The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has proposed expanding its Utility-Scale Solar Energy Development Plan, also known as The Western Solar Plan, to encompass the states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming. The plan and its revision are part of the Federal government’s efforts to meet the benchmarks set by the Energy Act of 2020, which directs the Secretary of the Interior to issue permits and authorize the production of at least 25 gigawatts of electricity from wind, solar, and geothermal sources by 2025, through the administration of Federal laws governing public lands.
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Why BLM Decided to Expand the Western Solar Project
The idea is to provide expanded availability for projects on BLM-controlled lands within 15 miles of existing electrical transmission lines so that the new solar arrays can feed directly into the existing U.S. power grid. This is significant, because one of the biggest issues facing renewable energy sources and installers is that the U.S. energy grid was created to maximize the flow of electricity from fossil fuel sources like coal-fired plants, or hydroelectric dams, which makes connecting to the existing grid geographically challenging.
“The updated Western Solar Plan is a responsible, pragmatic strategy for developing solar energy on our nation’s public lands that supports national clean energy goals and long-term national energy security,” said BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning in a statement released on August 29, 2024. “It will drive responsible solar development to locations with fewer potential conflicts while helping the nation transition to a clean energy economy, furthering the BLM’s mission to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.”
The updated plan adds 9 million acres to the 22 million acres covered in the initial plan, taking the total acreage to 31 million. The idea is to expedite the permitting process by actively steering development away from spaces that could have environmental or other conflicts.
“This action will help expedite reviews of solar projects by steering them to areas with high solar potential and low wildlife and land conflicts, and ease burdens on solar developers,” said the White House in a statement issued on August 29, 2024.
The BLM’s planning effort does not authorize any solar development yet. Any proposed solar projects on Federal lands will still require full environmental review and a public comment period which will allow those in favor, and opposed, to any specific project to weigh in on its impact on the local ecosystem. The current protest period (public comment period) for the Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Utility-Scale Solar Energy Development and Proposed Resource Management Plan Amendments (known within the industry as Solar Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement, or PEIS) began August 30, 2024. Public protest/comments will be accepted through September 30, 2024.
Why the Solar Industry Supports Expansion
Official statements are being released by organizations who are invested in expanding renewable energy sources, and those concerned about potential environmental and species-specific impacts.
The Solar Energy Industries Association’s (SEIA) Vice President of Regulatory Affairs said, ““Today, the Bureau of Land Management opened 31 million acres of federal lands to renewable energy development, accepting many of SEIA’s recommendations to strike a better balance between its conservation and clean energy deployment goals… [W]e’re pleased to see that BLM listened to much of the solar industry’s feedback and added 11 million acres to its original proposal. While this is a step in the right direction, fossil fuels have access to over 80 million acres of public land, 2.5 times the amount of public land available for solar.”
The comparison between acreage already available for fossil fuel power generation v. solar is an important distinction because a prevailing complaint against solar power installations is that they eat up too much land. According to industry sources, to produce 1 gigawatt hour (GWH) of electricity requires just 2.8 acres. However, a 1 GW solar plant – one that produces 1 GW average power output annually – would require about 7,500 acres. So, to produce, say, half of the government’s 25 GW green energy benchmark (approx. 13GW), would require 97,500 acres. By comparison, the fossil fuel and nuclear plant-fueled current grid utilizes 74.5 million acres of land in the U.S.
How Close is BLM to its Renewable Energy Target?
The BLM reported in April 2024 that it had permitted more than 25 gigawatts of clean energy projects – meeting its permitting benchmark well ahead of 2025 – which includes enough solar, wind, and geothermal projects to power 12 million homes. This includes the gen-tie lines required to connect all those renewable energy sources to the existing power grid.
The Bureau stated, “The final Renewable Energy Rule will reduce capacity fees for these projects by 80 percent and facilitate development in priority areas by streamlining application review, delivering greater certainty for the private sector and the opportunity for more clean energy for American households… As the Department continues its momentum to spur a clean energy future, the BLM is currently processing permits for an additional 66 utility-scale clean energy projects proposed on public lands in the western United States. These projects have the combined potential to create thousands of good-paying jobs, add more than 32 additional gigawatts of renewable energy to the western electric grid and power millions of more homes.”
What Environmental Concerns Are Being Expressed & Considered?
Meanwhile, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TCRP) shared its concerns on its website, stating that “Unfortunately, as proposed, 1.8 million acres of migration corridors and 4 million acres of winter range for some of the West’s most well-known big game herds and hunting destination would be severely impacted.”
The TCRP has banded together with other hunting and fishing organizations to call for the BLM to exclude those big game migration corridors, winter range areas, and migration paths from any utility-scale installations.
The initial Western Solar Plan, released in 2012, covered BLM-controlled lands in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada New Mexico, and Utah. Washington, D.C. is also mentioned as in the Project Location list, but it is unclear if solar installations are planned for the district, or it is included for governmental purposes.
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