United States geothermal policy - provision of access and encouraging project development

Abstract

American geothermal policy began to be formulated with the passage of the California Geothermal Resources Act in 1967 and the Federal Geothermal Steam Act in 1970. These Acts were designed to define and characterize geothermal resources, and relate geothermal to other resources and to ownership estates. Primarily as a result of the oil embargo and energy crisis of the 1970s, a number of policy initiatives were launched to encourage geothermal electric and direct use projects. These included technical assistance grants, user coupled drilling programs, demonstration projects, tax incentives, loan guarantees and reservoir insurance. Although some of these programs are still available, recent policy initiatives have been directed more towards creating markets for geothermal programs and providing direct tax incentives. Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) have opened the door for renewable energy generation and production tax credits/green tags, and system benefit changes increase the competitiveness of geothermal electricity.