Under the Biden-Harris administration, the US government announced a new proposal to update the Western Solar Plan, also known as the Solar Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS), on Wednesday.
According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, the revised environmental review of the decade-old guideline aims to expand the availability of federal land for solar projects to meet the US’ carbon neutrality targets.
New proposal
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released a new proposal to open 22 million acres of federal land for solar development in the US West.
BLM and the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory have reportedly identified the need for 700,000 acres of federal land for solar farm projects over the following 20 years.
In response, BLM proposed to allocate 22 million acres for the solar industry to enable “maximum flexibility” for relevant projects. It also aims to prioritize lands 10 miles near existing or proposed transmission lines.
“Today, the Bureau of Land Management revised a decade-old policy and opened 22 million acres of federal land for responsible solar development. The proposal also identifies 200,000 acres of land near transmission infrastructure, helping to correct an important oversight and streamline solar development.”
Ben Norris, vice president of regulatory affairs at the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA)
The agency expects this initiative to aid the US’ targets to decarbonize the electrical grid by 2035 to combat climate change.
Current policy
For context, the current policy still adheres to the initial Western Solar Plan published in 2012. It originally specified areas in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah for solar development, owing to these states’ high solar prospects and low resource conflicts.
Now, the new policy aims to expand the coverage to include five other states, including Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming.
“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.”
Ben Norris, vice president of regulatory affairs at the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA)
Approved projects
The BLM has reportedly approved 47 clean energy projects under the Biden administration.
In addition, it has authorized 11,236 megawatts (MW) of wind, solar, and geothermal energy on public lands so far. Impressively, these capacities are sufficient to provide power to over 3.5 million households in the US.
The US government’s move to revise the current policy will enable the country to accelerate and ease responsible permitting in key areas for utility-scale solar projects, which can boost the US’ achievement of decarbonizing the electrical grid by 2035. The new proposal will accept public comments until April 18 to release a final plan before the end of 2024.
