Tools to Facilitate Lease Nominations and Permitting for Geothermal Development on Federal Lands
- Key words
- Geothermal; permitting; regulatory; NEPA; environmental; constraints; collaboration; mitigation
- Location
- Western United States
- Conference
- Geothermal Resources Council Transactions
- Year
- 2011
- Session
- Leasing; Permitting; Laws and regulations; Environmental asp
- Language
- English
Abstract
Over 256 million acres of federal land have potential for conventional geothermal development for electricity and heating. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has the delegated authority to lease and permit geothermal projects on most federal lands. Over the last few years the BLM has made great strides to improve the leasing and permitting process; however, there are still many challenges to bringing a project online. This paper discusses the current trends for geothermal development on federal lands, forecasts future permitting requirements based on recent guidance on renewable energy, and provides applicable tools to help developers navigate leasing and permitting in the new decade.
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