National Solar Energy Plan Close to Completion, Conservation Groups Support It
On the heels of President Obama’s State of the Union remarks to expand clean energy development, the Interior Department is moving to finalize the nation’s first solar energy program for public lands with the closing of the public comment period today. Over the past 90 days, the Bureau of Land Management has been seeking input on the Supplemental Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (SPEIS) for solar development on public lands in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah.
The solar plan has garnered more than 100,000 comments in the past two years from stakeholders across the country advocating for balanced, guided development that would minimize potential impacts on wildlife and sensitive lands, and reduce uncertainty in permitting. Solar companies, major trade associations, utilities and conservation groups also submitted a joint letter to Interior with recommendations to help shape a successful solar program.
