BOISE, ID – The Bureau of Land Management's (BLM’s) first competitive geothermal lease sale under the Energy Policy Act of 2005 was held on June 20, 2007 at the Utah State Office in Salt Lake City, Utah.  A total of 8 parcels were offered: five in Idaho and three in Utah.  The total bonus for the five Idaho parcels, which totaled 8,901 acres, was over $5.7 million.  Four parcels totaling 7,162 acres lie in the Raft River Valley of Cassia County.  One 1,739-acre parcel lies in Washington County in the Crane Creek area.  All the Idaho parcels lie on BLM-administered lands.

 

BLM Idaho State Office Geologist Karen Porter said, "The highest bid for an Idaho parcel was from Agua Caliente LLC, located in Englewood, Colorado at $875 per acre, for a total sale of $2,033,016."  Bids on the Idaho parcels ranged from $130 to $875.  Under the Energy Policy Act of 2005, 50 percent of all bonus bid, rental and royalty monies collected are distributed to the State in which the leased lands are located; 25 percent is distributed to the County; and 25 percent is distributed to the BLM.

 

"Idaho currently does not have any electrical energy geothermal production," Porter said.  "However, a power plant is being constructed by U.S. Geothermal, Inc. on private lands in the Raft River Valley and is expected to begin generating electricity in the fall of 2007."  Geothermal energy accounts for 8.5 percent of renewable electricity generation and 0.3 percent of total U.S. electricity supply. Almost 50 percent of the nation's production of geothermal energy is on federal land.

 

The BLM currently administers 29 geothermal power plants, using federal resources in California, Nevada and Utah.  The power plants have a total capacity of 1250 megawatts and supply the needs of 1.2 million homes. Geothermal energy uses steam and hot water generated by heat from the earth.  Some geothermal power plants use steam or hot water from a natural underground reservoir to power generators for electricity generation.  Others use hot water to provide direct heat for residential and other buildings, and for other applications.  For more information, contact the BLM Idaho Information Access Center at (208) 373-3890 or see www.blm.gov/id.

 

The following table details yesterday’s sale results.  The totals include bonus bids, first year’s rental and processing fees.

 

 

 

— BLM —