House subcommittee presses permitting reforms to accelerate geothermal on federal lands

House Natural Resources Committee Subcommittee on Energy and Minerals Resources members held an oversight hearing at Southern Utah University on permitting and leasing reforms aimed at expanding geothermal development on federally managed lands.

Members, industry executives and state officials told the subcommittee that current federal leasing and permitting timelines and interagency conflicts are slowing projects that could supply firm, around‑the‑clock power to the grid.

“I am proud to say that House Republicans are leading the charge to end these inefficiencies and unleash geothermal energy on federal lands,” said Chairman Pete Stauber, chairman of the subcommittee. Stauber said federal geothermal projects “must complete up to six stages of National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, review throughout the development process. This can take up to 10 years.”

The hearing focused on several congressional proposals and administrative reforms. Representative Malloy, who helped host the hearing, cited the GEO Act she introduced and said geothermal “is reliable and affordable” and delivers “steady 24/7 baseload power.” Paul Thompson, vice president of business development at Ormat Technologies, described the GEO Act’s provision that would require the Department of the Interior to act on drilling permits within 60 days.

State testimony highlighted differences in federal and state leasing. Jake Garfield, deputy director of the Utah Office of Energy Development, said, “In the last five years, the Utah BLM has put up a little over 160,000 acres for geothermal lease sale in Utah. In that same time period, the Nevada BLM put over 700,000 acres up for lease sale.” Garfield urged updated programmatic planning by the Bureau of Land Management to identify priority areas using current scientific data.

Witnesses and members also discussed interagency conflicts that can stall projects, including Endangered Species Act concerns, and the need to speed permitting for transmission lines that must reach geothermal resources. Members cited legislative vehicles discussed by witnesses — including the GEO Act, Congressman Fulcher’s Clean Act, and the Senate’s Geothermal Energy Opportunity Act — as ways to reduce duplicative reviews or set processing deadlines.

The committee did not take formal legislative action at the hearing. Chairman Stauber directed that members submit any additional questions for witnesses in writing and said questions must be filed with the committee clerk by 5 p.m. on Thursday, May 15; the hearing record will be held open for 10 business days for written responses.

The hearing record and witness materials will be used by the subcommittee as it considers statutory and administrative reforms to reduce permitting timelines for geothermal development on federal lands.