Nearly 100,000 acres of Nevada’s public lands were leased by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) this week for geothermal exploration and development.
The BLM leased 33 parcels totaling 96,600 acres; 45 parcels covering nearly 135,000 acres had been offered.
Just over $1 million was generated from the sale. Half the proceeds were distributed to the state, a quarter to the county the lease is in, and a quarter to the federal government.
According to the BLM, leasing land for geothermal development is a step toward meeting the requirements of the federal Energy Act of 2020, which requires permitting 25 gigawatts worth of solar, wind and geothermal energy production on public lands by 2025.
There are 18 operating geothermal plants producing more than 600 megawatts of power and nearly 400 megawatts of geothermal projects in the permitting, exploration, development and construction phases on Nevada public land. Geothermal leases last 10 years.