During a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing, Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski spoke up, backing the Geothermal Exploration and Technology Act, according to a release from the Energy Department.

The release states that the bill proposes a federal loan program to support efforts to explore geothermal energy.

"Geothermal is one of our most promising sources of renewable energy," Murkowski said. "This bill will spur investment in geothermal, further expanding its market share to allow the United States to remain a world leader in development of geothermal technology."

The bill strives to expand geothermal energy, which currently produces about 2.2 gigawatts of energy per day, to up to 100 gigawatts of electricity, a feat which the Massachusetts Institute of Technology says is possible to reach in a few decades.

U.S. Department of Energy chief operating officer Steven G. Chalk also spoke at the hearing, and stated that only 15 megwatts of geothermal energy were added to the grid in 2010, despite the huge potential the renewable form of energy holds.

Acccording to the Department of Energy, a program titled the Geothermal Technologies Program has been developed to find, access and use America's geothermal resources.