The House Science, Space and Technology Committee will vote on legislation this week that aims to improve the federal government’s research work into geothermal and hydroelectric energy.
The panel will vote on H.R. 8790, the “Next-Generation Geothermal Research and Development Act,” from Reps. Pat Harrigan (R-N.C.) and Andrea Salinas (D-Ore.), which would direct the Department of Energy to support efforts to research and commercialize next-generation geothermal energy systerms.
“A supercritical geothermal well can produce more than seven times the energy of a conventional geothermal well, and next-generation geothermal has the potential to deliver 90 gigawatts of power to the United States alone,” said Harrigan in a statement.
“This bill puts the Department of Energy to work solving the engineering challenges standing between us and that potential through the kind of public-private partnerships that actually get results,” he added.
