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Title 42, The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-110

§17192 Hydrothermal Research and Development

Title 42 › CHAPTER 152 — ENERGY INDEPENDENCE AND SECURITY › SUBCHAPTER V — ACCELERATED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT › Part B — Geothermal Energy › § 17192

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary must run a program to study, develop, test, and help bring to market geothermal energy from hydrothermal systems (hot water and steam underground). The program must create better geologic tools, like new imaging and sensing methods, to help find and more reliably describe hydrothermal resources and pick the best targets to study. It must also test advanced ways of choosing drill sites and doing exploratory drilling for undiscovered resources in different rock settings, working with industry partners to collect high-quality underground data.

Full Legal Text

Title 42, §17192

The Public Health and Welfare, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In general
The Secretary shall carry out a program of research, development, demonstration, and commercial application for geothermal energy production from hydrothermal systems.
(b)Programs
The program authorized in subsection (a) shall include the following:
(1)Advanced hydrothermal resource tools
The research and development of advanced geologic tools to assist in locating hydrothermal resources, and to increase the reliability of site characterization, including the development of new imaging and sensing technologies and techniques to assist in prioritization of targets for characterization;
(2)Exploratory drilling for geothermal resources
The demonstration of advanced technologies and techniques of siting and exploratory drilling for undiscovered resources in a variety of geologic settings, carried out in collaboration with industry partners that will assist in the acquisition of high quality data sets relevant for hydrothermal subsurface characterization activities.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2020—Pub. L. 116–260 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section related to hydrothermal research and development.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective on the date that is 1 day after Dec. 19, 2007, see section 1601 of Pub. L. 110–140, set out as a note under section 1824 of Title 2, The Congress.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

42 U.S.C. § 17192

Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110