Interior Department grants emergency permitting for three Ormat geothermal initiatives
The U.S. Department of the Interior has announced the implementation of emergency permitting procedures to expedite the review of geothermal energy projects as part of President Trump's energy agenda. These measures aim to streamline the approval process, mitigating challenges posed by lengthy permitting and environmental reviews.
The decision to accelerate geothermal energy projects was prompted by High energy costs and an unreliable energy grid identified as threats to national security and economic prosperity earlier in January 2025 [5].
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has adopted categorical exclusions to allow faster permitting of low-impact activities, such as drilling exploratory wells and conducting geophysical surveys [5]. Additionally, the BLM has proposed a new categorical exclusion for operations related to the search for indirect evidence of geothermal resources, which is open for public comment [5].
Geothermal energy is seen as a reliable, low-emission, and potentially beneficial source for domestic energy production. Previous regulatory bottlenecks have hindered its development, but these emergency procedures are designed to boost domestic renewable energy development, which supports national energy security goals [5].
The Bureau of Land Management's adoption of categorical exclusions for geothermal energy projects is aimed at fostering financing in the renewable-energy industry, considering geothermal energy's potential as a domestically beneficial and low-emission energy source. The accelerated approval process for geothermal projects, initiated to address high energy costs and an unreliable energy grid, also seeks to stimulate the growth of renewable energy within the US, aligning with national energy security objectives.
