BLM to hold Idaho geothermal lease sale on September 2025
The Bureau of Land Management will be holding a geothermal lease sale for nine parcels across three counties in Idaho on 9 September 2025.
Following a previously announced public comment period, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Idaho State Office will be holding a competitive geothermal lease sale on 9 September 2025. The lease sale will offer nine parcels totaling nearly 20,615 acres in Elmore and Washington counties and about 3,740 acres in Bonneville Country. The auction will be held online via EnergyNet.
More information is available on the respective NEPA pages of the Four Rivers Field Office (covering eight parcels in Elmore and Washington counties) and the Pocatello Field Office (covering one parcel in Bonneville County).
This geothermal lease sale will follow closely another geothermal lease sale in California, to be held in August 2025. Another statewide lease sale in Idaho is planned later this year, around December 2025.
The BLM issues competitive geothermal leases for an initial 10-year period. The leases allow 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.
For each parcel leased, 25% of the bid, rental receipts, and subsequent royalties will go to the U.S. Treasury, 25% will go to the county where the lease is located, and the remaining 50% will go to the State of Idaho. The State of Idaho then allocates 90% of that portion into the state renewable energy resources fund and 10% to the counties where the leases are located for construction and maintenance of roads and support of public schools.
Source: Bureau of Land Management
