The Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for solar energy development in six southwestern states — Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah- represents a major step forward in the permitting of utility-scale solar energy on public lands throughout the west.
US Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said this blueprint for landscape-level planning is about facilitating faster, smarter utility-scale solar development on America’s public lands.
"This is a key milestone in building a sustainable foundation for utility-scale solar energy development and conservation on public lands over the next two decades," Salazar added.
Energy Secretary Steven Chu said, "This new roadmap builds on that commitment by identifying public lands that are best suited for solar energy projects, improving the permitting process, and creating incentives to deliver more renewable energy to American homes and businesses."
The Solar PEIS planning has identified locations on Bureau of Land Management lands that are most suitable for solar energy development, characterized by excellent solar resources, good energy transmission potential and relatively low conflict with biological, cultural and historic resources.
The PEIS identifies 17 solar energy zones (SEZs), totaling about 285,000 acres of public lands, as priority areas for utility-scale solar development, with the potential for additional zones through ongoing and future regional planning processes.
The blueprint also allows for utility-scale solar development on approximately 19 million acres in "variance" areas lying outside of identified SEZs.
The Final PEIS estimates a total development of 23,700MW from the 17 zones and the variance areas, enough clean energy to power 7 million American homes.
It also establishes a framework for regional mitigation plans and a strategy for monitoring and adaptive management.