U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK) on June 7 sponsored the Supercritical Geothermal Research and Development Act, H.R. 8665, that would create a new program at the Department of Energy (DOE) to advance supercritical geothermal research.
“Supercritical geothermal energy holds incredible potential for America’s clean energy future,” said Rep. Lucas, chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee.
Supercritical geothermal energy requires deep drilling technologies to access dry rocks at temperatures around 400 degrees Celsius. Water is then injected at depths of at least 4 kilometers, which gets heated within the earth’s crust and then returned to the surface to generate energy.
According to a summary of the bill, H.R. 8665 would expand public-private partnerships by establishing a Next-Generation Geothermal Center of Excellence to advance geothermal energy technologies. It also would ensure that the Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy (FORGE) awards grants and includes testing of supercritical geothermal technologies. Lastly, the legislation, if enacted, would improve the collaboration between DOE and the Department of the Interior to better target where geothermal resources are located.
Rep. Lucas introduced the bipartisan bill along with U.S. Rep. Andrea Salinas (D-OR). She said the measure has the potential to strengthen the efficiency of geothermal power plants, including for a first-of-its-kind geothermal project at the Newberry Volcano.
“This technology will allow us to expand geothermal energy from a few concentrated regions to areas across the country,” Rep. Lucas added. “By expanding research and development, as well as public-private partnerships, we will be able to better understand and deploy this energy source.”