Congressman Garamendi Joins Bipartisan Fight for Geothermal Energy Revenue in Budget

Press Release

Last week, Congressman John Garamendi (D-Fairfield, CA), the former Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Interior Department, joined a bipartisan Congressional coalition urging lawmakers to preserve geothermal revenue sharing for local communities after the Administration decided to eliminate them in its proposed budget.

"On the scale of the U.S. budget, geothermal royalty payments are a drop in the bucket, but in communities like Lake County, they are incredibly important," Congressman Garamendi said.
"This incentive helps sustain an important source of renewable energy, and revenues raised go directly toward local infrastructure, conservation, and safety priorities. We've been down this road before. Thanks to the leadership of Congressman Thompson and others in our bipartisan coalition, we'll do everything in our power to make sure this subsidy is as reliable as the Geysers."

In Fiscal Year 2014, Lake County received more than $959,000 in geothermal royalties, money that directly supports public infrastructure, safety, and conservation efforts. The Geysers, located in Lake and Sonoma counties, are home to the largest grouping of geothermal power plants in the world.

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