U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Hoover) is showing his support for a bill that would promote geothermal energy use across the country.

Palmer is supporting the “Committing Leases for Energy Access Now Act,” introduced by U.S. Rep. Russ Fulcher’s (R-Idaho). The legislation would require more frequent federal geothermal lease sales. It would also speed up permitting for those projects. The House is expected to vote on the bill this week.

Palmer, who is a member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, discussed the bill’s details with Fulcher, posting the video to his social media.

Geothermal is a source of clean, safe, and dependable energy.

It was a pleasure to join my colleague and friend, Chairman @USRepGaryPalmer, to discuss my bill, H.R. 6482.

This legislation would streamline the permitting process for geothermal exploration, development, and… pic.twitter.com/4dFPGKrtXr

— Rep. Russ Fulcher (@RepRussFulcher) November 14, 2024

“Yeah, Russ, I’ve really been impressed with the work you’re doing,” Palmer said, “and you have a technical background, and you’ve brought a bill for that, I think is very important, particularly for people in certain regions of the country, and maybe even all over the country, because this is really catching on some people.”

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Fulcher explained how geothermal energy is used to power much of his state.

“Well, there’s a history of geothermal energy in Idaho that a lot of people don’t realize,” Fulcher said, “and it goes back to the 1800s we still have, to this day, the largest geothermal municipal facility within the world, and that’s in the Boise, Idaho area and and that’s been used since the 1800s there’s a there’s a very good resource there. Our state capital is, is, is heated with geothermal energy. And a lot of the municipalities and the homes within the greater Boise area and across the state, we’ve got over 1000 geothermal wells across Idaho.”

The congressman said geothermal energy should be expanded if the U.S. is serious about clean energy.

“There’s not a carbon footprint that goes with it,” he explained. “It’s very environmentally friendly for the land disruption. It only takes a very small footprint to have a good geothermal well where it’s suited. It’s a largely an accepted form of good, clean, safe, dependable energy.”

Fulcher thinks opening up more federal lands for this should be something that gets bipartisan support.

“This is about as the least controversial that you can find, because it just doesn’t have a lot of downsides,” he argued. “And so this is one that everybody should be able to get behind and and it’s a, you know, a great use of a federal resource, with the vast federal lands that we have.”

Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on X @Yaffee