The Burning Man festival nearly got a noisy new neighbor in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert. Ormat Technologies, a major geothermal player, wanted to drill 19 exploratory wells right next to where 70,000 people gather annually to burn things and practice radical self-expression. The Bureau of Land Management gave it a thumbs up. Burning Man wasn’t having it.
The festival organizers sued the feds, claiming the BLM fast-tracked approval without properly considering what drilling might do to the area’s fragile ecosystem and unique hot springs. These aren’t just any hot springs – they’re critical for local tourism and the desert’s ecological balance.
Plus, Burning Man argued this was just phase one. Once those test wells went in, stopping full-scale industrial development would be like trying to stop a freight train with a feather.
The proposed site sat on federal land near Gerlach, right next to the Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area. Ormat pitched it as clean, carbon-free energy for Nevada and California. Great selling point.
Clean energy for Nevada and California – what’s not to love? Location, apparently.
Except the locals, the Summit Lake Paiute Tribe, environmental groups, and Burning Man – which has become a major property owner and employer in tiny Gerlach over three decades – all said no thanks. When Washoe County commissioners eventually held a public hearing in April, 28 residents of Gerlach showed up to oppose the project.
Their concerns weren’t trivial. Noise, dust, visual blight, and potential damage to those precious hot springs topped the list. Critics accused the BLM of slicing the project into bite-sized pieces to dodge thorough environmental review. Sneaky, if true.
Washoe County rubber-stamped the permit anyway, because apparently county officials love administrative approvals.
This conflict highlights the tension between expanding clean energy capacity and protecting sensitive ecosystems, similar to challenges faced by hydropower developments across the Western states.
But here’s the plot twist: Burning Man won. Sort of. In October 2024, they reached a settlement with Ormat. The drilling project got canceled, the lawsuit dropped, and Burning Man agreed to buy back the geothermal leases. The settlement aligns with the festival’s ethos of community and environmental stewardship that defines the annual gathering.
Even better, Ormat promised to support converting the area into a conservation zone for sustainable habitat and tourism.
References
- https://www.eenews.net/articles/burning-man-to-buy-back-geothermal-leases-drop-blm-lawsuit/
- https://sfstandard.com/2023/04/14/burning-man-gerlach-washoe-county-denial-permit-ormat-geothermal/
- https://www.foxnews.com/us/burning-man-organizers-file-lawsuit-challenging-green-energy-project-nv
- https://www.canarymedia.com/newsletters/how-burning-man-helped-kill-a-nevada-geothermal-project
- https://thisisreno.com/2023/01/burning-man-sues-blm-over-geothermal-project/
