H.R. 8437

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8437 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8437

To advance next-generation geothermal electricity generation 
demonstration projects in new regions, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

April 22, 2026

Mr. Begich (for himself and Ms. Lee of Nevada) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and 
Technology

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To advance next-generation geothermal electricity generation 
demonstration projects in new regions, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Geothermal Power Opportunity With 
Expanded Regions Act'' or the ``Geo POWER Act''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

The purpose of this Act is to advance next-generation geothermal 
demonstration projects--
(1) to accelerate the commercialization of next-generation 
geothermal technologies in diverse geologies and regions across 
the United States;
(2) to overcome high upfront capital costs for geothermal 
exploration and drilling;
(3) to generate public data to de-risk future geothermal 
projects in new geologies and regions; and
(4) to catalyze geothermal demonstration projects and 
innovation through milestone-based financing to de-risk future 
geothermal projects.

SEC. 3. INNOVATIVE FINANCING FOR GEOTHERMAL DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.

Section 615 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 
U.S.C. 17194) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by inserting ``the milestone-based 
geothermal demonstration program for projects in low 
permeability and impermeable reservoirs described in subsection 
(e) and'' after ``including'';
(2) in subsection (d), by striking paragraph (3); and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(e) Milestone-Based Geothermal Demonstration Program.--
``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Innovative financing.--The term `innovative 
financing' means financial instruments used to support 
geothermal energy project development, including 
transactions that the Secretary may enter into under 
section 646 of the Department of Energy Organization 
Act (42 U.S.C. 7256).
``(B) Program.--The term `Program' means the 
Milestone-Based Geothermal Demonstration Program 
established under paragraph (2).
``(2) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the 
date of enactment of this subsection, the Secretary shall 
establish a program, to be known as the `Milestone-Based 
Geothermal Demonstration Program', to award innovative 
financing to geothermal projects in low-permeability and 
impermeable reservoirs through a competitive process based on 
the achievement of technical and financial milestones, 
prioritizing--
``(A) geothermal projects in regions and geologies 
that have limited or no geothermal electricity 
generation as of the date of enactment of this 
paragraph, including on or near Indian land (as defined 
in section 2601 of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (25 
U.S.C. 3501));
``(B) geothermal projects that support the 
collection and dissemination of data to characterize 
new geothermal resources and technologies to catalyze 
future private investment;
``(C) new geothermal electricity production 
facilities with aggregate electricity generation 
capacity potential of not less than 30 megawatts or 
geothermal projects that advance innovative drilling or 
other innovations that enable the viability of 
commercial-scale geothermal electricity generation of 
not less than 30 megawatts; and
``(D) projects with the potential for attracting 
significant private sector investment.
``(3) Requirements.--
``(A) Proposals.--In carrying out the Program, the 
Secretary shall request proposals for projects from 
project sponsors that meet the criteria described in 
paragraph (2).
``(B) Differentiation.--The Secretary shall award 
innovative financing under paragraph (2)--
``(i) to not less than 3 different 
proposals in at least 3 different States; and
``(ii) to not less than 3 different project 
sponsors.
``(C) Staffing.--The Secretary shall maintain 
staffing levels sufficient to administer innovative 
financing under paragraph (2).
``(4) Authority.--The Secretary shall carry out a project 
under this subsection as a milestone-based demonstration 
project under section 9005 of the Energy Act of 2020 (42 U.S.C. 
7256c).
``(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary such sums as are necessary to carry out 
subsections (d) and (e).''.
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