Enhanced geothermal works by essentially making its own underground hot water deposits, injecting water far enough underground that it heats up, then letting that hot water rise back up another drilled well to turn a turbine to produce electricity. This is a big deal because enhanced geothermal, as opposed to regular geothermal which needs preexisting hot water deposits, could eventually provide 24/7 clean energy anywhere on Earth.

Even better, it uses a lot of the same well-drilling technologies common in the oil and gas industry, making it an attractive potential “off-ramp” from fossil fuels for workers and small businesses. That’s starting to earn the new technology support from both Republicans and Democrats, including one new bipartisan bill that has the potential to kickstart an American geothermal boom.

The Geothermal Energy Optimization (GEO) Act, recently introduced as S.3954 in the U.S. Senate, is cosponsored by Democrats Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico as well as Republicans Jim Risch of Idaho and Mike Lee of Utah. A similar version was introduced in the House by Representative John Curtis of Utah as H.R.7370, the Geothermal Energy Opportunity Act. Basically, this bill makes it easier to set up new enhanced geothermal projects on U.S. public lands, putting the newborn advanced geothermal industry on an equal footing with oil and gas incumbents which have had years to lobby for an extra-friendly permitting process.

We need to pass the GEO Act to unleash an American geothermal energy boom!