Hot Rock Act

(a) In general. Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall establish—

(1) a research program to study the—

(A) seismicity and rock mechanics in the brittle-ductile transition zone; and

(B) thermal property of rocks, including rock conductivity, fluid heat capacity, rock heat capacity, specific heat capacity, and seismicity, with an emphasis on the characterization impact of hot dry rock geothermal energy;

(2) a program to map deep basement rocks within each of the several States, the District of Columbia, and each territory and possession of the United States; and

(3) a program to monitor the ground water of areas in the United States affected by the testing and demonstration of technologies used in the development of hot dry rock geothermal energy.

(b) Secretary defined. In this section, the term Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the United States Geological Survey.

(c) Authorization of appropriations. There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031.