Interior Department Finalizes Framework for Future of Solar Development on Public Lands

Date: Friday, December 20, 2024
Contact: Interior_Press@ios.doi.gov

WASHINGTON — The Department of the Interior today announced an updated Western Solar Plan to help guide efficient and environmentally responsible solar energy permitting on public lands across the West.  The plan will guide the siting of solar energy proposals in areas with fewer resource conflicts,  advance the nation’s growing clean energy economy, help lower energy costs for consumers, create good-paying jobs, tackle the climate crisis and advance clean air and environmental justice priorities, in support of the goal of achieving a 100-percent clean electricity grid by 2035. 

“Under the Biden-Harris administration, the Interior Department has moved at the pace needed to meet the moment and swiftly grow a robust and sustainable clean energy economy while protecting precious resources in America’s public lands. With an updated Western Solar Plan, created with extensive input from the public, the Department will ensure the responsible development of solar energy across the West for decades to come,” said Secretary Deb Haaland.

“Solar energy is an affordable and fast-growing component of the nation’s modern power supply and is helping the United States build a strong and resilient clean energy economy. The updated Western Solar Plan will ensure that solar project permitting is more efficient and offers clarity for project developers while maintaining flexibility to adapt to local needs and concerns,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management Dr. Steve Feldgus.

The Department’s clean energy work on public lands is guided by the Bureau of Land Management. Since January 2021, the BLM has approved 45 renewable energy projects on public lands and exceeded the goal to permit 25 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2025. Overall, the BLM has permitted clean energy projects on public lands with a total capacity of more than 33 gigawatts – enough to power more than 15 million homes. This year, the BLM also issued a final Renewable Energy Rule that will lower consumer energy costs and the cost of developing solar and wind projects, improve project application processes, create jobs, and incentivize developers to continue responsibly developing solar and wind projects on public lands.

The updated Western Solar Plan, developed with substantial public input, builds on this momentum to guide BLM’s management of solar energy proposals and projects on public lands. The plan updates the 2012 Western Solar Plan, which covered six southwestern states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah, to include Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming. The updated plan uses lessons learned and best practices to guide a strategy for the West -- identifying lands near transmission lines and previously disturbed lands as available while excluding sensitive areas like specially protected lands, lands containing important cultural resources, and critical wildlife habitat. Siting projects away from areas where they may conflict with other resources and uses will help ensure responsible development, speed the permitting process, and provide greater predictability to the solar energy industry. 

The updated Western Solar Plan identifies the availability of over 31 million acres of public lands across the 11 Western states for utility-scale solar project applications; however, only approximately 700,000 of those acres are anticipated to be developed by 2045 to meet projected demand. The larger available area allows for greater flexibility in considering solar proposals. No solar projects are authorized through this planning effort; all individual proposed projects must still undergo site-specific environmental review with opportunity for public comment before a decision is made on whether to approve them. 

This action builds on dozens of executive actions that the Biden-Harris administration has taken to accelerate and improve federal permitting so that we can deliver more projects more quickly. The median time to complete Administration the most complicated reviews is more than six months faster than the prior Administration. In addition, the Biden-Harris administration has permitted twice as many renewable energy projects on public lands compared to the prior Administration.

Approval of the updated Western Solar Plan follows a draft plan published in January 2024 and a proposed plan published in August 2024, reflecting input received from a wide range of stakeholders, governments, and other interested parties along the way. The proposed plan was subject to a 30-day public protest period and 60-day governor’s consistency review before the BLM made today’s decision to approve the plan. 

For more information on the updated Western Solar Plan, please visit the Federal Register Notice webpage or visit the project’s National NEPA Project Register (ePlanning) website.   

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