42 U.S.C. § 17192 — Hydrothermal research and development

(a): In general The Secretary^* must carry out a program of research, development, demonstration, and commercial application for geothermal energy production from hydrothermal systems.
(b): Programs The program authorized in subsection
(a): must include the following: (1): Advanced hydrothermal resource tools The research and development of advanced geologic tools to assist in locating hydrothermal resources, and to increase the reliability of site characterization, including the development of new imaging and sensing technologies and techniques to assist in prioritization of targets for characterization; (2): Exploratory drilling for geothermal resources The demonstration of advanced technologies and techniques of siting and exploratory drilling for undiscovered resources in a variety of geologic settings, carried out in collaboration with industry partners that will assist in the acquisition of high quality data sets relevant for hydrothermal subsurface characterization activities.