# 119-hr-8790: Next-Generation Geothermal Research and Development Act

119-hr-8790, Next-Generation Geothermal Research and Development Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Harrigan, Pat [R-NC-10] (R-NC); status passed_house (as of 2026-09-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8790
- As of: 2026-09-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-8790
- Congress: 119
- Title: Next-Generation Geothermal Research and Development Act
- Status: passed_house
- Introduced: 2026-05-13
- Sponsor: Rep. Harrigan, Pat [R-NC-10] (R-NC)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Energy
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-21

## Summary

**This bill would create a coordinated federal push to commercialize next‑generation geothermal energy** by expanding research, testing sites, data sharing, and competitive grant funding. It targets enhanced geothermal, closed‑loop designs, and supercritical systems while directing updated resource mapping and new reporting requirements. - Researchers and industry: Offers competitive grants for hardrock drilling, reservoir characterization, and advanced sensing tools, with the federal cost‑share capped at 80% and $150 million authorized per year for FY2027–2031. - National Laboratories, universities, and workforce: Establishes a Next‑Generation Geothermal Center of Excellence to coordinate FORGE testing, speed commercialization, provide technical assistance, and support workforce development. - Communities, land managers, and developers: Requires an MOU between the Departments of Energy and Interior for subsurface and critical‑minerals data sharing, directs Interior to sponsor supercritical exploration boreholes, and makes resulting heat, lithology, and strain data publicly available. *Would authorize $150 million annually for FY2027–2031 for DOE geothermal R&D, increasing federal spending authorization over that period.*

## Cosponsors (1)

- Rep. Salinas, Andrea [D-OR-6] (D-OR), 2026-05-13T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- More public data for deep geothermal: benefit, medium. If enacted, DOE and Interior would share more subsurface data and upgrade DOE’s public geothermal data portal with map views. Interior would be able to drill supercritical exploration boreholes in representative regions and territories, with all data posted publicly. The national geothermal resourc…
- New grants for next-generation geothermal: benefit, medium. If enacted, DOE would run a program to research, test, and bring next‑generation geothermal to market. DOE would award competitive and commercial‑readiness grants to labs, companies, and universities. The federal share would cover up to 80% of project costs. A Center of Excellence would coordinate…
- New definitions and tools for geothermal research: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would define “next‑generation” and “supercritical” geothermal and include closed‑loop systems. It would replace “enhanced” with “next‑generation” in DOE program text so more projects would qualify. DOE hydrothermal research would be required to use advanced tools like machine l…
- Supercritical testing at a federal geothermal site: benefit, low. If enacted, DOE would ensure within one year that at least one national geothermal test site can run next‑generation tests, including in supercritical conditions. This would expand near‑term field testing capacity.

## Related bills

- 119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025
- 119-hr-4669: FEMA Act of 2025
- 119-hr-10421: Transforming Education for the Future Act
- 119-hr-6900: American Affordability Act of 2025
- 119-hr-5351: NSF AI Education Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-hr-8790 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/8790)

## Related
- [119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9877)
- [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151)
- [119-hr-4669: FEMA Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4669)
- [119-hr-10421: Transforming Education for the Future Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-10421)
- [119-hr-6900: American Affordability Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6900)
- [119-hr-5351: NSF AI Education Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5351)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8790 (as of 2026-09-21).