The US Department of the Interior has identified 22 million acres of public land to facilitate installation of more solar power plants in 11 states in the western part of the country. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which manages public lands in the country, has also announced next steps on 1.7 GW of potential solar and 1.3 GW of battery storage capacity. 

In a draft analysis of the updated Utility-Scale Solar Energy Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) or the 2012 Western Solar Plan, the department has identified suitable land with high solar potential and low resources conflicts, close to transmission infrastructure. 

This would make way for this additional land in the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah, with the addition of Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming to the list. 

It would streamline BLM’s framework for siting solar energy projects to support current and future national clean energy goals, long-term energy security, climate resilience, and improved conservation outcomes, it added. 

“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,” said Acting Deputy Secretary Laura Daniel-Davis. 

The update has been carried out for $4.3 million from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). 

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, Ben Norris welcomed the proposal saying, “Under the current policy, there are at least 80 million acres of federal lands open to oil and gas development, which is 100 times the amount of public land available for solar. BLM’s proposal is a big step in the right direction and recognizes the key role solar plays in our energy economy.” 

The draft will be open for written comments from stakeholders till April 18, 2024. Responses will lead to a Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision. Details are available on BLM’s website.  

Proposal for new projects 

The BLM has also proposed 4 new solar projects in Nevada with a draft environmental impact statement for the 700 MW Libra Solar Project in Mineral and Lyon counties, the 400 MW Rough Hat Clark County Solar Project with a 700 MW battery energy storage system (BESS), and the 200 MW Dry Lake East Energy Center Solar Project with a 400 MW BESS facility (see BLM Seeks Views On Large Scale Solar & Storage Project).  

It has also announced a notice of intent for the 200 MW Dodge Flat II Solar Project in Nevada’s Washoe county. 

The BLM will announce more solar projects in the coming days in California and Arizona states.  

So far, under the Biden-Harris administration, BLM counts having approved 47 clean energy projects and permitted 11.236 GW of new wind, solar and geothermal energy on public lands. 

The public lands manager is currently processing 67 utility-scale onshore clean energy projects in the Western US, comprising solar, wind and geothermal projects, representing over 37 GW of renewable energy capacity. Additionally, it is undertaking a preliminary review of more than 195 applications for the development of solar and wind power plants and 97 applications for solar and wind energy site area testing.