Ormat’s complex south of Reno. (Ormat press photo)
Three proposed geothermal projects in Nevada will be among the first fast-tracked under the Trump administration’s new streamlined environmental review process, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced last week.
Under the new process hailed by Interior Secretary Doug Burhum in April, environmental assessments for small-scale projects will be limited to just 14 days — a sharp contrast to the typical year or more. Full environmental impact statements for more complex projects, which usually take up to 2 years, will now be finalized in just 28 days.
During his first month in office President Donald Trump proclaimed an “energy emergency” as grounds for fast-tracking lengthy environmental reviews and permitting processes for energy projects deemed critical to national security.
Conservation groups have blasted what they see as a circumvention of bedrock environmental laws on the basis of Trump decreeing an “emergency.”
But Burgum, in a statement, said “by cutting red tape and advancing President Trump’s American Energy Dominance agenda, we’re fast-tracking reliable energy projects while strengthening national security and supporting American workers.”
Environmental assessments for the three Nevada projects — all proposed by Ormat Nevada — will be completed within a 14 day timeframe, according to Interior’s May 29 statement.
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Those projects include the Diamond Flat Geothermal Project near Fallon; the McGinness Hills Geothermal Optimization Project in Lander County; and the Pinto Geothermal Project along the Oregon-Nevada border.
Geothermal is one the few renewable energy sources the Trump administration is promoting as part of its “American Energy Dominance” plan.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, the CEO of the oilfield services firm Liberty Energy, has called for expanding geothermal energy, citing its potential to enhance energy security and stabilize electricity prices.
During a House Appropriations Committee hearing last month, Wright told Nevada Rep. Susie Lee he is “bullish on the future of geothermal.”
“Permitting and a sober government is necessary to make that happen,” Wright said.
Under Wright’s leadership, Liberty Energy also invested millions in geothermal energy startup Fervo Energy. In 2023, Fervo Energy launched a geothermal pilot plant in Nevada in partnership with Google to power data centers.
Nevada generates is second only to California in geothermal electricity generation, , according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Nevada produces about 26% of total geothermal energy in the nation, and has the potential to grow.
Last month, the U.S. Geological Survey released a report that said geothermal energy in the Great Basin — which covers most of Nevada — could produce electricity equivalent to 10% of the current U.S. power supply.
Geothermal currently accounts for less than 1% of U.S. electricity generation, according to the EIA.
In the last five years, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has put up more than 700,000 acres of land in Nevada to lease for geothermal.
In a press release, USGS said commercial-scale geothermal development will largely depend on the “successful application of evolving and emerging technologies.”
Geothermal and sage grouse
Conservation groups argued the announcement is the latest effort by the Trump administration to target the National Environmental Policy Act, a bedrock environmental law that requires the federal government to conduct an indepth environmental review before moving forward with infrastructure projects.
“We support geothermal energy as a part of our clean energy mix, but like any projects on public lands these developments could cause environmental impacts,” said Patrick Donnelly, Great Basin director at the Center for Biological Diversity in a statement. “Projects like these need full and complete environmental reviews to ensure they don’t unduly harm endangered species or public lands resources.”
While geothermal is a more environmentally sound alternative to traditional power sources like coal and natural gas, there are still environmental risks that require careful review.
A recent study published in the journal Biological Conservation found that the presence of geothermal plants “adversely affected” greater sage-grouse populations within sagebrush ecosystems. The study found that the presence of geothermal infrastructure near sage-grouse breeding grounds decreased nest survival.
The study specifically reviewed the impact of Nevada’s McGinness Hills Geothermal Development, the largest geothermal complex in Nevada and the fourth largest in the United States.
The first McGinness Hills geothermal plant was established in July, 2012 and has been producing renewable power since.
Throughout its construction and expansion, the McGinness Hills Geothermal Development has attracted pushback due to its impact on sage-grouse.
In 2017, the Nevada Department of Wildlife wrote a letter to the BLM after the agency documented the downward trend of seven of eleven breeding sites near the McGinness Hills Geothermal Development.
In the letter the agency accused Ormat of failing to monitor and mitigate the impact of the power plant on sage-grouse habitat, as required under the project approval.
If the McGinness Hills Geothermal Optimization Project is approved under the new streamlined environmental review process, it would expand three geothermal power plants by adding new wells, heat exchangers, cooling fans, and a 15 megawatt solar photovoltaic field.
Other Ormat geothermal energy projects have faced controversy and pushback in Nevada.
In 2023, a planned geothermal project by Ormat was sent back to square one after federal land managers decided to reexamine the project’s approval following the listing of a small rare toad living in adjacent springs as endangered.
Another planned Ormat geothermal project near Gerlach, Nevada was thrown out by the Washoe County Board of County Commissioners in 2023 after locals fiercely opposed the project.
Nevada Current is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Nevada Current maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Hugh Jackson for questions: [email protected].
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