BLM sells 27 parcels in geothermal lease sale in Utah and Idaho
Raser Technologies' Thermo no. 1 plant in Utah (source: Raser)
Alexander Richter
5 Mar 2010
The Bureau of Land Management sells 17 geothermal parcels in Utah and 10 parcels in Idaho, with a total revenue of US$335,000.
Reported from the U.S., “The Bureau of Land Management held a competitive geothermal lease sale Tuesday in Salt Lake City at the BLM State Office.
Included in the sale were 17 parcels on BLM Utah lands and ten parcels on BLM Idaho lands. The BLM sold 17 of the Utah parcels on 60,320.319 acres of federal land in the Fillmore Field Office; and, 4 of the Idaho parcels on 10,592.740 acres of federal land. During the oral auction, BLM received $212,274.00 in bonus bids for the geothermal lease rights. In addition to the bonus bids, the sale netted $120,654.00 in rental fees and $2,465.00 administrative fees, for $335,393.00 in total revenues from this lease sale.
Ormal Nevada of Reno, Nevada, submitted the highest total bid per parcel and acre—$11 on parcel number 7 containing 5,094 acres in Fillmore Field Office.
BLM administers 29 geothermal power plants, using federal resources in California, Nevada and Utah. The power plants have a total capacity of 1,250 megawatts and supply the needs of 1.2 million homes. Geothermal energy uses steam and hot water generated by heat from the earth. Some geothermal power plants use steam or hot water from a natural underground reservoir to power generators for electricity generation. Others use hot water to provide direct heat for residential and other buildings, and for other applications.
Geothermal energy accounts for 8.5 percent of renewable electricity generation, and 0.3 percent of total U.S. electricity supply. Almost 50% of the nation’s production of geothermal energy is on federal land. Utah’s current geothermal production is primarily located in Beaver County where two plants produce 24 megawatts per year.”
Source: KCSG
