DATE INTRODUCED:

09/30/25

WHAT:

H.R. 5631, the Geothermal Ombudsman for National Deployment and Optimal Reviews Act creates a Geothermal Ombudsman role within the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to act as a liaison between the BLM field offices, the National Renewable Energy Coordination Office, and the Director of the BLM. This legislation instructs the Geothermal Ombudsman to develop best practices for permitting and leasing processes for geothermal resources, coordinate with the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (FPISC), and better monitor and facilitate permitting timelines across the BLM.

H.R. 5631 also creates a Geothermal Permitting Task Force within the BLM to be led by the Geothermal Ombudsman to support better permitting timelines through enhanced monitoring practices and interagency coordination.

WHY IT MATTERS:

As momentum for geothermal energy grows across the United States, American innovators are uniquely positioned to meet the rising energy demand with firm, dispatchable, and clean geothermal energy.

• Analysis from the Department of Energy projects that the U.S. could have upwards of 90 gigawatts of geothermal electricity-generating capacity by 2050, potentially expanding production capacity 20-fold.
• McKinsey estimates more than $900 million in private capital has been channeled toward next-generation geothermal technologies over the past five years alone and investment is only expected to increase.

Despite this promise, the American geothermal industry faces a major headwind: an onerous federal permitting process currently hinders development of the more than 90% of discoverable geothermal resources located on federal lands. Unlike oil and gas projects (which were granted categorical exclusion in the Energy Policy Act of 2005), geothermal projects are subject to uniquely cumbersome reviews, sometimes requiring up to six distinct reviews from leasing to operation. The reforms included in H.R. 5631 can help address this disparity and allow both next-generation and conventional geothermal energy systems to produce and increase capacity, helping meet our increasing energy demands.

Increased and streamlined coordination for permitting across geothermal exploration and operational activities has the potential to further de-risk projects, accelerating exploration and development timelines.

WHAT'S NEXT:

H.R. 5631 increases coordination across the BLM to expedite project timelines and provide more certainty to developers – catalyzing deployment of this clean firm power across the country.

ORIGINAL SPONSOR:

H.R. 5631
Rep. Jeff Hurd (R-CO)

SUPPORT:

ClearPath Action

CONGRESS.GOV LINK:

H.R. 5631

PRINTABLE SUMMARY:

Printable summary of H.R. 5631