Regional plan helps speed reviews
New solar energy projects are sprouting across the sunny Southwest.
Staff Report
FRISCO — Up-front planning helped speed three big new solar projects through the federal review process, the U.S. Department of Interior said this week, touting the administration’s Western Solar Plan as a model for renewable energy development on public lands.
The plan mapped out solar energy development zones in areas where there was little potential for conflicts over resources. The reviews three new projects in Clark County, Nevada, where completed in 10 months, about half the time it previously took under the project-by-project system.
These reviews also include consideration of the first regional mitigation strategy for solar energy zone projects. The utility scale solar energy projects will generate up to 440 megawatts of energy – enough electricity to power about 132,000 homes.
“Through thoughtful planning and upfront public participation, these solar projects demonstrate we can reduce permitting times, create certainty for energy developers, and achieve better outcomes for communities and the environment,” said Interior Secretary Jewell. “Through a landscape-level approach, we are cutting carbon pollution and creating jobs through responsible solar development on our public lands.”
The new projects – Invenergy’s Harry Allen Solar Energy Center, First Solar’s Playa Solar Project, and NV Energy’s Dry Lake Solar Energy Center – were submitted for approval by the three successful bidders to a competitive auction BLM held on June 30, 2014, netting $5.8 million for solar leasing on parcels of public lands in the Dry Lake Solar Energy Zone.
“Projects like these demonstrate that regional planning and mitigation can achieve much faster permitting times and better outcomes. The Western Solar Plan provides a win-win approach for communities and for our public lands,” said BLM Director Neil Kornze.
The BLM’s required mitigation measures include an offsite mitigation fee to fund mitigation projects and funding for long-term tortoise monitoring, post-construction monitoring of birds and bats in compliance with the approved Bird and Bat Conservation Strategy, salvage and relocation of special-status plants, and measures to reduce visual impacts.
These measures reflect the mitigation standards set forth in the Western Solar Plan and the April 2014 Regional Mitigation Strategy for the Dry Lake Solar Energy Zone.
The availability of these standards in advance of the June 2014 auction allowed industry to take future mitigation costs into account when preparing to bid for parcels within the Dry Lake Solar Energy Zone.
Under the Western Solar Plan, BLM has designated 19 Solar Energy Zones covering more than 298,000 acres of public land. If fully developed, projects in the designated leasing areas could produce as much as 27 gigawatts of solar energy – enough to power about eight million homes.
A short-term goal is to approve projects that will generate at least 20,000 megawatts of renewable energy capacity on the public lands by 2020.
Since 2009, the BLM has authorized 55 solar, wind, and geothermal utility-scale renewable energy projects for a total of 14,599 megawatts for a total of 14,599 megawatts. That’s enough power for about 5 million homes, and the projects have spurred private capital investments of approximately $36.6 billion.
