S. 4960: Committing Leases for Energy Access Now Act

This bill would change how the federal government manages geothermal energy leases and drilling permits on public land.

Geothermal lease sales

• It would require the Interior Department to hold geothermal lease sales every year instead of every two years.
• If a scheduled lease sale is canceled or delayed, the department would have to hold a replacement sale in the same year.
• When offering parcels for lease, the department would generally have to offer:
  • 75% of nominated eligible parcels for geothermal development, and
  • the remaining 25% unless the department provides a written explanation that a legal, environmental, or administrative reason prevents leasing them.

Geothermal drilling permits

• Within 30 days after receiving a geothermal drilling permit application, the department would have to either:
  • say the application is complete, or
  • tell the applicant what information is missing.
• After an application is marked complete, the department would have 30 more days to either:
  • issue the permit if required environmental and legal reviews are finished, or
  • defer the decision and explain what the applicant still needs to do, plus what actions the agency still must take and by when.
• If the decision is deferred, the department would then have to make a final decision within 10 days after the applicant and agency complete the listed steps.

Overall effect

The bill is designed to speed up and make more regular the federal process for leasing land for geothermal energy and for reviewing geothermal drilling permits.

Relevant Companies

• ORA — Ormat Technologies, a major geothermal energy company that could benefit from faster lease sales and permit reviews for geothermal projects.