Rare Toad Halts Clean Energy Project in US Environmental Clash

The Biden administration is doing all it can to promote geothermal energy as part of its clean energy push. But a 2-inch toad in northern Nevada stands in its way.

Gurgling streams of 130F water, warmed by a geologic fault underneath Dixie Valley, support the only known ecosystem of the Dixie Valley toad, a recently discovered species that federal officials deem to be endangered.

A roughly 2-inch-long Dixie Valley toad.

USFWS Pacific Southwest Region

That same heat is highly sought by geothermal developers eager to grow the near-constant source of renewable power to meet climate and reliability goals in the American West. The toad, for now, has the upper ...