Bureau Of Land Management Releases Proposed Western Solar Plan
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced its proposed roadmap for solar energy development on public lands, designed to expand efficient and environmentally responsible solar project permitting on public lands across the West. BLM’s Final Utility-Scale Solar Energy Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement and Proposed Resource Management Plan Amendments (also known as the proposed updated Western Solar Plan), comes as the Biden-Harris administration releases new data to demonstrate how it has improved federal permitting processes to help deliver more projects, more efficiently, across the United States.
The proposed Western Solar Plan builds on President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, which is working to transition the nation to clean energy, lower energy costs for consumers, create good-paying union jobs, tackle the climate crisis, and advance clean air and environmental justice priorities, with the goal of achieving a 100% clean electricity grid by 2035. Earlier this year, BLM surpassed the goal of permitting more than 25 GW of clean energy projects on public lands, and the updated Western Solar Plan will support continued progress on responsible permitting.
“The updated Western Solar Plan will help build modern, resilient energy infrastructure that creates a strong clean energy economy and protects our communities from the worsening impacts of climate change,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management Dr. Steve Feldgus. “Through extensive planning and collaboration, we’re not only protecting our public lands but also ensuring that permitting for solar projects moves faster and more efficiently, avoiding conflicts and striking the right balance as we advance clean energy and safeguard the environment.”
Developed with substantial public input, the proposed updated Western Solar Plan will guide BLM’s management of solar energy proposals and projects on public lands. It would make over 31 million acres (12.5 million ha) of public lands across 11 western states available for potential solar development, driving development closer to transmission lines or on previously disturbed lands and avoiding protected lands, sensitive cultural resources, and important wildlife habitat.
Steering project proposals away from areas where they may conflict with other resources or uses will help ensure responsible development, speed the permitting process, and provide greater predictability to the solar energy industry. The plan updates and expands the original 2012 Western Solar Plan to reflect changes in technology and meet the higher demand for solar energy development. This plan analyzes five additional western states (Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming), in addition to the six states analyzed in the original plan.
“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. “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.”
No solar developments are authorized through this planning effort. Proposed projects will still undergo site-specific environmental review and public comment. This Final Utility-Scale Solar Energy Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement follows a draft published in January 2024 for public comment, with input from a wide range of stakeholders. The input allowed BLM to make additional updates that will help protect wildlife habitats and migration corridors and other key resources, while providing clarity to industry about low-conflict areas and project design approaches to guide responsible development.
To date, the Biden-Harris administration has approved 40 renewable energy projects on public lands (9 solar, 13 geothermal, and 18 gen-ties) allowing for early achievement of the goal to permit 25 GW by 2025. In total, BLM has now permitted clean energy projects on public lands with a total capacity of approximately 29 GW of power – enough to power over 12 million homes. This year BLM also issued a final Renewable Energy Rule that will lower consumer energy costs and the cost of developing solar and wind projects, improve project application processes, and incentivize developers to continue responsibly developing solar and wind projects on public lands.
Publication of the Final Utility-Scale Solar Energy Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement and Proposed Resource Management Plan Amendments initiates a 30-day protest period and 60-day governor’s consistency review. Following resolution of any remaining issues identified in this phase, the BLM will publish the Record of Decision and Final Resource Management Plan Amendments.
