Obama Administration Releases Roadmap for Public Lands Solar Energy Development
As part of President Obama’s all-of-the-above energy strategy, the Department of the Interior, in partnership with the Department of Energy, will publish the Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for solar energy development in six southwestern states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. The Final Solar PEIS reportedly represents a major step forward in the permitting of utility-scale solar energy on public lands throughout the west.
The announcement builds on the historic progress made in fostering renewable energy development on public lands. When President Obama took office, there were no solar projects permitted on public lands; since 2009, Interior has approved 17 utility-scale solar energy projects that, when built, will produce nearly 5,900 megawatts of energy—enough to power approximately 1.8 million American homes. In fact, renewable energy from sources like wind and solar have doubled since the president took office.