Alaska State Office
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News Release |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE News Release No. 09-22
Contact: Ruth McCoard, 907-271-3322 Date: 4/03/09
Danielle Allen, 907-271-3335
Danielle Allen, 907-271-3335
Public Workshop for Training on Geothermal Energy on Federal Land
The public and members of the geothermal industry are encouraged to join the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service at a regional training session to be held in Anchorage in June. The training session will focus on the environmentally sound development of geothermal energy across the Western U.S. Seven sessions are being held throughout the nation beginning in early April in Denver and ending in Salt Lake City in June. The Anchorage session will be held on Wednesday, June 3, 2009, from 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. at the Alaska Energy Authority Boardroom, Third Floor, 813 W. Northern Lights Boulevard.
The session will provide an understanding of the process involved in leasing geothermal resources on federal lands and will describe the benefits of the Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for geothermal energy (www.blm.gov/geothermal_eis) published in October 2008. The training session is free, requires no registration and will last three hours. The project management staff from the PEIS team will be present.
Topics will include applicable laws and regulations, identification of lands open or closed to geothermal development, the nomination and leasing process, and a review of leasing stipulations and Best Management Practices provided in the PEIS and Record of Decision.
The Record of Decision and Approved Resource Management Plan Amendments for Geothermal Leasing in the Western United States published by the BLM in December 2008 make more than 190 million acres of federal lands available for leasing and potential development of geothermal energy resources. The approved development scenario, which was analyzed in the Final PEIS, anticipates a potential 5,500 megawatts of new electric generation capacity from resources in the 12 western States (including Alaska) by 2015. It also estimates an additional 6,600 megawatts by 2025 for a total of 12,100 megawatts.
The Bureau of Land Management manages geothermal leasing on the Federal mineral estate, including the 256 million acres of public land whose surface it manages and another 442 million subsurface acres where other federal agencies, such as the Forest Service, manage the surface. A total of 29 geothermal power plants currently operate on Bureau of Land Management lands in California, Nevada and Utah, with a total generating capacity of 1250 megawatts – enough to supply the continuous electric power needs of 1.2 million homes.
The BLM manages 256 million acres – more land than any other federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The Bureau, with a budget of about $1 billion, also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM’s multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.
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