[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 140 (Thursday, October 1, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2434]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  GEOTHERMAL PRODUCTION EXPANSION ACT

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                            HON. JAY INSLEE

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 1, 2009

  Mr. INSLEE. Madam Speaker, today, I introduced the bipartisan 
Geothermal Production Expansion Act with Representative Mike Simpson, 
and I thank him for his leadership on this issue. Our bill will ensure 
that we tap into clean geothermal energy using on-the-shelf 
technologies.
  Geothermal energy has great potential to add clean energy to American 
electricity supplies. It is especially promising as a renewable 
resource because it is a base load power which doesn't require any 
fossil fuel backup.
  However, at this point in time, proven geothermal resources have at 
times gone undeveloped in instances involving adjoining federal lands 
because speculators increasingly drive up the cost of federal lands 
adjacent to a geothermal development site. This hurts developers who 
take on the upfront cost of exploration and developing a site because 
when an exploration proves fruitful, the developer is bid out of the 
market due to extremely high leasing costs for adjacent lands. In many 
cases, the end result is that the development is halted and no clean 
energy comes online.
  Already under EPACT 2005 amendments, BLM is allowed to issue three 
different noncompetitive leases for geothermal resources, which 
include: non-competitive geothermal leases to mining claim holders that 
have a valid operating plan (having invested capital), direct use 
leases and leases on parcels that do not sell at a competitive auction.
  The Geothermal Production Expansion Act is a targeted approach to the 
aforementioned speculation problem, simply creating a fourth category 
whereby the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) may issue a non-competitive 
geothermal lease, allowing qualified companies who hold legal rights to 
develop geothermal leases on certain adjoining lands.
  An added benefit, the bill will significantly accelerate the 
development of geothermal projects by reducing the time spent on 
nominating and waiting for an auction, which can add a minimum of one-
to-two years to the development phase of a geothermal resource.
  This bill is a reasonable policy to ensure that developers who have 
invested substantial capital and made high risk investments can secure 
and develop geothermal discoveries. Additionally, it will help add 
renewable, domestically produced energy resources to the American 
consumers' electricity supply. I believe that this is an important 
issue and I hope that the House will soon consider this legislation.

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