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Last updated: 10/21/04

Department of the Interior
For Release: Thursday, October 21, 2004

Fact Sheet
Contacts:
John Wright
(202) 208-6416
Ray Brady
(202) 452-7773
 

New Policy Encourages Solar Energy Development on America’s Public Lands
Policy supports clean energy initiative

SAN FRANCISCO—Rebecca Watson, assistant secretary of the Interior for Land and Minerals Management, today announced a new land-management policy designed to encourage the development of solar energy resources on America’s public lands. Watson made the announcement during the Solar Power 2004 conference in San Francisco, Calif.

“Our quality of life and economic security are dependent on a stable and abundant supply of affordable energy,” Watson said. “Encouraging the production and development of renewable energy on our public lands, including solar energy, is part of the president’s National Energy Policy.”

The new Solar Energy Development Policy establishes a framework for land managers to use in processing right-of-way applications for solar energy development projects on public lands administered by the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management.

“The Solar Energy Development Policy is a nationwide framework for authorizing commercial solar facilities on public lands,” Watson said. “This is a way for the BLM to be proactive in responding to changes in solar technology while protecting the environment. It also supports an initiative by the Western Governors Association and the Department of Energy to explore the feasibility of developing 30,000 megawatts of clean energy in the West by 2015.”

Watson reminded the solar power industry leaders attending the meeting that while domestic production of renewable energy is growing, experts forecast that renewable energy alone cannot fill the gap between domestic energy production and demand in the foreseeable future or in the next 20 years. Renewable sources supply 2 percent of our energy today, and that’s expected to grow to 10 percent by 2025 according the Energy Information Administration.

The Department of the Interior has established an impressive record over the last three years promoting renewable energy development on public lands. The Department manages 1 in every 5 acres of land in this country and has long been a leader in support of the development and use of renewable energy resources, including solar. More than 261 million acres of land, primarily in the West, are managed by the BLM. Unlike parks and wildlife refuges, BLM-managed lands are managed for multiple uses, including fossil fuel and renewable energy development.

The president’s National Energy Policy emphasizes the need to develop America’s domestic energy resources while diversifying our energy portfolio and protecting the environment. The production of renewable resources, including solar energy, is another way to help meet those needs, especially for the growing communities of the West

“We support recent actions by Congress to provide federal production tax credits to renewable energy producers. These tax incentives, which were part of the President’s comprehensive energy bill, provide the financial boost that many renewable energy projects need to become established in the marketplace.”

Although solar energy currently represents only a small fraction of the nation’s supply of electricity, the potential for solar energy to contribute a greater share is significant, particularly in the Southwest. Watson noted that at the national level, federal agencies are funding research, purchasing and installing green power, providing loans, creating the legal infrastructure for renewable development and identifying renewable resources on federal lands.

A 2003 BLM and the U.S. Department of Energy report assessed the potential for renewable energy resources on public lands managed by the BLM in 11 Western states. The report identified areas in Arizona, Southern California, Nevada and New Mexico as the most promising areas for solar energy development on public lands. Parts of Texas, Utah and Colorado also have excellent solar resources, according to the report.

“The report shows that public lands hold abundant opportunities for renewable energy development,” Watson said. “With this new policy, we are getting ahead of the curve by implementing policies and procedures before we have solar energy applications in hand. This will enable us to work more effectively with applicants to facilitate and encourage environmentally responsible solar energy development.”

“The 2003 report identified the top 25 BLM areas with high solar energy development potential. I have requested the BLM use this information in current and future land-use planning to prepare for development of solar energy on public lands. It is important to understand that planning is the precursor to all activity on BLM lands. If the potential impacts of solar energy development are not addressed during the public process of developing a land use plan, BLM cannot subsequently consider a solar development proposal without a timely and costly amendment to the land-use plan. Planning now puts us in a position to respond more quickly to solar energy development.”

The BLM will process applications for commercial solar energy facilities as right-of-way authorizations under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, the law that establishes BLM authority over the public lands. All concentrating solar power systems and photovoltaic installations must comply with the planning, environmental, National Environmental Policy Act review and right-of-way requirements that the BLM uses to evaluate all proposed commercial uses of public lands.

The policy also encourages the installation of renewable power sources, including solar systems, at BLM facilities.

The BLM Solar Energy Development Land Authorization Policy is fully outlined in an instructional memorandum available online at http://www.blm.gov/nhp/efoia/wo/fy05/im2005-006.htm. For more information on the Interior Department’s efforts to expand the development and use of renewable energy resources on public lands, visit http://www.doi.gov/initiatives/energy2.html


Solar Energy on Public Lands
October 21, 2004

  • The production of renewable energy, including solar energy, is an important way to meet the nation’s energy needs, as outlined in the President’s National Energy Policy.

  • Renewable energy (excluding hydropower) currently supplies 2% of the nation’s electricity needs.

  • Domestically generated energy from renewable sources has increased 30% since 1990, a trend that is expected to continue. As with wind power, technological advances are expected to bring the production costs of solar energy down to competitive levels.

  • Solar energy is one of the most abundant forms of natural energy. The solar energy resources in the southwestern United States are some of the finest in the world.

  • Insolation is the unit of measurement for the amount of sunlight hitting an area of the Earth’s surface over a specific period of time. The higher the insolation, the more electrical power that can be produced. Geographic location, terrain and weather patterns determine annual insolation for a given site.

  • Approximately 370 megawatts (MW) of solar power are already installed in the West. 21 MW of photovoltaic (PV) cells and 350 MW of concentrating solar power (CSP) are currently installed in southern California, the largest existing solar capacity in the United States.

  • Seventeen states have adopted renewable energy portfolio standards requiring a certain percentage of the state’s electricity to come from renewable sources. Such standards in California, Nevada, New Mexico and Arizona will result in more than 7,000 MW of renewable energy capacity by 2015.

  • A report by the BLM and the Department of Energy (2003) shows that public lands, primarily those in the Southwest, have a high potential for solar energy production. The most promising areas are in Arizona, southern California, Nevada and New Mexico. Parts of Texas, Utah and Colorado are also identified as excellent prospects for solar energy development.

  • The report identified the 25 BLM planning areas with the highest solar energy development potential. BLM policy now requires that these areas consider solar energy resources in their land use planning efforts.

  • The BLM Solar Energy Policy provides a nationwide framework for authorizing commercial solar facilities on public lands.

  • BLM Field Offices will consider and authorize commercial solar facilities as rights-of-way (ROWs) under the authority of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA). Construction can proceed after approval of a Plan of Development and the environmental review required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

  • ROW applications are identified as high priorities in the Field Office workload and will be processed in a timely manner, using sound business practices, on a first-come basis. ROW authorizations will be issued with appropriate stipulations and conditions.

  • Real estate appraisals will be used by BLM managers to calculate rental payments. Rental payments will be phased in over a three-year period and updated annually using an index.

  • The BLM Solar Energy Policy supports the Western Governors Association’s “Clean Energy Initiative” to explore the feasibility of developing 30,000 MW of clean energy (15% of current regional demand) in the West by 2015.

  • Department of Interior agencies will continue to use renewable energy, including solar power, at their facilities. More than 650 photovoltaic (PV) systems now power national park, wildlife refuge and BLM offices and light campsites, pump water and record weather conditions used when fighting wildland fires.

  • When planning and constructing new administrative facilities or resource-improvement projects requiring electricity, BLM planners will consider using PV systems and other forms of renewable energy where possible.

  • The Dangling Rope Marina at Lake Powell is powered by the largest PV system installed by the National Park Service to date. Its 115kW capacity saves an estimated 65,000 gallons of diesel fuel each year.

  • The Administration supports federal tax incentives for renewable energy development (including solar and geothermal resources), transportation subsidies for biomass, and new permitting authority for offshore wind and wave energy projects.


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