The Alabama House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 174 on Thursday, legislation that would allow the state to regulate the repurposing of oil and gas wells for alternative energy projects.
Senator Greg Albritton, R-Atmore, sponsored the bill. Representative Marcus Paramore, R-Troy, carried it in the House.
SB174 would authorize the Alabama Oil and Gas Board to allow oil and gas wells and infrastructure on state land to be used for alternative energy wells and to adopt rules regulating their operation.
The bill would apply to alternative energy wells including geothermal projects, in which water is pumped into retrofitted oil or gas wells, heated by the earth and brought back to the surface to power a thermoelectric generator. The measure also would allow the board to regulate hydroelectric projects that use repurposed wells.
According to the Oil and Gas Board, southwest Alabama’s Choctaw, Lamar and Covington counties, along with coal-producing areas of north-central Alabama including Jefferson, Tuscaloosa and Walker counties, have the highest numbers of unused or abandoned oil and gas wells in the state.
Under SB174, alternative energy operators seeking approval to operate a facility within the Blue Creek or Mary Lee coal seams in Jefferson, Tuscaloosa or Walker counties—or within a 10-mile radius of any coal operation—would have to obtain written consent from a coal mine operator and mineral owners with an operation within the seam.
The Oil and Gas Board also would have to notify the public of any proposed alternative energy well project and hold a public hearing.
Paramore presented the bill to the House and answered questions from several representatives about the process for establishing alternative energy projects in unused wells.
Representative Mary Moore, D-Birmingham, said she was disappointed the bill’s sponsors did not provide the House with research on the safety and logistics of alternative energy well projects.
“How much research have we done to prove that it won’t be detrimental to the environment and the citizens that live closest to these capped wells?” Moore asked. “Whatever we can get as far as energy, for our citizens, is much needed. But at the same time, we want to make sure that it is as safe as possible.”
Representative Barbara Drummond, D-Mobile, also questioned Paramore about the safety of alternative energy wells.
“As one of those representatives from south Alabama, I want to make sure of what we are doing,” Drummond said.
Drummond also asked whether local environmental groups had voiced support for or opposition to the legislation. Paramore said he was unsure.
Caine O’Rear, communications director for Mobile Baykeeper, told APR the organization has not developed a position on SB174. Requests for comment on the legislation were left with the environmental nonprofit Conservation Alabama on Thursday afternoon.
The House adopted what Paramore described as a friendly amendment requiring wells used for alternative energy purposes to be at least 5,000 feet deep.
“That’s just trying to protect the freshwater resources,” Representative Matthew Hammett, R-Andalusia, said.
The House passed SB174 by an 84-3 vote. Representative Prince Chestnutt, D-Selma, Representative Ben Robbins, R-Sylacauga, and Representative Jennifer Fidler, R-Silverhill, voted no.
If the Alabama Senate adopts Hammett’s amendment, the bill will go to Governor Kay Ivey’s desk.
