§17193 General Geothermal Systems Research and Development

Summary

The Secretary of Energy must fund and carry out research, testing, and projects to build and use parts and systems that work in hot underground geothermal conditions. The Secretary must also support work to avoid or reduce environmental harms from geothermal development, study possible impacts (including earthquakes, water use, and effects on groundwater), compare those impacts with greenhouse gas benefits, and consult with other federal agencies such as the EPA. The Secretary must back research on storing heat underground, on using oil and gas drilling technology to cut geothermal costs (especially faster and cheaper drilling), on flexible operation of geothermal plants, and on pairing geothermal with other energy systems. The Secretary must run a program to test getting critical minerals from geothermal brines and give money to demonstrations that lower costs, raise recovery, reduce water and other environmental impacts, and show commercial promise. The Secretary must also create a voluntary, industry-wide geothermal drilling data repository with the Interior Department, work with other countries that use a lot of geothermal energy, and link the repository to the National Geothermal Data System.