Solar Energy Moves Forward

Washington is in the midst of a clean and renewable energy revolution, looking for ways to legislate, mandate and then implement and create new sources of energy as the U.S. looks to reinvent our relationship to energy. The powers that be are of course bickering over the details, deadlines and direction of the climate change bill and the related energy creation initiatives, but the U.S. Interior Department has made a bold first step in shaping where whatever solar-focused policy will take place.

With an eye toward speeding up the process, the U.S. Interior Department designated around 670,000 acres of land as potential territory for solar energy production. Good, actionable news for those in the burgeoning solar energy production world. The old real estate joke about buying lots of land for little money and finding out it’s in the middle of nowhere is taking an interesting twist- most of the land designated by the U.S. Department of the Interior is in just such previously “worthless” desert and plains land.

The designated land is divided into 24 solar energy zone in six different states across the western United States. Estimates say that the land has the potential to generate close to 100,000 megawatts of solar power. For reference, the Utilipoint web article estimates that the average U.S. household uses 877 kilowatts, or just under a megawatt. Old estimates said that one megawatt hour (mWh) would power a house for a year. Utilipoint says the truth is that a plant that generates on megawatt of power can provide for somewhere between 400-900 homes in a year.

They also say that 1,000 kWh = 1 mWh. Let’s take the average from Utilipoint, meaning that 1mWh would power about 650 homes for a year. At that rate, 100,000 mWh’s of solar power potential could potentially power 65,000 homes for a year. Pretty good.

Some environmentalists are understandably upset as the land declared for solar energy production is considered a sensitive part of the ecosystem and not suited for development. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar begs to differ, saying instead that:

"This environmentally sensitive plan will identify appropriate Interior-managed lands that have excellent solar energy potential and limited conflicts with wildlife, other natural resources or land users.”

The Department of the Interior has said that their goal is to provide: “… landscape-scale planning and zoning for solar projects on (Bureau of Land Management) lands in the West, allowing a more efficient process for permitting and sitting responsible solar development.”

The Interior Department created a task force this Spring to figure out specific areas where the government could act fastest to build renewable energy production, and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has already received 470 renewable energy project applications, 158 of which are for solar energy projects.

Politicians are divided. President Obama is all about moving renewable energy forward, while Diane Feinstein is upset and writing letters about it because the government is considering using over 500,000 acres donated to the government for conservation.

"That is unacceptable!" she wrote.

Solar Energy Industries Association President Rhone Resch is happy about the direction the government is taking, saying:

"Notably, requiring BLM to perform environmental impact analyses of the Solar Energy Study Areas will ensure responsible development of solar energy on public lands and would expedite the permitting process for these projects," said Resch.

"In short, everyone wins."

Let’s hope so.