Underwriting Geothermal Energy & Associated Subsurface Resources

Stewart NCS Title Tenets Webinar

August 2024

After Texas Senate Bill 785 passed in 2023, geothermal energy rights seemed to become a hot button topic overnight. While the use of geothermal energy was relatively foreign concept in Texas at that time, the idea is anything but new. Many states, including Texas, have used geothermal or hydrothermal energy for a variety of purposes, including heating/cooling systems and the generation of electrical power, for more than 60 years. As the U.S. continues to transition away from the use of fossil fuels to alternative sources of clean, renewable energy, we can expect to see growing interest in the use of geothermal/hydrothermal energy for electrical power generation. Join us as we discuss geothermal/hydrothermal energy and the ways it may be used, the relation of geothermal energy rights to the rights of surface and mineral owners, and ways to avoid and address the potential for geothermal energy rights to impact proposed surface development.

In this Title Tenets webinar, we will:

1. Provide an explanation of geothermal/hydrothermal energy, the different ways it can be used, and the states where geothermal/hydrothermal is used for power generation
2. Discuss the ways different states classify geothermal/hydrothermal energy rights (e.g., surface right vs. mineral right vs. water right), and whether geothermal/hydrothermal energy rights are considered dominant to the surface estate.
3. Dive into the interaction between geothermal/hydrothermal energy rights and surface development, the potential of rights to explore for and produce geothermal/hydrothermal energy to adversely impact surface development; and ways to avoid or address geothermal/hydrothermal energy rights before they become a problem.
4. Review title insurance considerations when property is subject to geothermal/hydrothermal energy rights held by a third party.