Tester taps into Montana’s geothermal energy potential

Senator backs bill to expand geothermal energy development

(U.S. Senate) – After the hottest year in recorded history, Senator Jon Tester wants Montana to become a renewable energy leader by tapping into the state’s geothermal energy resources.

Tester’s Geothermal Energy Opportunity Act would allow oil and gas developers on public lands to also harness geothermal potential without having to go through a lengthy approval process. The bill would also establish a national goal of producing 50,000 megawatts of geothermal power by 2025.

“Montana’s public lands contain some of the best renewable energy sources in the world, and we should be leading the nation to increase our energy independence and reduce the amount of carbon we put into the atmosphere,” Tester said. “Developing Montana’s geothermal resources will expand our energy portfolio and create good-paying jobs that can’t be outsourced.”

The Senator’s bill would also establish initiatives to promote the development of geothermal heat pumps so that state and local governments, public universities and non-governmental groups can directly use geothermal energy.

Montana is already home to over 300 thermal wells and springs.

Tester’s Geothermal Energy Opportunities Act, which is sponsored by Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), is available online HERE.