Summary of Geothermal Program Projects

This dashboard allows users to learn about certain details of projects funded by the Geothermal Grant and Loan Program (Geothermal Program), including the project's location based on different regional characteristics, purpose (topic), and justice communities, such as disadvantaged community (DAC) or low-income community (LIC). Additional project information included in the map are project title, grant number, grant recipient, region, project period, justice communities, entity, project topic, and tribal project.  

The project information can be filtered by region, justice communities, project topic, and entity type. Both the map and top light blue box on the left-hand side of the dashboard will update automatically to display the results of the most recent search filters selected by the user. The other boxes show the top three of the respective categories in justice communities, regions, and project topics as of the recent year. Users can expand the menu at the bottom of the page to view definitions of terms and additional information.

Visit Geothermal Grant and Loan Program to learn more about the program. 

Disclaimer: Geothermal project locations on this map are estimates based on the information received from grant recipients   

Dashboard is best viewed from a computer.  Visit Tableau for the full page layout of dashboard or download data, or return to dashboard collection page.

Other Dashboards in this Collection:
CA KGRAs, Geo Power Plants, and Funded Geo Program Projects | Summary of Geothermal Program Projects | Geothermal Program Project Reports

County: A political and administrative division of a state, providing certain local governmental services.

Entity Type: Categorizing grant recipient as a local jurisdiction or private entity. 

Geo Program Project Locations (Geothermal Program Project Locations): Estimated location of each project funded by the Geothermal Grant and Loan Program (Geothermal Program). 

Geothermal Grant and Loan Program (Geothermal Program): The California Legislature established the program in 1980 under Public Resources Code sections 3800 et seq. 

California Energy Commission (CEC) Geothermal Program funds the development of geothermal resources with money from the state’s Geothermal Resources Development Account (GRDA). GRDA receives funds collected by the federal government from royalty and lease payments by geothermal developers operating on federal land in California. Thirty percent of the account funds are available to the CEC’s Geothermal Program to promote and maintain development of California's vast geothermal energy and related activities. The Geothermal Program also focuses on mitigating any adverse impacts caused by geothermal development and related activities and helping local jurisdictions and private entities offset the costs of providing public services necessitated by geothermal development.
Source: Geothermal Resources Development Account (GRDA) Law and Regulations

Grant Number: A grant identification (ID) assigned by the CEC to uniquely identify a Geothermal Program project selected to receive a grant or loan.

Grant Recipient: Awarded recipient of the Geothermal Program.

Justice Communities: Justice Community is a broad umbrella that encompasses the following designations:

  • Disadvantaged Communities (DAC): Per Senate Bill (SB) 535, California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) formally designated and defines four categories of geographic areas as disadvantaged communities:
    • Census tracts that received the highest 25 percent of overall scores in CalEnviroScreen 4.0.
    • Census tracts lacking overall scores in CalEnviroScreen 4.0 due to data gaps but received the highest 5 percent of CalEnviroScreen 4.0 cumulative pollution burden scores.
    • Census tracts identified in the 2017 DAC designation as disadvantaged, regardless of their scores in CalEnviroScreen 4.0.
    • Lands under the control of federally recognized Tribes. For purposes of this designation, a Tribe may establish that a particular area of land is under its control even if not represented as such on CalEPA’s DAC map and therefore should be considered a DAC by requesting a consultation with the CalEPA Deputy Secretary for Environmental Justice, Tribal Affairs and Border Relations at TribalAffairs@calepa.ca.gov.
  • Low Income Communities (LIC):

Project Period: The range of time from start year to end year of a project.

Project Title: Title of a Geothermal Program project.

Project Topic: Purpose of the project used to categorize the project. The topic of the project must align with 1 of 12 purposes listed in the California Public Resource Code Chapter 6 – Disposition of Geothermal Revenues, Section 3823. (Amended by Stats. 2022, Ch. 63, Sec. 5. (SB 125) Effective June 30, 2022.)

The list of eligible project topics includes the following:

  1. Undertaking research and development projects relating to geothermal resource assessment and exploration, and direct-use and electric generation technology.
  2. Local and regional planning and policy development and implementation necessary for compliance with programs required by local, state, or federal laws and regulations.
  3. Identification of feasible measures that will mitigate the adverse impacts of the development or production of geothermal resources, the extraction of minerals from geothermal brines, and related activities, and the adoption of ordinances, regulations, and guidelines to implement those measures.
  4. Collecting baseline data and conducting environmental monitoring.
  5. Preparation or revision of geothermal resource elements, or geothermal components of energy elements, for inclusion in the local general plan, zoning and other ordinances, and related planning and environmental documents.
  6. Administrative costs incurred by the local jurisdiction that are attributable to the development or production of geothermal resources, the extraction of minerals from geothermal brines, and related activities.
  7. Monitoring and inspecting geothermal facilities and related activities to assure compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and ordinances.
  8. Identifying, researching, and implementing feasible measures that will mitigate the adverse impacts of the development or production of geothermal resources, extraction of minerals from geothermal brines, and related activities, including mitigation measures that provide community benefits directly or indirectly related to adverse social and economic impacts.
  9. Planning, constructing, providing, operating, and maintaining those public services and facilities that are necessitated by, and result from, the development or of geothermal resources, the extraction of minerals from geothermal brines, and related activities.
  10. Undertaking projects demonstrating the technical and economic feasibility of geothermal direct heat and electrical generation applications.
  11. Undertaking projects for the enhancement, restoration, or preservation of natural resources, including, but not limited to, water development, water quality improvement, fisheries enhancement, and park and recreation facilities and areas.
  12. In furtherance of the state’s zero-emission vehicle and energy storage objectives, undertaking projects to recover lithium, metals, agricultural products, and other beneficial minerals from highly mineralized geothermal brines at a geothermal facility that is in a disadvantaged community and provides local employment opportunities.

Source: Geothermal Resources Development Account (GRDA) Law and Regulations

Region: Region is one of nine California Regions defined in the CEC’s Integrated Energy Policy Report (IEPR) regional engagement map, which is based on the Fourth Climate Change Assessment regions.

  • North Coast: Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Siskiyou, Trinity.
  • Sacramento Valley: Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Sacramento, Shasta, Sutter, Tehama, Yolo, Yuba, Solano, Placer.
  • Sierra Nevada Mountains: Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado, Inyo, Lassen, Mariposa, Modoc, Mono, Nevada, Plumas, Sierra, Tuolumne, Madera, Fresno, Tulare, Kern, Placer.
  • San Francisco Bay: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, Sonoma.
  • San Joaquin Valley: Kings, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Madera, Fresno, Tulare, Kern.
  • Central Coast: Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, Ventura.
  • Inland South/Salton Sea: Imperial, Riverside, San Bernardino.
  • Los Angeles County: Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino.
  • San Diego: San Diego.

Source: Adopted_2022_IEPR_Update_with_errata_no_docket_coversheet

Status: Current status of the funded Geothermal Program projects (e.g., awarded, active, or complete). 

Total Funds Awarded: Total amount of funds provided by the Geothermal Program. 

Tribal Project: Project is in tribe territory as defined by CalEnviroScreen 4.0.

For more information on geothermal energy:

Program data last updated: January 28, 2025

Citing​
Please cite use of these data and images. California Energy Commission [Year]. California Energy Commission GRDA Project Locations Data last updated [insert date last updated]. Retrieved [insert date retrieved] from [Dashboard URL]​

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