By Nichola Groom
Oct 19 (Reuters) - The US Interior Department's sale of geothermal leases in Nevada this week will include thousands of acres overlapping major planned solar projects from NextEra Energy and other developers, according to federal documents.
On Tuesday, the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management is scheduled to auction 83 parcels totaling 265,691 acres to geothermal developers. NextEra, the world's largest owner of solar and wind generation, asked the agency earlier this year
to "remove, defer or reconfigure" three proposed geothermal parcels.
President Donald Trump's administration has promoted geothermal energy as a source of always-on electricity while largely excluding wind and solar from a broad effort to accelerate federal permitting.
In comments submitted to the agency during review of the sale, NextEra said the parcels in question overlap roughly 6,000 acres, or about 60%, of its planned 1,000-megawatt Sawtooth Energy Center in Nye County, Nevada.
BLM declined NextEra's request in August, saying federal lands are managed for multiple uses.
Maps published on the BLM website in August show overlaps involving six proposed geothermal parcels and four major planned solar developments in the Nevada desert. One parcel, which overlaps entirely with NextEra's Sawtooth project, did not appear on the auction website and appeared to have been recently removed from the sale.
NextEra, based in Juno Beach, Florida, said in its comments that the overlap could "create a foreseeable conflict" with its pending application.
"NextEra must collaborate with any potential lessee and adjust its operations accordingly to avoid land use conflicts," the agency said. BLM added that if NextEra's project is approved first, it would have the "senior right" and a geothermal development would have to avoid impacts on its project.
Another solar developer, Dallas-based Leeward Renewable Energy, said a geothermal parcel overlaps about 735 acres of its proposed Lone Mountain solar project in Esmeralda County.
It urged the agency to recognize the overlap "and the non-exclusive nature of any future geothermal lessee's development rights."
The agency added a description and maps of the overlapping projects to its sale documents. They include the proposed 300-MW Nivloc solar project being developed by Invenergy and Arevia Power's 1,500-MW Gold Dust solar project.
Along with Lone Mountain, those projects were part of the Esmeralda 7 development, a proposed complex of seven solar farms on 62,000 acres. BLM canceled the environmental review for the complex in 2025 but said the projects may reapply for federal approval individually.
NextEra, Leeward and BLM did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
(Reporting by Nichola Groom; Editing by David Gregorio)
