The Biden-Harris Administration has recently published an updated document outlining a roadmap for solar energy development. The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) have provided information on milestones achieved over the past year.
On January 17, the BLM and DOI announced their next steps towards achieving the administration's previously stated goal of 100% clean energy by 2035. The BLM has revised its 2012 Western Solar Plan after several months of stakeholder meetings, research, and collaboration with the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory. These efforts concluded that approximately 700,000 acres of public land would be required to meet the country's projected clean energy needs.
Laura Daniel-Davis, acting deputy secretary of the DOI, said, "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. Through historic investments from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, the Interior Department is helping build modern, resilient climate infrastructure that protects our communities from the worsening impacts of climate change."
A notice regarding the availability of a draft analysis for a utility-scale solar energy programmatic environmental impact statement (EIS), also known as the updated Western Solar Plan, was published on January 17. This document details six locations for in-person public meetings and provides information about two virtual sessions scheduled over the next 90 days during the public comment period for the draft EIS. It also includes links to access the draft document itself from BLM.
BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning commented on this development saying, "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. 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."
