The US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) stated the plan deliberately pushes improvement nearer to transmission traces or beforehand disturbed lands to keep away from protected lands, delicate cultural assets and necessary habitats. of wildlife.
From pv journal USA
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) introduced its proposed roadmap for photo voltaic vitality improvement on public lands, designed to broaden photo voltaic tasks on public lands.
This launch is the proposed up to date Western Solar Plan, which was first printed in 2012 and is designed to information accountable photo voltaic improvement on public lands in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah. . It just lately expanded to incorporate Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming. This will make greater than 31 million acres of public land out there for potential photo voltaic improvement.
The launch, now known as the Solar Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS), comes because the administration releases new information displaying improved allowing processes. The photo voltaic allowing course of is likely one of the greatest bottlenecks in deploying photo voltaic tasks within the U.S. Earlier this month, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted to advance the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024, a bipartisan piece of laws geared toward bettering consent. for vitality infrastructure tasks.
The proposed Western Solar Plan is a step towards the objective of attaining a 100% clear electrical energy grid by 2035. Earlier this 12 months, the BLM exceeded that objective by permitting greater than 25 GW of unpolluted vitality tasks on public lands, and the up to date Western Solar Plan will assist the continued improvement of accountable allowing.
“The up to date Western Solar Plan will assist construct fashionable, sustainable vitality infrastructure that creates a powerful clear vitality economic system and protects our communities from the worsening impacts of local weather change. -or the local weather,” stated the principal deputy assistant secretary for land and minerals administration, Steve Feldgus. “Through intensive planning and collaboration, we not solely shield our public lands but additionally be sure that allowing for photo voltaic tasks proceeds quicker and extra effectively, avoiding conflicts and putting the proper steadiness as we advance clear vitality and shield the atmosphere.”
The proposed up to date plan, developed with intensive public enter, will information the BLM’s administration of photo voltaic vitality proposals and tasks on public lands. The BLM incorporates enter from many stakeholders and produces updates that additional shield wildlife habitat and migration corridors and different essential assets, whereas offering trade readability concerning the areas. low battle and challenge design strategies to information accountable improvement.
The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) weighed in on the plan, welcoming what Ben Norris, SEIA’s vice chairman of regulatory affairs, stated “higher balances between conservation and clear vitality supply objectives.” “.
“For greater than 12 years SEIA has advocated for leveling the enjoying discipline for renewables and growing public entry to land for photo voltaic and storage improvement,” Norris stated. “While we’re nonetheless working via the main points, we’re happy to see that the BLM listened to a lot of the photo voltaic trade’s suggestions and added 11 million acres to its authentic proposal. While this can be a step in the proper path, fossil gasoline has entry to over 80 million hectares of public land, 2.5 instances the quantity of public land out there for photo voltaic.
The BLM says the plan deliberately pushes improvement nearer to transmission traces or beforehand disturbed lands to keep away from protected lands, delicate cultural assets and necessary wildlife habitat.
Part of each proposed photo voltaic improvement is a major public remark interval. For instance, in early 2024 the BLM requested touch upon the environmental evaluation performed for the 400 MW Rough Hat challenge proposed by Candela Renewables. Located on roughly 2,400 acres, 38 miles west of Las Vegas, the challenge will generate sufficient electrical energy to energy roughly 74,000 houses and also will embody a 200 MW storage system battery vitality.
The Western Plan, first developed 12 years in the past, now displays technological adjustments and addresses the rising demand for clear vitality within the US
“The new Western Solar Plan is a accountable, pragmatic technique for creating photo voltaic vitality on our nation’s public lands that helps nationwide clear vitality objectives and long-term nationwide vitality safety,” stated BLM director Tracy Stone-Manning. “This will drive accountable photo voltaic improvement in areas with minimal potential conflicts whereas serving to the nation transition to a clear vitality economic system, advancing the BLM’s mission to keep up the well being, range, and productiveness of public land for the use and pleasure of current and future generations.
According to the BLM, the Biden-Harris administration has authorized 40 renewable vitality tasks on public lands of which 9 are photo voltaic with a complete capability of roughly 29 GW of energy or sufficient to energy 12 million households. This 12 months the BLM additionally issued a closing Renewable Energy Rule that may decrease shopper vitality prices and the price of creating photo voltaic and wind tasks, enhance challenge software processes, and encourage builders to pursue accountable improvement of photo voltaic and wind tasks on public lands.
The publication of the Final Utility-Scale Solar Energy Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement and Proposed Amendments to the Resource Management Plan begins a 30-day protest interval and 60-day consistency evaluation by the governor. Following the decision of any remaining points recognized on this section, the BLM will publish the Record of Decision and Final Resource Management Plan Amendments.
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