Overview

• The online auction covered roughly 23,000 acres in Imperial, Lassen and Modoc counties, with 12 parcels in Imperial County’s Salton Sea Basin and a top bid of $247 per acre for a 2,520-acre tract east of Brawley.
• The sale generated about $2.75 million in winning bids, and the auction platform did not disclose bidder identities.
• Leases run for 10 years and can be extended if lessees show production or provide proof of diligent exploration, according to the Bureau of Land Management.
• Any projects must undergo National Environmental Policy Act review, even as the administration pursues changes that would weaken some environmental review requirements.
• Geothermal supplies about 0.4% of U.S. power today, with EIA projecting potential growth to as much as 8.5% by 2050 as EGS expands viable sites and as companies such as Google and Microsoft seek firm clean power despite higher current costs.