Congress Moves to Fast-Track Geothermal Energy on Federal Lands

51 geothermal plants on federal land produce 2.6 gigawatts — about 0.4% of total U.S. electricity generation

DOE projects U.S. geothermal capacity could reach 90 GW by 2050 — a roughly 23-fold increase — but only under an aggressive technology improvement scenario

A geothermal project on federal land can trigger NEPA environmental review up to 6 separate times; oil and gas projects can bypass this process via categorical exclusions that geothermal historically has not received

All 20 geothermal exploration environmental assessments reviewed by NREL resulted in a 'no significant impact' finding — a data point BLM cited when it adopted limited categorical exclusions in April 2024

Permitting reforms alone — without new technology — could more than double conventional geothermal capacity by 2050, according to DOE modeling; the Clean Air Task Force puts federal lands' untapped geothermal potential at over 100 GW