S. 1057: Geothermal Energy Opportunities Act
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S. 1057: Geothermal Energy Opportunities Act
114th Congress · introduced 2015-04-22 · Energy · Latest: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearings held.
federal
Follow this bill, step by step
- Where it came from: introduced 2015-04-22 · official record
- Who proposed it: Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR] · what a sponsor is
- What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
- Where it stands now: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearings held. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
- If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.
Official title
Geothermal Energy Opportunities Act
Plain summary
Geothermal Energy Opportunities Act or the GEO Act This bill requires the Bureau of Land Management to identify high priority areas for new geothermal development and facilitate that development. The bill amends the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to allow the holder of an oil and gas lease of federal land to also apply for a noncompetitive lease for the production of geothermal energy if: (1) the holder of the oil and gas lease also has an approved drilling permit, (2) geothermal energy will be produced from a well producing or capable of producing oil and gas, (3) the geothermal lease will improve national energy security, and (4) oil and gas production is currently occurring under the existing lease. To promote the goals of new geothermal energy capacity, the Department of Energy (DOE) may conduct a federally funded program of cost-shared drilling with industry partners to: (1) explore and document new geothermal resources; and (2) develop improved tools and methods for geothermal resource identification and extraction. Certain revenues from geothermal leases must be deposited into a separate account in the Treasury to carry out that program. The bill amends the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to allow the Department of the Interior to award noncompetitive leases on up to 640 acres of federal land for geothermal development under certain circumstances. Lessees must make annual rental payments equal to those required for lands that are leased competitively. The bill amends the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to require DOE to establish a program of research, development, and demonstration for geothermal heat pumps and the direct use of geothermal energy.
Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.
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What does this mean? (plain words)
Official text
Geothermal Energy Opportunities Act
Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes
Officials and money
Sponsor: Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR] · 1 cosponsors
Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.
Cosponsors on this site
Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR] reported raising $1.9 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.
No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.
Words on this page, explained (2)
- Bill
- A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
- Securities
- Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.
Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.
Sources
- Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
- Congress.gov
- Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-114s1057.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/114/s>
Record fed-us-cong114-s1057 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong114 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong114