Why It Matters
The U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) geothermal assessments remain preliminary, and Congress faces an open question about whether to advance and prioritize further work, according to a new Congressional Research Service (CRS) report.
Conventional geothermal energy accounted for about 0.4% of U.S. electricity generation in 2025, according to a National Laboratory of the Rockies report cited by CRS, while enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) remain an emerging technology not yet widely commercially available. The report identifies the largest uncertainty in geothermal development as which geologic formations can be stimulated sufficiently to produce energy economically.
The Big Picture
The Energy Act of 2020 directed the USGS to update its 2008 geothermal assessment and consider resources using other geothermal technologies. In 2025, the USGS published a provisional assessment of EGS resources in the Great Basin, noting high potential in California, Idaho, Nevada, and Utah. As of 2024, the United States had 98 conventional geothermal power plants operating across seven states. California alone accounted for 53 of those 98 plants.
Several new EGS power plants are planned to deliver electricity directly to data centers, including one planned to power Meta data centers. The Biden administration's Executive Order 14141 called for considering geothermal energy for artificial intelligence infrastructure and established Priority Geothermal Zones. The order was later revoked by Executive Order 14318, published July 28, which concerns federal permitting of data center infrastructure. The Trump administration's Executive Order 14156 identified geothermal as an energy resource for further development.
Six bills in the 119th Congress address geothermal development. H.R. 8790, which would direct research, development, demonstration, and commercial application of next-generation geothermal systems, is the only one of the six to have passed either chamber. Among the others, S. 4406, the Next-Generation Geothermal Research and Development Act, sponsored by Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), was introduced and referred to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on April 28. The remaining four bills include H.R. 8437, which remains in committee, and S. 4116, H.R. 7568, and H.R. 10275, each of which was introduced and referred to committee.
The Bottom Line
The Senate received H.R. 8790 on Oct. 21 and referred it to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. The USGS plans to assess potential EGS resources in the Williston and Illinois basins as the next steps beyond the 2025 Great Basin provisional assessment. Congress may consider whether those preliminary assessments advance geothermal energy development and whether to prioritize additional assessments.
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