United States begins opening Lands for Solar Energy Development

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Multiple reports have confirmed that US officials have started opening public lands in the parts of three western states to potential solar energy development. It is one of the Biden administration’s struggles to counter climate change shifting from fossil fuels. The US Bureau of Land Management issued a call to nominate land for development within solar energy zones in Colorado Nevada and New Mexico. Both solar energy zones will cover about 360 square kilometers (140 square miles). The solicitation of interest came as officials under President Joe Biden promote renewable wind and solar power on public lands and offshore to decrease greenhouse gas emissions that are warming the planet. BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning issued a statement and said that government support for renewable energy was a top priority for the agency.

Point to be noted that BLM oversees almost a quarter-billion acres of land primarily in western states. Moreover, the land bureau issued a draft plan in early December to reduce rents and other fees paid by companies authorized to build wind and solar projects on public lands. The recent measures mark a pronounced shift from Republican President Donald Trump’s emphasis on coal mining and oil and gas drilling. The Biden administration was unsuccessful in an attempt to suspend oil and gas sales from public lands and waters because a judge ordered sales to resume following a lawsuit from Republican-led states. President Biden suffered another huge blow to his climate change agenda this week, as opposition from Sen. Joe Manchin tanked the administration’s centerpiece climate and social services legislation.

However, the solar development zones were first proposed under the Obama administration, which in 2012 adopted plans to bring utility-scale solar energy projects to public lands in six states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. The officials have identified almost 3,500 square kilometers (1,400 square miles) of public land considered for potential leasing for solar power development. The bureau said it could support more than 100 Gigawatts of solar power or enough electricity for more than 29 million homes after the development of lands. Current solar production from federal lands is a small fraction of that amount. The land bureau awarded solar leases for about 19 square kilometers (8 square miles) of land in Utah’s Milford Flats solar zone. Solar power on public and private lands accounted for about 3% of total US electricity production in 2020.