Ormat, Invenergy Dominate Nevada Geothermal Auction

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Written by Paul Wiseman for IIR News Intelligence (Sugar Land, Texas)

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Summary

The BLM's fourth of six planned geothermal auctions this year netted about $4.5 million from 18 bidders, for 60 of 83 parcels offered.

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Ormat Takes Nearly Half of Bids

Ormat and Invenergy were top bidders in the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) October 20 geothermal lease sale. The auction offered 83 parcels, totaling 265,154.61 acres of federally owned land. Of that, it received winning bids for 60 parcels, totaling 186,641 acres.

In offering $2.29 million for eight parcels covering about 20,000 acres, Ormat, a geothermal powerhouse, accounted for almost half of the high bids.

Second in bid dollars at $694,947 was Invenergy, which recently expanded from renewable energy and infrastructure development to geothermal. Invenergy won the most acreage, with 37,000 across nine parcels.

Industrial Info Resources is tracking 18 U.S. geothermal-related projects from Ormat, with a total investment value (TIV) of $1.23 billion. Eight of those involve geothermal directly, while others include battery energy-storage systems (BESS) and other projects.

Industrial Info Resources offers more information on the Orman projects in its Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database, where subscribers can find details--including construction schedules, investment values and necessary equipment--in a list of project reports.

According to Industrial Info Resources data, Invenergy's project in the Nevada lease sale is the company's only geothermal effort to date. Subscribers can learn more about in a detailed project report.

Earlier Auction Action

The most recent Nevada geothermal auction was on October 21, 2025; it offered 113 parcels totaling 377,678.89 acres. In that offering, BLM accepted bids for 86 parcels covering 280,558.65 acres. The sum of high bids came to $8,868,060.

For all geothermal auctions this year, through the end of the third quarter on September 30, BLM reported $42.4 million in geothermal lease sales. A June auction in New Mexico generated $16.6 million on 47 parcels totaling 152,381 acres.

Auctions in the third quarter generated $25.8 million, during which "the BLM set records for the bureau's highest parcel bid at $4,168,725, and highest per-acre bid at $1,207, and it was the second-largest lease sale in total dollars in the Bureau's history," according to a press release about a Utah sale.

In contrast to those prices, the Nevada sale was on the bargain-basement side, with more than a third going for the lease minimum of $2 per acre.

By the Numbers

• $4.5 million: Total of high bids for October Nevada geothermal lease auction
• 186,641: Number of acres leased across 60 parcels

Where are the Geothermal Hot Spots?

Industrial Info Resources is tracking 20 geothermal projects in the U.S. with a TIV of $4.51 billion. Subscribers can learn more from a detailed list of project reports.

By state, Oregon leads in investment dollars with two projects with $1.5 billion TIV, more than 25% of the total dollars. Second is Utah, with two projects and $1.34 billion TIV. California is third, with two projects totaling $635 million investment. Nevada and New Mexico round out the top five.

While geothermal energy use goes back thousands of years, its use in the U.S. grid is just now taking off. September of this year saw a significant milestone in Utah; for more information, see Industrial Info Resources' October 13, 2026, article - Fervo Starts Up 33-MW Utah Geothermal Power Plant Unit.

Under and Over Conflicts?

Six of the recent Nevada lease offering's plots overlapped four previously sold solar leases, including one by solar developer NextEra Energy Incorporated. NextEra had requested that BLM "remove, defer or reconfigure" three of the geothermal leases, to avoid the company's solar leases. BLM refused on the grounds that federal lands can be leased for multiple uses.

United Minerals and Mining won two parcels that overlap NextEra's Sawtooth solar project, owned by NextEra subsidiary Boulevard Associates LLC. Subscribers can learn more about Sawtooth from a detailed plant profile.

One might ask whether there's a really a problem with these two operations overlapping, since solar is completely above ground and geothermal is underground. But issues may arise concerning equipment access if geothermal equipment must navigate among solar panels--and for solar companies concerned about equipment kicking up dust that settles on PV cells, or physical damage from said equipment.

Down on Wind and Solar

The Trump administration has favored funding a long list of energy sources other than wind and solar. In July, Reuters said administration cuts to renewable projects, including wind and solar, had led to $83 billion in delays in those projects.

Conversely, large amounts have been given or loaned toward development of geothermal and nuclear. The administration's reasoning has been to favor baseline, always-on sources over the intermittency of wind and solar. This could be one explanation for BLM's pushback against NextEra for overlapping its Nevada leases with geothermal ones.

Key Takeaways

• BLM has hosted four geothermal auctions this year.
• Through the third quarter, BLM generated $42 million in lease sales.

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About Industrial Info Resources
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news, and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing, and energy-related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified, and verified plant and project opportunities. Across the world, Industrial Info Resources is tracking over 250,000 current and future projects worth $30.2 trillion (USD).