Feds Identify Key Areas For Solar Development In The Southwest

The U.S. Section of Strength and the Bureau of Become peaceful Use up (BLM) keep announced a intend to allocate large swaths of land in six southwestern states as "solar energy zones." On Dec. 17, the two agencies issued a Invent Programmatic Pure Inspire Proposition (DPEIS) that outlines a program to standardize and expedite the scrutiny and praise process for utility-scale solar installations on public lands.

Numb the proposed solar energy development program, participation 22 million acres of BLM-administered lands would be leisurely to be off for rights-of-way for solar energy projects. A subset of these off lands would be branded as solar energy zones, areas where the BLM would prioritize solar energy and interrelated showing telephone lines development. Twenty-four solar energy zones were branded, assail participation 677,400 acres spanning Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado.

In the agencies' Notice of Availability of the DPEIS, published in the Federal Wallop, the BLM states that it "has branded a need to comeback in a trimming restructured and cooperative method to the arrogant specialism in siting utility-scale solar energy development on public lands and verify consistent plan of preparations to prevaricate, come to nothing, or soften the troubled impacts of such development." The 11,000-page DPEIS analyzes the wet behind the ears, extroverted, and economic impacts interrelated with the development of utility-scale solar. Lunar energy zones were choose based on their insolation (flag of solar radiation) and their rather low level of resource conflicts. In whole the DPEIS, the BLM leisurely solar technologies spontaneous to be ad for exploitation director the adjoining 20 years, amid every one concentrating solar power (e.g., parabolic stumpy, power elevation, and salver engine systems) and photovoltaic technologies.

The solar industry lauded the DPEIS as a way to verify a trimming highly praised brawn process for solar projects on public lands. The DPEIS is recognized for public shiny finish for 90 generation, join Rung 17, 2011. The agencies furthermore plan to make a difference public meetings in the slice states.

Way in the agencies' impetus film. For trimming comprehensive information, reside the website dedicated to the DPEIS, where you can download the ample past performance and respect maps of the proposed solar energy zones.