BLM NEWS RELEASE
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Nevada generated $112,540 during its competitive geothermal lease sale held in Reno on Jan. 24, selling 8 parcels that comprised 27,834 acres. The sale high bid of $10,216 for a 5,108 acre parcel at $2 per acre was made by TGP New York Canyon, LLC of San Diego, Calif., for a parcel in Pershing County.
Geothermal leases are for a 10-year period. Annual rental for a competitive lease is $2 per acre for the first year, and $3 per acre for lease years 2-10. Annual rental for a noncompetitive lease is $1 per acre for lease years 1-10. Additional environmental analysis would need to be conducted to receive permits to drill or build a facility to develop the energy from the geothermal source.
The BLM offered 33 parcels totaling 94,829 acres. The initial sale list included 34 parcels totaling 99,469 acres. The sale list was amended on Jan. 17, one parcel was deferred and two parcels were partially deferred because those areas are within sage-grouse population management units and overlap priority habitat area. Additionally, there are active sage-grouse leks in or in very close proximity to these parcels. Another parcel was reconfigured due to a boundary of a Wilderness Study Area that was not well defined at the time the sale notice was posted. The boundary has since been surveyed and the boundary defined resulting in the reconfiguration. A complete summary of the parcels offered and the winning bids is available online at: www.blm.gov/nv.
