The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will be holding a competitive geothermal lease sale for 19 parcels covering a total of 40,000 acres in California on 27 October 2026. The auction covers parcels located in Modoc, Sonoma, Lake, Mono, Inyo, and Imperial counties.
Details on the parcels to be offered in the auction can be accessed via the respective Field Offices:
- Applegate Field Office
- Ukiah Field Office
- Bishop Field Office
- Ridgecrest Field Office
- El Centro Field Office
For each parcel leased, 50% of the bid, rental receipts, and subsequent royalties will go to the state of California, 25% will go to the county where the lease is located, and the remaining 25% will go to the U.S. Treasury.
The BLM issues competitive geothermal leases for an initial 10-year period, which allows the lessee to explore for and develop potential geothermal resources. The leases may be extended if the lessee establishes production or provides proof of diligent exploration
Before authorizing any surface-disturbing activities, the BLM conducts additional environmental reviews based on applications for exploration or development plans, which include site-specific conditions in addition to the stipulations attached to the lease at the time of sale.
About a month ago, a BLM geothermal lease sale in Utah set several new Federal records on the bid amounts received in geothermal lease sales. The auction received a total of USD 24.7 million in wining bids. The Utah lease sale has been the latest evidence of increasing interest from private investors in developing geothermal projects in federal lands, driven in part by new technologies in geothermal resource utilization and improving policy environments in the United States.
Source: Bureau of Land Management
