A growing number of bipartisan bills are being proposed for expanding geothermal energy. Geothermal Rising (GR) is the main professional and educational organization for the geothermal community in the United States providing a platform for the geothermal industry’s unified message. Bryant Jones, PhD is the Executive director of GR and has testified at multiple House Natural Resources Committee and Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resource hearings. At the latest hearing in March, Bryant advocated for nuanced permitting exclusions under NEPA to scale.
“Geothermal has the lowest lifecycle carbon footprint of all renewable energy technologies and the smallest environmental footprint of all energy technologies. Yet, geothermal developers face the strictest permitting process.” – Bryant Jones
Two of the bills proposed, HR 7370 GEO Act and HR 7409 HEATS Act, build off the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 and aim to streamline permitting processes and expedite geothermal development by better defining how NEPA should be applied to new projects.
As the geothermal industry grows, we are thankful to groups like Geothermal Rising for advocating for efficient and responsible regulations to promote clean reliable power generation.”