BLM bids out 13 parcels in California geothermal lease sale for over $2.7 million
Imperial Valley, California, USA (source: Gilbert Harrison / flickr, Creative Commons)
Carlo Cariaga
5 Sep 2025
A recent geothermal lease sale by the BLM in California successfully leased out 13 parcels across three counties, receiving a total of $2.7 million in bids.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has accepted winning bids for all 13 parcels across Imperial, Lassen, and Modoc counties offered during a recent California geothermal lease sale. The sale generated an average of $117 per acre offered, with total receipts amounting to $2,711,858.
A total of 17 companies registered to participate for the lease sale, but bids were received from only 9 companies. The last time that a geothermal lease sale was done in California by the BLM was back in 2016.
For each parcel leased, 50% of the bid, rental receipts, and subsequent royalties will go to the state of California, 25% will go to the county where the lease is located, and the remaining 25% will go to the U.S. Treasury.
The BLM will soon be holding another lease sale in Nevada, on 21 October 2025, with 113 parcels on offer. A geothermal sale in Mexico is planned for April 2026.
Source: Bureau of Land Management
