Geothermal energy development on federal land in the West is poised to expand after the Interior Department holds its November lease sale in Nevada, the third-largest geothermal auction in the agency’s history.
Companies exploring for geothermal energy in Nevada say it could take several years for those leases to be developed, however.
Interior’s Bureau of Land Management will auction the geothermal development rights to about 135,000 acres of federal land in Nevada on Nov. 14. The parcels are spread across the western half of the state, paving the way for the geothermal industry to establish itself throughout the Great Basin. ...