The Department of the Interior in late December announced its updated Western Solar Plan. The plan revises the 2012 version, which covered six states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah) to now include Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming.
The plan covers more than 31 million acres of public lands across the West as usable for utility-scale solar projects.
“The updated Western Solar Plan will ensure that solar project permitting is more efficient and offers clarity for project developers while maintaining flexibility to adapt to local needs and concerns,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management Steve Feldgus.
The updated plan includes an additional 9 million acres compared to the original 22 million acres proposed earlier in 2024.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) estimates that approximately 700,000 acres of the 31 million acres are anticipated to be developed by 2045. The larger available area is intended to allow for greater flexibility for considering solar proposals.
The Interior said the Biden administration has permitted twice as many renewable energy projects on public lands compared to the prior administration.
“Under the Biden-Harris administration, the Interior Department has moved at the pace needed to meet the moment and swiftly grow a robust and sustainable clean energy economy while protecting precious resources in America’s public lands,” said Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.
Industry opposition
The Public Lands Council (PLC) submitted comments in opposition to the proposed plan and said the group “continues to be concerned that the BLM has an ‘acceptable loss’ threshold for grazing acres or allotments that would be impacted by new solar development.”
The group noted that although the final Record of Decision requires BLM and project developers to mitigate grazing impacts, the direction only extends to “the maximum extent practicable.” PLC previously asked BLM to provide an exclusionary variance to prevent solar from infringing on grazing allotments at all.
“Like many late-breaking regulatory actions, PLC expects the incoming Trump Administration will take a hard look at this plan expansion, as prioritizing solar development over other multiple uses is inconsistent with Congressional direction and harmful to rural communities,” PLC said in a Weekend Roundup e-newsletter.
The approval of the Western Solar Plan follows a draft plan published earlier in 2024 and a proposed plan issued in August. To read the final plan in its entirety, visit tinyurl.com/mzs3rmt8. — Anna Miller, WLJ managing editor
