November 1, 2004—A new land-management policy designed to encourage the development of solar energy resources on America’s public lands was announced by Rebecca Watson, Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Land and Minerals Management, during the recent Solar Power 2004 conference in San Francisco, California.
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 policy 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.
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 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 full outline of the BLM Solar Energy Development Land Authorization Policy is available online in an instructional memorandum. More information on the Interior Department’s efforts to expand the development and use of renewable energy resources on public lands is also available.
