[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1543 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1543

 To establish a national geothermal initiative to encourage increased 
production of energy from geothermal resources, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              June 5, 2007

 Mr. Bingaman introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish a national geothermal initiative to encourage increased 
production of energy from geothermal resources, 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 ``National Geothermal Initiative Act 
of 2007''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) domestic geothermal resources have the potential to 
        provide vast amounts of clean, renewable, and reliable energy 
        to the United States;
            (2) Federal policies and programs are critical to achieving 
        the potential of those resources;
            (3) Federal tax policies should be modified to 
        appropriately support the longer lead-times of geothermal 
        facilities and address the high risks of geothermal exploration 
        and development;
            (4) sustained and expanded research programs are needed--
                    (A) to support the goal of increased energy 
                production from geothermal resources; and
                    (B) to develop the technologies that will enable 
                commercial production of energy from more geothermal 
                resources;
            (5) a comprehensive national resource assessment is needed 
        to support policymakers and industry needs;
            (6) a national exploration and development technology and 
        information center should be established to support the 
        achievement of increased geothermal energy production; and
            (7) implementation and completion of geothermal and other 
        renewable initiatives on public land in the United States is 
        critical, consistent with the principles and requirements of 
        the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 
        1701 et seq.) and other applicable law.

SEC. 3. NATIONAL GOAL.

    Congress declares that it shall be a national goal to achieve 20 
percent of total electrical energy production in the United States from 
geothermal resources by not later than 2030.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Initiative.--The term ``Initiative'' means the national 
        geothermal initiative established by section 5(a).
            (2) National goal.--The term ``national goal'' means the 
        national goal of increased energy production from geothermal 
        resources described in section 3.
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Energy.

SEC. 5. NATIONAL GEOTHERMAL INITIATIVE.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established a national geothermal 
initiative under which the Federal Government shall seek to achieve the 
national goal.
    (b) Federal Support and Coordination.--In carrying out the 
Initiative, each Federal agency shall give priority to programs and 
efforts necessary to support achievement of the national goal to the 
extent consistent with applicable law.
    (c) Energy and Interior Goals.--
            (1) In general.--In carrying out the Initiative, the 
        Secretary and the Secretary of the Interior shall establish and 
        carry out policies and programs--
                    (A) to characterize the complete geothermal 
                resource base (including engineered geothermal systems) 
                of the United States by not later than 2010;
                    (B) to sustain an annual growth rate in the use of 
                geothermal power, heat, and heat pump applications of 
                at least 10 percent;
                    (C) to demonstrate state-of-the-art energy 
                production from the full range of geothermal resources 
                in the United States;
                    (D) to achieve new power or commercial heat 
                production from geothermal resources in at least 25 
                States; and
                    (E) to develop the tools and techniques to 
                construct an engineered geothermal system power plant.
            (2) Report to congress.--Not later than 1 year after the 
        date of enactment of this Act, and every 3 years thereafter, 
        the Secretary and the Secretary of the Interior shall jointly 
        submit to the appropriate Committees of Congress a report that 
        describes--
                    (A) the proposed plan to achieve the goals 
                described in paragraph (1); and
                    (B) a description of the progress during the period 
                covered by the report toward achieving those goals.
    (d) Geothermal Research, Development, Demonstration, and Commercial 
Application.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall carry out a program of 
        geothermal research, development, demonstration, outreach and 
        education, and commercial application to support the 
        achievement of the national goal.
            (2) Requirements of program.--In carrying out the 
        geothermal research program described in paragraph (1), the 
        Secretary shall--
                    (A) prioritize funding for the discovery and 
                characterization of geothermal resources;
                    (B) expand funding for cost-shared drilling;
                    (C)(i) establish, at a national laboratory or 
                university research center selected by the Secretary, a 
                national geothermal exploration research and 
                information center;
                    (ii) support development and application of new 
                exploration and development technologies through the 
                center; and
                    (iii) in cooperation with the Secretary of the 
                Interior, disseminate geological and geophysical data 
                to support geothermal exploration activities through 
                the center;
                    (D) support cooperative programs with and among 
                States, including with the Great Basin Center for 
                Geothermal Energy, the Intermountain West Geothermal 
                Consortium, and other similar State and regional 
                initiatives, to expand knowledge of the geothermal 
                resource base of the United States and potential 
                applications of that resource base;
                    (E) improve and advance high-temperature and high-
                pressure drilling, completion, and instrumentation 
                technologies benefiting geothermal well construction;
                    (F) demonstrate geothermal applications in settings 
                that, as of the date of enactment of this Act, are 
                noncommercial;
                    (G) research, develop, and demonstrate engineered 
                geothermal systems techniques for commercial 
                application of the technologies, including advances 
                in--
                            (i) reservoir stimulation;
                            (ii) reservoir characterization, 
                        monitoring, and modeling;
                            (iii) stress mapping;
                            (iv) tracer development;
                            (v) 3-dimensional tomography; and
                            (vi) understanding seismic effects of deep 
                        drilling and reservoir engineering; and
                    (H) support the development and application of the 
                full range of geothermal technologies and applications.
            (3) Authorization of appropriations.--There are authorized 
        to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this 
        subsection--
                    (A) $75,000,000 for fiscal year 2008;
                    (B) $110,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 
                through 2012; and
                    (C) for fiscal year 2013 and each fiscal year 
                thereafter through fiscal year 2030, such sums as are 
                necessary.
    (e) Geothermal Assessment, Exploration Information, and Priority 
Activities.--
            (1) Interior.--In carrying out the Initiative, the 
        Secretary of the Interior--
                    (A) acting through the Director of the United 
                States Geological Survey, shall, not later than 2010--
                            (i) conduct and complete a comprehensive 
                        nationwide geothermal resource assessment that 
                        examines the full range of geothermal resources 
                        in the United States; and
                            (ii) submit to the appropriate committees 
                        of Congress a report describing the results of 
                        the assessment; and
                    (B) in planning and leasing, shall consider the 
                national goal established under this Act.
            (2) Authorization of appropriations.--There are authorized 
        to be appropriated to the Secretary of the Interior to carry 
        out this subsection--
                    (A) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2008;
                    (B) $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 to 
                2012; and
                    (C) for fiscal year 2013 and each fiscal year 
                thereafter through fiscal year 2030, such sums as are 
                necessary.

SEC. 6. INTERMOUNTAIN WEST GEOTHERMAL CONSORTIUM.

    Section 237 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15874) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section--
            ``(1) $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 
        2013; and
            ``(2) such sums as are necessary for each of fiscal years 
        2014 through 2020.''.

SEC. 7. INTERNATIONAL MARKET SUPPORT FOR GEOTHERMAL ENERGY DEVELOPMENT.

    (a) United States Agency for International Development.--The United 
States Agency for International Development, in coordination with other 
appropriate Federal and multilateral agencies, shall support 
international and regional development to promote the use of geothermal 
resources, including (as appropriate) the African Rift Geothermal 
Development Facility.
    (b) United States Trade and Development Agency.--The United States 
Trade and Development Agency shall support the Initiative by--
            (1) encouraging participation by United States firms in 
        actions taken to carry out subsection (a); and
            (2) providing grants and other financial support for 
        feasibility and resource assessment studies.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this section.
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