In 2009, a private company leased around Glass Buttes from the Bureau of Land Management for geothermal exploration. The company's geologists believed they could find water about below the ground surface. The project involved construction and maintenance of several access roads as well as drilling, testing, and monitoring of up to 13 geothermal wells on public lands. The project also includes three exploratory wells on private land near Glass Buttes. An environmental assessment study was completed in 2013. Based on study, the Bureau of Land Management approved seven geothermal test wells. If the test wells find hot enough water, the company will use it to drive steam turbines to generate electricity."Geothermal drilling proposed Hide Details", The Bulletin, Bend, Oregon, 16 May 2013.Glass Buttes Geothermal Exploration Environmental Assessment (DOI-BLM-OR-P040-2011-0021-EA), Burns District, Bureau of Land Management, United States Department of Interior, Burns, Oregon, 10 July 2013.Glucklich, Elon, "Tapping Geothermal's Potential", The Bulletin, Bend, Oregon, 8 November 2013.
