(WO) — A record-setting Bureau of Land Management (BLM) geothermal lease sale in New Mexico is signaling stronger competition for federal geothermal acreage and could influence bidding in upcoming lease sales across the western U.S., according to a new analysis from Enverus Intelligence Research (EIR).
The June 16 lease sale generated $16.3 million in winning bids, the highest total ever recorded for a BLM geothermal auction. Forty-seven of the 68 parcels offered were leased at an average price of $107 per acre—more than three times the average achieved during Nevada’s October 2025 geothermal lease sale.
The highest-priced tract, a 4,479-acre parcel, sold for $701 per acre, or $3.14 million, establishing records for both per-acre pricing and total value for a single geothermal lease parcel.
According to EIR, increased bidder competition, rather than geology alone, drove the higher prices. The analysis identified proximity to high-voltage transmission infrastructure as the strongest economic factor influencing bids, estimating it added approximately $43 per acre to parcel values.
The firm expects those dynamics to carry into the BLM’s Idaho geothermal lease sale scheduled for November. Twenty-one of the 35 parcels offered are located within 25 km of the Gateway West and Boardman-to-Hemingway transmission corridors, positioning infrastructure access as a key factor in future bidding.
“Competition is now materially moving federal geothermal bids,” said Graham Bain, principal analyst at EIR. “Access to transmission lines with available capacity is emerging as a top driver of what bidders will pay, and that sets the benchmark heading into Idaho’s November sale.”
EIR noted that the share of parcels selling for the minimum bid has declined sharply in recent years, suggesting competition for federal geothermal acreage continues to strengthen as developers target projects with favorable infrastructure access.
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