Date and time: Thursday, October 17, 2024
Contact: Interior_Press@ios.doi.gov
WASHINGTON — The Department of the Interior today announced significant progress in expanding geothermal energy on public lands. Geothermal energy is a rich clean energy resource with tremendous potential to help meet the Biden-Harris Administration’s goal of a carbon-free electricity sector by 2035.
The Department announced that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has approved the Cape Felbo geothermal power project in Beaver County, Utah. The project will use innovative technology to generate up to 2 gigawatts (GW) of baseload electricity, enough to power more than 2 million homes once fully developed. With this approval, BLM has approved approximately 32 gigawatts of clean energy projects on public lands, including 42 projects approved under the Biden-Harris administration. BLM is also proposing new categorical exclusions to facilitate identification of geothermal energy resources on public lands. These actions come as the BLM hosted the largest geothermal lease sale in more than 15 years.
“Geothermal energy is one of the largest untapped clean energy resources on public lands,” said Dr. Steve Feldgas, Assistant Secretary for Land and Mineral Management. “Today’s action unlocks new opportunities, new technologies, and new solutions in geothermal energy that support the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts to create jobs, economic growth, and clean, carbon-free power for communities across the West. It is part of the ministry’s efforts to provide
Geothermal energy is supplemented by heat sources deep within the earth to generate electricity while minimizing carbon emissions. It can also be used to heat buildings, operate greenhouses, and support aquaculture activities. There are currently 51 power plants in operation that produce geothermal energy from public lands managed by BLM. For more information, visit the BLM Geothermal Energy website.
“BLM is committed to supporting the responsible growth of geothermal energy on public lands,” said BLM Director Tracy Stone Manning. “Achieving a clean energy future requires all the tools in our toolbox. This proposed categorical exemption will help accelerate the process of finding new geothermal resources.”
Today’s announcement follows the BLM Nevada geothermal lease sale held on October 8th, which generated near-record revenues, making it the most successful sale since 2008 and the second largest sale in history. . BLM sold 64 parcels covering approximately 218,000 acres, resulting in high bids of more than $7.8 million. This is a significant increase from the previous year, when 96,600 acres of land was sold for just over $1 million, and shows the growing interest in geothermal development on public lands.
Cape Felbo geothermal power generation project
Rather than relying on naturally occurring underground hot water like traditional geothermal systems, the Cape Felbo geothermal power project generates electricity by injecting water into hot underground rock formations and extracting the heated water. An enhanced geothermal system that produces energy in Once fully developed, the project will cover approximately 631 acres, including 148 acres of public land, and will produce up to 2 gigawatts of clean energy. Additional information about the project is available on the BLM National NEPA Register.
Proposed categorical exclusion
Now, BLM is proposing new categorical exclusions (CX) to help accelerate the discovery of new geothermal resources. CX applies to geothermal resource verification work plans of up to 20 acres. This includes drilling wells (e.g. core drilling, thermal gradient wells, and/or resource wells) to confirm the presence of geothermal resources and improve injection support. , or indicate connections between wells. The proposal will be published in the Federal Register in the coming days, beginning a 30-day public comment period.
Today’s permit proposal will help accelerate the discovery of new geothermal resources across the West, especially in states like Nevada, which has some of the nation’s largest untapped geothermal potential.
Currently, geothermal developers must conduct two separate environmental reviews. one for initial exploration drilling and the other for complete testing of the geothermal resource. Even though both have similar environmental impacts. This proposal applies only to geothermal resource identification work on public lands and subdivisions. Further geothermal development will require additional environmental analysis. Based on previous Department of Energy analysis, these permitting actions could significantly reduce permitting schedules and capital costs for geothermal deployments.
Under the National Environmental Policy Act, categorical exclusions (CX) are categories of activities that typically do not have a significant impact on the human environment. When used properly, CX eliminates the need for an environmental assessment (EA) as part of the permitting process. CX is not applicable in special circumstances, such as potential impact on endangered species, but EA should still be conducted.
As of October 2024, the Biden-Harris Administration has approved 42 renewable energy projects (10 solar, 14 geothermal, and 18 power plants) on public lands, with a potential of 25 GW by 2025. The goal of allowing renewable energy has been exceeded. The BLM has authorized clean energy projects on public lands with a total capacity of nearly 32 gigawatts, enough to power more than 14.5 million homes. This is the latest step as part of the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts to improve the federal permitting process and speed up project review.
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