Geothermal supporters believe their moment in the sun has arrived with the incoming Trump administration and GOP control of Congress, Daniel writes.

Why it matters: Tapping Earth's heat can be a 24/7 zero-carbon electricity source. It's won fans like Google and Jennifer Granholm.

• But for decades it's taken a back seat to oil and gas, nuclear, hydrogen, wind, and solar.

The big picture: While President-elect Trump has widely targeted President Biden's climate initiatives, his top energy advisers may be inclined to not only spare geothermal but also bolster its relatively meager aid.

• Chris Wright, Trump's DOE nominee, has invested his oil company in geothermal, and Doug Burgum, his pick for Interior and to lead a National Energy Council, hails from a state with geothermal interests.

Sen. Mike Lee, incoming chair of Energy and Natural Resources, supports legislation that puts geothermal on an equal footing with oil and gas.

• Utah is "the ideal location to develop this clean, firm energy source," Lee said in a statement to Axios.
• "I look forward to continuing the progress [expected Ranking Member] Senator Heinrich and I have made on geothermal permitting reform on the ENR committee in the coming Congress."

What they're saying: It's "a first for the geothermal industry" to have such high-level officials with geothermal backgrounds, said Bryant Jones, executive director of Geothermal Rising.

• The trade group counts Halliburton, Baker Hughes, and Jacobs as "renewable energy enthusiast" members.

Zoom in: Geothermal innovations could expand the map beyond small-scale plants in Western states that have hot rocks near the surface.

• Fervo Energy — partnering with the DOE in Utah and Google in Nevada — is asking lawmakers to bump up appropriations and lower permitting barriers.
• Fervo is "talking to Congress about how it is that we deliver on a lot of the promises that President-elect Trump made in his campaign about lowering energy prices and increasing energy supply," said Ben Serrurier, Fervo's government affairs and policy manager.
• Wright has already heard the pitch: His oil company announced a $10 million investment in Fervo.

Fervo also met this month with Rep. John Curtis of Utah — who's moving to the Senate and hopes to get a spot on EPW — to share updates on a project that could scale to the capacity of two nuclear reactors.

• "They're rolling, and there's just huge potential there," Curtis told Daniel in the speaker's lobby. "What's not to like about geothermal?"

What we're watching: Whether House-approved geothermal permitting and leasing bills clear the Senate by the end of the year.

• Also whether GOP-led reconciliation goals next session will bump up geothermal leasing on federal land.

Lawmakers look unlikely to include a permitting deal in the year-end spending bill after a series of setbacks late last week, Nick and Daniel write.

Why it matters: A failure to reach a deal would leave permitting — the effort to overhaul environmental laws to speed up energy projects — on uncertain ground heading into next year.

Driving the news: Lawmakers had been expected to release the final text of a continuing resolution yesterday as the prime vehicle for permitting and virtually everything else. But it's been delayed.

• The negotiating turmoil for permitting started Thursday, when Senate Environment and Public Works Chair Tom Carper walked out on a negotiation and blamed Republicans for blowing up talks.
• Late Friday, a source close to the negotiations, granted anonymity to speak candidly, told Daniel that Speaker Mike Johnson had "pulled the plug" on talks. Johnson's office didn't respond to requests for comment.

Yes, but: Others say talks are still ongoing.

• "Anyone who's spent time in D.C. knows while there's still time, there's still opportunity. We're continuing to work in good faith," House Natural Resources Chair Bruce Westerman said in a Friday night statement.

Zoom in: The fundamental disagreement is over how much to limit reviews and lawsuits under NEPA.

• The Manchin-Barrasso bill would establish a 150-day statute of limitations for NEPA lawsuits and a 180-day deadline to take action when a court sends a project back to an agency — but only for energy projects.
• Carper has said he would be willing to apply the judicial review provisions from that bill to other projects.
• Westerman's proposal, meanwhile, includes a 120-day statute of limitations and provisions that would limit which environmental impacts agencies can assess.

House Republicans are adding three freshmen to the Energy and Commerce Committee, Nick writes.

Why it matters: It was once rare for freshmen to score a spot on E&C, but the panel has had plenty of churn lately. The GOP already added new Rep. John James to the committee in this Congress.

Driving the news: Incoming Reps. Julie Fedorchak, Craig Goldman and Gabe Evans are joining next year.

• Other GOP additions include Reps. Cliff Bentz, Erin Houchin, Russell Fry, Laurel Lee, Nick Langworthy, Tom Kean and Mike Rulli.

Zoom in: Incoming Chair Brett Guthrie also announced his top committee staff this morning.

• Megan Jackson, his former LD who has recently been working for biopharmaceutical company ​​Alkermes, will serve as staff director.
• Sophie Khanahmadi, the current chief of staff in Guthrie's personal office, will be deputy staff director.

What's next: Dems have yet to finalize their roster but are expected to make more committee decisions — including on the contested Natural Resources ranking membership — this week.

⚔️ 1. NDAA tournament: The Senate will hold a procedural vote on the NDAA this evening, setting it up for final passage and a presidential signature in the coming days.

🗳️ 2. Suspension time: The House will take up a huge list of suspension bills this week, including legislation that would aim to expedite environmental reviews for broadband infrastructure.

• Also on the House calendar is the Midnight Rules Relief Act, a longstanding GOP proposal that would allow Congressional Review Act resolutions on rules finalized at the end of a president's term to be considered en bloc.

🌎 3. Final climate pitch: Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse will wrap up his chairmanship of the Budget Committee with a hearing Wednesday on the ongoing impacts of climate change on the insurance industry.

👀 4. Anything and everything: We'll likely get news this week on a bunch of final Biden administration actions: final guidance for the 45V hydrogen credit, the LNG exports study, and a decision by EPA to let California phase out gas-powered car sales by 2035.

• Plus, DOE just finalized a $9.6 billion loan to help Ford and South Korea's SK On build EV battery factories.