Energy

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT

Soaring over the Snake River Birds of Prey NCA

Teepees at Idaho's Sacajawea Interpretive Center in Salmon

Idaho



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Programs

Energy

The BLM manages more Federal land than any other agency – 258 million surface acres and 700 million sub-surface acres of mineral estate. This gives the agency a key role in developing and delivering energy to meet the Nation's needs. Promoting dependable and environmentally sound energy production that can help reduce U.S dependence on imported energy is an important part of the BLM's multiple use mission.

Energy

Idaho - A Key Link in the Nation's Energy Supply System

Idaho is an important geographic link between production facilities and energy markets. Major gas pipelines and electricity transmission lines cross southern Idaho, connecting energy production facilities in the central Rockies with energy markets in Idaho and the Pacific Northwest.

West-wide Energy Corridor Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement
The BLM and the Department of Energy in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service are completing a programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS) that identifies locations for energy transport corridors on Federal lands in the 11 Western states. BLM-managed lands in Idaho could play a key role in expanding pipeline and powerline capacity. More information about the energy corridor PEIS is available at http://corridoreis.anl.gov.

Toward the Future - Renewable Energy

Idaho possesses abundant renewable energy resources – especially wind and geothermal– that are essential to building a sustainable-energy future. A recent study estimated that wind energy production in Idaho could provide as much as 625 megawatts of electricity by 2015. That’s enough energy to supply the annual needs of more than 150,000 homes. This potential is already being realized by the BLM’s approval in 2006 of the Cotterel Mountain wind energy project. Up to 98 wind turbines located on BLM-managed lands in south-central Idaho will generate 200 megawatts of electricity.

Surprisingly, the potential for geothermal energy in southern Idaho may be even greater than the potential for wind energy. Volcanic eruptions have shaped the landscape of southern Idaho for millions of years. Deep beneath southern Idaho, the earth continues to heat underground water that can be tapped to produce geothermal energy. Studies estimate that Idaho could produce as much as 850 megawatts of electricity from geothermal energy by 2015.

Natural Gas & Oil

Idaho currently has 6 oil and gas leases located on 9,150 acres in eastern Idaho, near the Wyoming border — the area of the state with the highest oil and gas potential. These leases are not currently in production. For information on the process for leasing oil and natural gas, visit BLM's national Oil and Gas webpage and see the brochure Split Estate: Rights, Responsibilities and Opportunites.