Sage Grouse and Geothermal Development: A Case Study

Abstract

The recent U.S. Fish and Wildlife decision deeming sage grouse eligible for Endangered Species Act protection could profoundly curtail geothermal development in the Western U.S. Federal and State regulators seek to apply restrictions on geothermal exploration developed from studies of oil and gas development. The author analyzes published scientific literature and uses Ormat’s explorations at Glass Buttes, Oregon as a case study to show why geothermal development is unlikely to have the same impacts on sage grouse as oil and gas development. Unless regulators adopt geothermal-specific sage grouse rules, impending regulations will unduly restrict geothermal exploration at a time when other Federal and State policies seek to encourage geothermal development.