AN ACT to provide for a legislative management study regarding geothermal energy.
SB 2360 directs the North Dakota Legislative Management to study the feasibility of developing geothermal energy during the 2025-26 interim. The study is broad in scope and must examine the state’s geology, the potential for geothermal resource exploration and production, opportunities to support startup geothermal companies, and ways geothermal development could contribute to innovation and economic growth in the state’s energy sector.
The bill also specifically asks lawmakers to evaluate whether geothermal energy can be applied to nonproductive oil and gas wells, potentially extending the useful life of those wells through a complementary energy extraction method. In addition, the study may identify other opportunities to advance geothermal energy in North Dakota, and it must result in a report to the 70th Legislative Assembly with findings, recommendations, and any proposed legislation needed to implement them.
This bill does not immediately change substantive state law or create a new regulatory program; instead, it establishes a legislative study that could lead to future legislation on geothermal energy. Its practical effect is to place geothermal development, geology, startup support, and possible reuse of idle oil and gas wells on the legislative agenda for the interim, with the potential to influence future energy policy, economic development efforts, and land/resource use in North Dakota.
The bill appears to have been received positively and with little opposition. It passed the Senate unanimously and the House by a strong margin, indicating broad bipartisan support for exploring geothermal energy as a potential economic and energy resource. The voting pattern suggests lawmakers were generally favorable toward a study rather than immediate regulatory action.
There is little evidence of major contention in the available record, and no committee transcript is provided. The only notable area that could generate policy debate is the bill’s focus on using nonproductive oil and gas wells for geothermal purposes, which may raise questions about technical feasibility, cost, and how geothermal development fits alongside the state’s existing fossil fuel industry. However, the vote totals suggest any such concerns did not prevent passage.