State Representative Teresa Martinez (R-16) is celebrating the passage of Arizona House Concurrent Resolution 2057, which recognizes the Grand Canyon State's geothermal energy potential.
As its name suggests, geothermal energy harnesses the heat generated beneath the Earth's surface, tapping into reservoirs of hot water to produce electricity, heat buildings, and power other uses.
Geothermal energy is renewable and versatile, unaffected by weather or time of day, and its potential is still being realized; Arizona, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, is estimated to have the capacity to harness up to 10 gigawatts of geothermal energy.
As a result, State Rep. Martinez's House Concurrent Resolution 2057 does not advance policy right away so much as it encourages state agencies to work toward helping Arizona realize that geothermal potential.
"This is simple: Arizona needs more power, and geothermal is one resource we should be taking seriously," State Rep. Martinez said in a press release. "It is reliable, it is here, and new technology is making it more realistic to develop. This resolution does not build a power plant tomorrow. What it does is tell state agencies to get serious, work together, and make sure Arizona is ready for geothermal projects when they come."
Earlier in April, House Majority Leader Michael Carbone (R-25) voiced strong opposition to Governor Katie Hobbs' (D-AZ) energy plan for Arizona, which he said prioritizes the solar industry over housing and affordability concerns.
"Hobbs is calling this an all-of-the-above energy plan. It's not," House Majority Leader Carbone said. "It's a solar-heavy political plan that puts green industry insiders ahead of taxpayers."
The key feature of Gov. Hobbs' proposed energy plan calls for expanding utility-scale wind and solar development on state-owned property, including areas close to existing residential communities, which House Majority Leader Carbone argues that land could instead be used to address Arizona's housing shortage.
