SACRAMENTO, California — The geothermal industry scored a victory Monday as Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill aimed at streamlining the approval of new geothermal power production projects. But Newsom vetoed the second bill the industry had pinned its hopes on, making it only a partial win for geothermal boosters.
What happened: Newsom signed AB 531, by Assemblymember Chris Rogers, which will allow geothermal power plants to get certified through the California Energy Commission streamlined opt-in process. He rejected its companion bill, Assemblymember Diane Papan’s AB 527, which would have provided a California Environmental Quality Act exemption for many exploratory wells that geothermal developers drill to determine if the site is a good fit for a power plant.
Background: California’s tectonic activity has given the landscape abundant geothermal activity close to the surface, making it an optimal place for geothermal development. California in 2023 produced about two-thirds of the nation’s geothermal electricity, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
But new technology has opened up vast new tracts of land to potential development, leading some California lawmakers to fear the state may lose its edge.
