Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Representative Young Kim (CA-40) spoke on the House floor in support of her bipartisan bill, the Harnessing Energy at Thermal Sources (HEATS) Act (H.R. 7409), which would streamline geothermal energy development and production and lower energy costs.
The HEATS Act would expedite geothermal energy production by clarifying that geothermal operators do not need a federal drilling permit for wells that are on state and private lands where the subsurface geothermal estate is less than 50% federal. While operators would be exempt from federal permitting requirements, they would still be subject to state permitting regulations.
The bill is supported by the Citizens’ Climate Lobby.
Watch HERE or read her speech below.
Thank you, Chairman, for yielding and for your leadership in moving this bill forward.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of my bipartisan bill, H.R. 7409, the “Harnessing Energy at Thermal Sources Act” or the “HEATS Act.”
Geothermal energy is a clean, renewable source of energy that can generate electricity, heat homes and buildings, and power industrial processes.
More geothermal energy production will lower our environmental footprint and benefit the climate.
Despite having a similar extraction process to that of oil and gas, geothermal energy is constrained by federal permitting restrictions.
Currently, geothermal operators on non-federal land that produce any federal resources are subject to all federal laws and permitting processes, even if minimal amounts of federal minerals are present.
My state of California is a major producer of geothermal energy and has ample energy resources below the earth ready to be tapped into.
But the current federal permitting process and state regulations have hurt progress in harnessing this clean energy source.
The HEATS Act would waive federal drilling permit requirements for geothermal wells that are on state and private lands.
This means geothermal operators would not need a federal drilling permit for wells that are on state and private lands on which the subsurface geothermal estate is less than 50% federal.
Operators must still go through a rigorous permitting process at the state level, but they will no longer be burdened by the federal process, allowing us to harness this untapped energy source faster.
H.R. 7409 is a commonsense measure that will lower costs for Americans, reduce emissions, protect our national security, and expand our energy portfolio.
The Natural Resources Committee passed the HEATS Act by a bipartisan vote, and I look forward to this bill passing out of the House in a bipartisan manner.
Thank you to Representative Duarte for co-leading the HEATS Act with me, and to Natural Resources Chairman Westerman for your commitment to accelerating geothermal energy production and promoting American energy independence.
I urge my colleagues to vote YES on H.R. 7409. Thank you, and I yield back.
