The Biden administration on Friday finalized a signature policy initiative designed to guide development of utility-scale solar projects to federal lands deemed to have high energy potential and low natural resource conflicts.
The Bureau of Land Management’s record of decision updates an Obama-era solar development road map, designating roughly 32 million acres of bureau rangelands in 11 states as priority areas for solar project applications with a streamlined permitting process. The goal is to lessen impacts by guiding solar projects to lands that BLM has evaluated up front and determined to be suitable for development.
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and other senior Interior Department officials touted the final plan as a major advancement of the Biden administration’s ongoing efforts to promote green energy and transition the nation away from fossil fuels that pump greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, driving climate warming.
Haaland said the updated plan will allow the agency to continue to move to “swiftly grow a robust and sustainable clean energy economy while protecting precious resources in America’s public lands. With an updated Western Solar Plan, created with extensive input from the public, the department will ensure the responsible development of solar energy across the West for decades to come.”
