# Understanding the CLEAN Act

This bill makes it easier and faster for companies to develop geothermal energy on public lands. Geothermal energy comes from heat deep underground and is considered a clean, renewable energy source. Right now, the government only holds lease sales for geothermal development once every two years, but this bill would require the government to hold them every single year instead. The idea is to speed up the process of getting geothermal projects off the ground and increase the amount of this renewable energy available to Americans.

The bill also adds two important requirements. First, if a scheduled lease sale gets canceled or delayed for any reason, the government must hold a replacement sale that same year to make up for it. Second, when the government does hold a lease sale, it must offer all the land parcels that have been nominated for geothermal development and are eligible under the current land management plan for that state. This prevents the government from picking and choosing which parcels to offer.

On top of faster lease sales, the bill speeds up the permitting process for companies that want to drill geothermal wells. Currently, there's no set timeline for the government to review drilling permit applications. Under this bill, the government would have 30 days to tell applicants whether their application is complete or what information is missing. Once an application is complete, the government would have another 30 days to make a final decision. This creates a clear, predictable timeline that should help geothermal projects move forward more quickly rather than getting stuck in bureaucratic delays.