BLM Awards 16 Geothermal Parcels in California for $3.7 Million

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) accepted winning bids for 16 geothermal parcels totaling 33,362 acres in California, with total revenue of nearly $3.7 million, according to the agency's statement published on October 28, 2026.

The auction was held on October 27 in Modoc, Sonoma, Lake, Mono and Inyo counties. Revenue is split among the U.S. Treasury, California and the counties where the parcels are located; the BLM said leases will be issued after review and payment. The transaction adds to recent federal activity: according to Utility Dive, the Nevada auction awarded 186,641 acres for nearly $4.83 million. For Mexico, where geothermal development is concentrated in fields operated by the Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE), the auction is a reference point for price per acre and for private capital appetite.

The company-by-company breakdown, reported by ThinkGeoEnergy, shows that six companies won awards: Coda Intermediate Holdings took five parcels, all of them in Sonoma; TLS Geothermics took four, all in Mono; Oso Rojo took three; Chocolate Mountain Resources took two; Zanskar Geothermal & Minerals and Cordillera took one each. Chocolate Mountain and Oso Rojo paid $1.47 million and $1.35 million for parcels in Inyo, more than 75% of total revenue. The highest bid was $304 per acre and the average was $95.1 per acre, close to ThinkGeoEnergy's annual estimate. The concentration in Inyo shows that the auction's value was defined by a handful of parcels. The BLM specified that leasing is only the first stage and that any drilling requires a site-specific environmental review.

The federal calendar still includes a geothermal lease auction in Idaho on November 17, according to ThinkGeoEnergy. The signal to watch for the region is whether those per-acre prices hold when the California leases move into the exploration and drilling permit phase, and whether private appetite translates into installed capacity.

This article was drafted with artificial intelligence assistance from verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.