BLM again mulling (new) Colorado GT leases while interest grows to the south

In Colorado, and in the wake of a postponed geothermal lease sale in Chaffee County, the Bureau of Land Management is considering two areas totaling about 9,000 acres proposed for leasing for GT development to the west in southeastern Gunnison County. The agency is gathering public comment as it begins an environmental analysis of the proposals and determines whether to proceed. The acreage is “mostly public land” and is near Tomichi Dome and the Wuanita Hot Springs. Meanwhile, a group from Alamosa County to the south met with state officials to discuss that areas potential for geothermal development. Officials say that 150 million acre-feet of water, much of it hot, sits beneath the valley in the confined aquifer, the deeper of the valley’s two major groundwater formations. However, at the 5,000 foot depth the water is only 200 F and may only be suitable for heat pumps.