Land to open for geothermal work

Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said Wednesday that the federal government plans to open 197 million acres of public land, including 18 areas in Utah, for geothermal development.

The Bureau of Land Management oversees 118 million acres of that land, and the National Forest Service manages 79 million acres.

Kempthorne predicted 270 Western communities could benefit directly from geothermal resources in 12 Western states, where most of those resources are under federal land.

The plan calls for amending 122 BLM land-use plans to allow geothermal power development that could provide as much as 5,540 megawatts of new electricity for 5.5 million homes by 2015. Kempthorne predicted that by 2025, geothermal energy could bring electricity 12 million homes.

"Geothermal will play a key role in powering America's energy future," Kempthorne said in a telephone news conference.

Officials named 18 areas in Utah that could be affected, including Park City, St. George, Box Elder County, an area that borders Zion National Park and more remote locations such as the Book Cliffs that span Carbon and Grand counties, as well as the Henry Mountains in Garfield County.

The plan fits in with Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s goal of producing 20 percent of the state's electricity needs by 2025 from renewable resources such as solar, wind and geothermal energy. Huntsman's spokeswoman Lisa Roskelley said the BLM plan "is a positive move forward in developing renewable energy options available in our state."

Kempthorne said some areas — including Yellowstone National Park — will remain off-limits to leasing, to satisfy environmental concerns. Locations that are federally protected as wilderness or wilderness study areas also will be closed to leasing.

"We're completely supportive of the development of geothermal resources," said Mark Clemens, manager of the Sierra Club's Utah chapter. He likes the zero carbon-dioxide emissions from power generated by geothermal sources.

"Obviously, there are certain very special places that need to be put off-limits," Clemens said. "We have to be very careful about balancing the values on public lands. ... We'll be looking at this more carefully."