Interior Department initiative aimed at boosting development of solar energy resources
WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords today enthusiastically welcomed the federal government’s designation of nearly 16,500 acres of public land in Arizona as potential areas for the development of solar energy.
If fully developed, these public lands would have the potential to generate as much as 3,300 megawatts of electricity, or enough power for more than 800,000 homes.
The Interior Department announced Monday that it was designating 676,000 acres of land managed by the Bureau of Land Management in six Western states as Solar Energy Study Areas, or prime zones for the development of large-scale solar energy projects. The department also announced that it will move quickly to evaluate applications to use public lands for renewable energy.
“I applaud the work of the Interior Department and the Bureau of Land Management for recognizing the critical need to identify appropriate lands for large-scale solar energy development,” said Giffords. “There is no time to waste in bringing the economic, national security, and environmental benefits of solar power to the American Southwest.”
The BLM land in Arizona is divided into three tracts ranging in size from 3,900 acres to 8,200 acres. All are located in the western part of the state, in La Paz, Yavapai and Maricopa counties. These tracts, along with 21 others in California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah, will now be evaluated for their suitability for large-scale solar projects.
According the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, “The two dozen areas we are evaluating could generate nearly 100,000 megawatts of solar electricity. With coordinated environmental studies, good land-use planning and zoning and priority processing, we can accelerate responsible solar energy production that will help build a clean-energy economy for the 21st century.”
Announcement of the Solar Energy Study Areas comes three days after the House of Representatives passed The American Clean Energy and Security Act, legislation aimed at boosting production of renewable energy while improving the economy and limiting harmful greenhouse gas emissions. Among the bill’s provisions is the requirement that electric utilities produce at least 12 percent of their power from renewable sources such as wind and solar energy by 2020. At the insistence of Giffords and Reps. Dina Titus of Nevada and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, it also included a provision to increase the use of renewable electricity by the federal government – the nation’s largest energy consumer.
“Clearly we need to follow efforts to mitigate carbon emissions,” said George Villec of GeoInnovation, a Tucson solar installer. “It is appropriate we support opportunities to research solar in the southwest where this energy is abundant. A generous amount of land is necessary to create substantial energy and we have plenty of land that is low-use.”
Valerie Rauluk of Venture Catalyst Inc., a solar energy consulting firm, also welcomed today’s announcement. “This is very exciting and positive news for Arizona’s solar energy development community,” she said.
The BLM has received 482 applications for renewable energy projects in the six states – 158 for solar projects, 281 for wind, and 43 for geothermal. Thirty-eight of the solar project applications are in Arizona.
The goal of the Solar Energy Study Areas is to create a more efficient process for permitting and locating responsible solar development. Those areas selected would be available for projects capable of producing 10 or more megawatts of electricity for distribution to customers through the transmission grid system. Companies that propose projects on that scale in areas already approved for this type of development would be eligible for priority processing.
“Solar power development offers a tremendous opportunity for us to bring new industries and new jobs to Arizona while creating a clean, sustainable future for our children,” Giffords said. “I look forward to supporting the efforts of the BLM in any way I can as they work to develop solar power quickly and in an environmentally sensitive way on public lands. ”