Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland spoke with nearly two dozen renewable energy business leaders in a recent series of virtual meetings, stating the Department of Interior (DOI) has made significant progress in advancing clean energy projects to meet the goals of the Biden administration.
In a release from the DOI, Haaland said now is the time to act on the threat of climate change.
“I believe that a clean energy future is within our grasp, but it will take all of us and the best available science to make it happen," Haaland said in the release.
In a visit to the Acadia National Park in Maine earlier this summer, Haaland met with Gov. Janet Mills, the state's congressional delegation, state tribal leaders and others to discuss maintenance of the state's national park and to emphasize her commitment to clean energy, according to an Interior Newswire report.
"The focus of the trip was the national park and the deferred maintenance and how we're going about that specifically," Haaland told Interior Newswire. "But I can guarantee you that the Department of the Interior (DOI) is very focused in many other areas. On clean energy, both offshore and onshore."
At that time, Haaland said the DOI would take action to further the administration's investments in public land and national parks.
“One of the best investments we can make is in stewarding the lands and waters that sustain us and the generations to come. The Interior Department is making critical investments around the country that will create tens of thousands of jobs, safeguard the environment, and help ensure that national parks and public lands are ready to meet the challenges of climate change and increased visitation,” Haaland said in a release.
During her Sept. 9 meetings, Haaland and DOI leadership spoke with leaders of clean energy companies about what they face in the development of renewable energy on public lands, and in public waterways. At that time, she challenged the company leaders to come up with projects that minimize impacts to the environment, tribal cultural areas and other areas of concern, the release stated.
She also urged them to incorporate updated scientific research and public input in those efforts.
The DOI is working with federal agencies to create more renewable energy on public lands and in public waterways. The current goals include permitting a minimum of 25 gigawatts of onshore renewable energy by 2025, and a commitment to deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030.
