House Energy Committee holds public hearing on groundbreaking geothermal energy development bill
Pennsylvania House Democratic Caucus March 27, 2026 | 10:07 AM
HARRISBURG, March 27 – The PA House Energy Committee convened a public hearing on a bipartisan clean energy bill (H.B. 2076) sponsored by state Reps. Arvind Venkat, D-Allegheny; Craig Williams, R-Chester; and Elizabeth Fiedler, D-Phila., chair of the committee. The bill would establish regulations for the generation of energy from geothermal resources within the Commonwealth.
Testifiers included regulatory and environmental experts from Pennsylvania and Texas, including:
- Seth Pelepko, deputy secretary for Oil and Gas, PA Department of Environmental Protection
- John Walliser, senior vice president, Legal and Government Affairs, Pennsylvania Environmental Council
- Benjamin Sebree, attorney, The Sebree Law Firm; formerly VP and general counsel, Texas Oil and Gas Association
“I hope Representative Venkat’s geothermal development bill will allow the Commonwealth to be an early adopter of this game-changing technology and secure our role as a leader in the clean energy economy,” Fiedler said.
Geothermal energy is endlessly renewable, locally sourced, and far less impactful to the natural environment than other energy resources. As of 2025, there are 99 geothermal power plants operating in the United States, providing nearly 4 gigawatts of electricity—enough to power millions of homes.
The development of geothermal energy was once limited to regions near tectonic boundaries, volcanic activity, and hot springs, but advancements in drilling technologies now allow for development in regions where geothermal resources are found deep beneath the earth’s crust. Pennsylvania has the geological assets and skilled workforce necessary to lead the development of enhanced geothermal projects but lacks a stable regulatory environment for the geothermal industry.
“As demand increases, we desperately need to develop all of the energy resources in Pennsylvania. Geothermal energy is a clean, always-on resource that can help meet the heating and cooling needs of our Commonwealth,” said Venkat. “Today’s committee hearing on H.B. 2076 shows how we can move forward this legislation to establish a regulatory framework for the development of deep geothermal energy projects in Pennsylvania.”
Interest in geothermal energy is gaining traction in other states and at the national level. As of March 2026, geothermal energy legislation has been introduced in 14 states and enacted in seven. At the federal level, the Office of Geothermal within the Department of Energy offers key financing programs to accelerate the development of geothermal resources.
In his testimony before the committee, Deputy DEP Secretary Seth Pelepko shared that the state Department of Environmental Protection had applied to the OG’s Enhanced Geothermal Systems Pilot Demonstrations. He noted that he is hopeful that their application with DOE may be advancing to the next step of the process.
“Based on my experience in the geothermal energy industry, as well as in the oil and gas industry, this bill looks well drafted to create a statutory and regulatory structure in Pennsylvania to promote business certainty for the geothermal energy industry to operate in Pennsylvania, to protect human health and the environment, and to promote the public welfare,” said Ben Sebree, who previously served as VP and General Counsel, Texas Oil and Gas Association.
The legislation must be considered for a vote in the House Energy Committee before it can move to the House floor.