BLM Proposes 22 Million Acres of Public Lands for Solar Energy

The 230-megawatt Desert Sunlight Battery Energy Storage System on 94 acres of BLM-managed public lands near Desert Center in Riverside County, California, on July 27, 2022. NextEra / Bureau of Land Management California

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In order to help the United States transition to renewable energy, the Department of the Interior has announced a new solar energy “roadmap,” including 22 million acres of public lands to expand solar energy development in the West, a press release from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) said.

The BLM also announced plans for the next steps on green energy projects in California, Nevada and Arizona with the potential for more than 1,700 megawatts (MW) of solar power generation and 1,300 MW of battery storage capacity.

“Our public lands are playing a critical role in the clean energy transition – and the progress the Bureau of Land Management is announcing today on several clean energy projects across the West represents our continued momentum in achieving those goals,” said Tracy Stone-Manning, BLM director, in the press release. “Investing in clean and reliable renewable energy represents the BLM’s commitment to building a clean energy economy, tackling the climate crisis, promoting American energy security, and creating jobs in communities across the country.”

The BLM, along with the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory — part of the Department of Energy — have said 700,000 acres of public lands will need to be used for solar farms in the next two decades if the U.S. is to meet its net zero goal by 2035, Electrek reported.

“The Interior Department’s work to responsibly and quickly develop renewable energy projects is crucial to achieving the Biden-Harris administration’s goal of a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035 – and this updated solar roadmap will help us get there in more states and on more lands across the West,” said Laura Daniel-Davis, acting U.S. deputy secretary of the interior, in the press release.

The BLM recently published a draft of the Utility-Scale Solar Energy Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement — an update to the Western Solar Plan. The amended plan would simplify the department’s siting framework for solar projects.

After months of stakeholder meetings, the new roadmap expands the 2012 Western Solar Plan — which originally included the states of Colorado, Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah and New Mexico — to include Oregon, Washington, Montana, Idaho and Wyoming.

“The proposal is an update of BLM’s 2012 Western Solar Plan, which identified areas… with high solar potential and low resource conflicts in order to guide responsible solar development and provide certainty to developers,” the BLM press release said. “The BLM’s preferred alternative in the updated Western Solar Plan would provide approximately 22 million acres of land open for solar application, giving maximum flexibility to reach the nation’s clean energy goals.”

BLM used $4.3 million of Inflation Reduction Act funds for investment in Western Solar Plan updates.

“By directing development to areas that have fewer sensitive resources, less conflict with other uses of public lands, and close proximity to transmission lines, the BLM can permit clean energy more efficiently while maintaining robust public and Tribal engagement, which are central features of all BLM reviews of individual projects,” the press release said.

BLM’s new analysis looks at six alternatives that propose differing amounts of public lands to be made available for solar development using varying criteria, including proximity to designated critical habitat, transmission infrastructure or other vital cultural or ecological resources.

Written public comments are encouraged through April 18. For more details, visit https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2022371/510 and https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2022371/570.

Currently, the BLM is processing 67 proposed utility-scale clean energy projects on public lands, including wind, solar and geothermal. The projects could add upwards of 37 GW of clean energy to the electric grid in the West. In addition, the BLM is doing a preliminary review of more than 195 wind and solar development applications and 97 applications for the area testing of wind and solar power sites.

“Renewable energy on public lands can be a win-win-win,” said Justin Meuse, government relations director with the Wilderness Society, as reported by The Guardian. “It’s imperative and it’s possible.”

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