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FACT BRIEF

Is the Burning Man Project suing to stop a green energy project in Nevada?

By Todd Butterworth
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YES

In January 2023, the Burning Man Project and other plaintiffs sued to stop the Bureau of Land Management from allowing geothermal power exploration near Gerlach and the Black Rock Desert in Nevada.

Ormat Technologies is seeking to drill as many as 21 exploratory geothermal wells on approximately 2,700 acres of land controlled by the BLM. The project’s infrastructure would directly affect approximately 54 acres.

Burning Man is an annual counterculture festival held in the Black Rock Desert with 70,000 attendees. Its leadership is concerned about the effect Ormat’s plan will have on the Black Rock environment.

Geothermal power plants harness energy from steam or hot water reservoirs below the Earth’s surface to generate electricity or for other purposes. Only California generates more geothermal energy than Nevada, which produces nearly 10 times the geothermal power of the next leading state, Utah. 

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
US District Court of Nevada Lawsuit filing
Bureau of Land Management Ormat's Gerlach proposal
Travel Nevada About Burning Man
US Department of Energy Geothermal basics
WorldAtlas US States with highest geothermal capacity
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The Nevada Independent
The Nevada Independent is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news and opinion website founded in 2017 by veteran political journalist and commentator Jon Ralston. The site and its supporting channels are focused on ethical, unbiased and transparent journalism. In general, we aim to gather and disseminate important public information and increase civic engagement. We are supported by corporate donations, memberships, event ticket sales and sponsorships and foundation grants. We disclose all our members and donors. Donors have no influence over our content, ever. The Nevada Independent is the dba for Nevada News Bureau, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit founded in 2010 by Elizabeth Thompson, who now serves as one of The Nevada Independent's managing directors and its Editor.
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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.