The United States Department of the Interior says it's expediting geothermal projects in Nevada to advance energy independence and national security. The announcement could see environmentalists excited by the clean energy source at the center of the news and less than thrilled by the speeding of standard procedures.
The department's late-May press release described this action as part of its plan to address what the Trump administration has called a national energy emergency. According to the White House in January 2025, "Our Nation's current inadequate development of domestic energy resources leaves us vulnerable to hostile foreign actors and poses an imminent and growing threat to the United States' prosperity and national security."
In line with the president's declaration, the DOI is allowing emergency permitting procedures, cutting down on environmental review processes to accelerate the geothermal energy projects. It's an action that has been celebrated by industry leaders and criticized by conservation groups for narrowing the consideration of project impacts on climate, wildlife, and nature, according to the Nevada Current. Environmentalists have also questioned the validity of the newly-declared energy emergency as the basis for expediting the reviews.
The Nevada-based geothermal projects include Diamond Flat near Fallon, McGinness Hills in Lander County, and Pinto near Denio. Ormat Nevada, Inc., is leading the projects.
Doron Blachar, the company's chief executive officer, said in a statement, "This initiative will significantly reduce delays without compromising the scientific rigor and environmental stewardship that are fundamental to our operations."
Meanwhile, Patrick Donnelly of the Center for Biological Diversity said, "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."
The DOI explained in May that the Bureau of Land Management would be conducting environmental assessments within a shortened 14-day timeframe.
The Reno Gazette Journal noted that the same bureau under the Biden presidency "proposed eliminating environmental assessments during the early permitting process for geothermal projects under special circumstances," though that proposal did mandate "additional environmental analysis for further geothermal development."
Geothermal energy is a cleaner, greener form of energy than traditional pollution-heavy sources like coal, oil, and gas. Breakthroughs in geothermal technology and increased funding for these types of projects can help to improve the supply of renewable energy nationwide and possibly around the world.
"Geothermal energy is a reliable energy source that can power critical infrastructure for national security and help advance energy independence," said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum in the press release. "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."
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Definitely 💰 U.S. News & World Report noted that Trump's energy-emergency orders seemed not to apply to solar or wind projects and that Energy Secretary Chris Wright has backed geothermal, even investing in the company Fervo Energy.
The land use required for geothermal projects and the potential for related environmental impacts have been something of a hurdle to expanding the technology in the past. Some may wonder if ostensibly circumventing the National Environmental Policy Act, which mandates environmental reviews, could face challenges in court. But the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported in mid-June that Donnelly — which the outlet identifies as a regular leader of such efforts in the region — "has no intention of litigating against Ormat on these three projects," though he may pursue "a lawsuit against the uranium mine in Utah that also is using the emergency regulations."
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