The Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management recently announced steps to increase clean energy development on public lands.
According to a May 31 news release, renewable energy development on BLM-managed public lands will continue to expand and support the country’s energy needs and help build a clean energy future. In a recent report, the BLM reported the number of megawatts supported in fiscal year 2021 went past fiscal year 2020 by 35%.
“Clean energy projects on public lands have an important role to play in reducing our nation’s greenhouse gas emissions and lowering costs for families," Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland said in the release. "As we seek to advance President Biden’s clean energy goals, the Department of the Interior is continuing to meet the moment in coordination with local, state and elected officials, Tribes and conservation and industry groups to help ensure we modernize America’s power infrastructure while creating jobs and bolstering climate resilience.”
“The Bureau of Land Management continues to take bold steps to attract renewable energy investments on public lands in a way that is environmentally sound,” BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning said in the release. “This will help support our clean energy economy by creating good paying jobs, increasing our energy security and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”
The BLM’s renewable energy accomplishments for fiscal year 2022 are on track to go past 2021, according to the BLM report. The Energy Act of 2020 gave authority to the BLM to decrease rents and fees if necessary to promote the greatest use of wind and solar resources. The new rate reduction policy for solar and wind, as well as the BLM’s prioritization of applications, are to incentivize the industry to join in responsible solar and wind development. Under the new policy, rents and fees will be decreased and rate predictability for wind and solar developers will be improved.
On average, the BLM anticipates rents and fees to go down by more than 50% as a result of lower acreage rents and a standard megawatt fee that promotes more efficient wind and solar or hybrid projects on public lands, the report stated. The announcement follows BLM's listening sessions and release of a draft rate reduction policy for public contact in 2021.
As part of these efforts the Bureau of Land Management is building new internal capacity to process the surging amount of applications by wind, solar and geothermal companies through the founding of five Renewable Energy Coordination Offices, according to the news release.
The BLM is actively partnering with key federal agencies to fund dedicated positions to prioritize robust environmental compliance coordination for renewable energy proposals, the release reported. The coordination offices include a national office at the BLM’s headquarters, within state offices in Arizona, California and Nevada, as well as a regional office led by BLM Utah. The BLM is also actively bringing in project managers in other states, such as Idaho and Colorado, to back up renewable permitting work within those states.
