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Geothermal Permitting and NEPA Timeline Analysis

Metadata Updated: January 20, 2025

In this analysis, we outline the types of NEPA-related analyses and approvals (e.g., environmental assessment), and we provide examples of geothermal development activities (e.g., well drilling) that might require each type of approval, including an overview and discussion of the specific permits.

We conducted an in-depth analysis of timelines specific to each NEPA analysis type, and we analyzed a sample of geothermal projects to identify factors that increased NEPA review timelines. Based on that analysis, we identified proven and potential strategies that can assist geothermal projects by lowering the time necessary to navigate the NEPA process, while maintaining the efficacy of the federal environmental review intact. We also identified areas of potential improvement in NEPA efficiency within each phase of geothermal development. Shortening project timelines can effectively decrease the perceived risk profiles of geothermal development projects.

This submission includes a paper, poster, and presentation for the Geothermal Resources Council (GRC) summarizing geothermal permitting and NEPA timeline analysis. Also included are two spreadsheets detailing the NEPA timeline analysis and environmental assessments (EA).

Access & Use Information

Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: Creative Commons Attribution

Downloads & Resources

Dates

Metadata Created Date January 11, 2025
Metadata Updated Date January 20, 2025

Metadata Source

Harvested from OpenEI data.json

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date January 11, 2025
Metadata Updated Date January 20, 2025
Publisher National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Maintainer
Doi 10.15121/1678730
Identifier https://data.openei.org/submissions/7379
Data First Published 2014-09-30T06:00:00Z
Data Last Modified 2021-05-17T15:57:56Z
Public Access Level public
Bureau Code 019:20
Metadata Context https://openei.org/data.json
Metadata Catalog ID https://openei.org/data.json
Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
Data Quality True
Datagov Dedupe Retained 20250120155001
Harvest Object Id 8f56b42f-84c0-4c69-87be-a9d7870838b1
Harvest Source Id 7cbf9085-0290-4e9f-bec1-91653baeddfd
Harvest Source Title OpenEI data.json
Homepage URL https://gdr.openei.org/submissions/1258
License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Old Spatial {"type":"Polygon","coordinates":-167.7267,13.518,-53.8316,13.518,-53.8316,75.0714,-167.7267,75.0714,-167.7267,13.518}
Program Code 019:006
Projectlead Tim Reinhardt
Projectnumber FY14 AOP 4.2.0.1
Projecttitle Geothermal Regulatory Roadmap
Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash ab016213255bc0bc10d1ee96046dedf9601232c4a64a85c55918111bd7a638f1
Source Schema Version 1.1
Spatial {"type":"Polygon","coordinates":-167.7267,13.518,-53.8316,13.518,-53.8316,75.0714,-167.7267,75.0714,-167.7267,13.518}

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