§17195 Geothermal Energy Production From Oil and Gas Fields and Recovery and Production of Geopressured Gas Resources

Summary

Requires the Secretary to set up a program to research, test, and help bring to market ways to get geothermal energy from oil and gas wells and to recover energy from geopressured resources. The Secretary must run a grant program that funds at least three demonstration projects using geothermal methods (for example, advanced organic rankine cycle systems) at marginal, unproductive, and productive wells. Each project must include at least five well sites, use hot water sources between 150°F and 300°F, cover systems up to one megawatt, be at varied and repeatable locations, compare different techniques, include business plans for large‑scale production and support, and meet any other needed program criteria. Each demonstration grant must pay for site engineering, a detailed economic study, feasibility for replication, adapting or designing technology for the site, installing equipment and support, operating and monitoring for at least 1 year, and validating and recording lessons learned. The Secretary must also run a program for geopressured resources that asks for preliminary designs, awards cost-shared grants for detailed plans, and then cost-shared grants to build demonstration facilities that show economic potential for recovering heat, kinetic energy, and gas. At least 90 days after December 19, 2007, the Secretary must hold a national call for applications for these grants and pick winners by competition based on the stated criteria. No money from this program may be used to drill new wells.