42 USC 17192 – Hydrothermal research and development
(a) In general
The Secretary shall carry out a program of research, development, demonstration, and commercial application for geothermal energy production from hydrothermal systems.
(b) Programs
The program authorized in subsection (a) shall include the following:
(1) Advanced hydrothermal resource tools
The research and development of advanced geologic tools to assist in locating hydrothermal resources, and to increase the reliability of site characterization, including the development of new imaging and sensing technologies and techniques to assist in prioritization of targets for characterization;
(2) Exploratory drilling for geothermal resources
The demonstration of advanced technologies and techniques of siting and exploratory drilling for undiscovered resources in a variety of geologic settings, carried out in collaboration with industry partners that will assist in the acquisition of high quality data sets relevant for hydrothermal subsurface characterization activities.