public, uses drilling techniques from the oil and gas industry to produce clean power from hot dry rocks. Zanskar combines artificial intelligence with boots-on-the-ground surveying to identify conventional but hidden heat resources in the U.S. West.

But so far, the federal government hasn’t adapted to meet the rising demand from developers for permits, land leases, and legal certainty, experts say. Over 90% of identified U.S. geothermal resources are beneath public lands, making the Department of the Interior a crucial player in the emerging industry’s growth.

“As technologies evolve, so must the regulatory landscape,” Terra Rogers, senior director of the Clean Air Task Force’s superhot rock geothermal program, said in a statement. She applauded Congress for taking practical steps toward ​“unlocking next-generation geothermal.”

Now, the geothermal bills head to the Senate, though it’s unclear when or how the chamber will act, E&E reported. However, Brenner said he sees ​“a real pathway toward Senate passage, whether as standalone legislation or as part of a broader permitting package.”

Originally, Hurd introduced H.R. 5631 to improve Interior’s own expertise on geothermal issues, including by creating the role of ​“ombudsman” — a point person within the Bureau of Land Management who can clear up confusion and resolve disagreements among field offices about geothermal permitting decisions.

The amended bill that passed this week also folds in five other measures:

• H.R. 1077, the Streamlining Thermal Energy through Advanced Mechanisms (STEAM) Act, grants geothermal developers the same streamlined environmental permitting pathway, known as ​“categorical exclusion,” that oil and gas companies have to expedite exploration and development on certain public lands.
• H.R. 301, the Geothermal Energy Opportunity (GEO) Act, requires Interior to process all applications for drilling permits and licenses under an existing geothermal lease within 60 days of completing required reviews.
• H.R. 5638, the Geothermal Royalty Reform Act, clarifies that geothermal plants on the same lease pay royalties based on each individual facility’s time in service.
• H.R. 5617, the Geothermal Gold Book Development Act, provides guidance to federal staffers by requiring the Bureau of Land Management to publish best practices for geothermal leasing and permitting.
• H.R. 398, the Geothermal Cost-Recovery Authority Act, gives Interior the authority to recoup application and inspection fees from energy companies to expedite geothermal projects, similar to what the agency already does for wind, solar, and oil and gas.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who sponsored H.R. 398, said that speeding up geothermal deployment could help alleviate the nation’s skyrocketing electric bills. ​“At a time of extreme political polarization, this package shows that Congress can still come together on commonsense solutions to better the lives of the American people,” she said in a press release.

The measures will also likely benefit the developers of power-hungry data centers, such as Google and Meta, which are investing in geothermal projects to support their growing operations in Nevada and New Mexico, respectively. Both firms are members of the Corporate Energy Buyers Association, a trade group that advocates for a carbon-free energy system.

“There are few energy technologies that draw this level of bipartisan support, but geothermal energy is a reliable domestic resource with enormous potential to fuel our nation’s electricity needs,” Rich Powell, CEO of the association, said in a statement.

Geothermal’s ability to churn out power 24/7 appeals to both Republicans and Democrats grappling with energy-supply crunches in their states, though wind and solar paired with batteries can also deliver firm power in certain ideal locations. Late last month, a bipartisan group of governors from Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah launched a coalition to ease financial and logistical hurdles that stand in the way of building potentially hundreds of gigawatts of geothermal capacity in the Mountain West.

Geothermal’s strong overlap with the oil and gas industry — in terms of tools, workforce, and investors — is another key reason why the Trump administration has shown support for the renewable energy source, even as it works to block wind and solar development.

Beyond the House bills, Brenner noted that other, bolder policy measures are needed to dramatically increase the scale and pace of next-generation geothermal deployment in the U.S. That could include increasing federal funding for research and exploration — efforts that are largely backed by equity and venture capital today — as well as for demonstration projects that help de-risk geothermal development in new areas.

“This is an incredibly positive step, but it is not the full picture,” he said of the legislation. ​“There’s a lot more work that has to happen.” 

An update was made on June 3, 2026, to include Rep. Russ Fulcher’s legislation.