Biden Seeks to Almost Double Permitted Renewables Capacity on Public Land

(Bloomberg) -- The Biden administration anticipates authorizing an additional 10 gigawatts of renewable energy projects on U.S. public land by the end of 2023 -- nearly doubling current permitted capacity. 

The Interior Department made the projection in a report to Congress that shows regulators and developers moving rapidly to advance new wind farms and solar arrays in Arizona, California, Nevada and other Western states. The effort is part of the administration’s push to make the U.S. power sector emission-free by 2035 and permit some 25 gigawatts of solar, wind and geothermal energy production on public lands by 2025.

“The technological advances, increased interest, cost effectiveness and tremendous economic potential make these projects a promising path for diversifying our national energy portfolio,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a news release Wednesday. 

As part of the plan, the Interior is considering changes to electric-transmission corridors across 11 Western states that are meant to target and accelerate development of power lines. Regulators also will be using new policies to screen and prioritize proposed solar and wind projects on public lands, with the goal of moving more quickly on the most feasible proposals. 

The Interior’s Bureau of Land Management has ramped up renewable energy permitting under Biden, having authorized 12 projects in fiscal 2021 that support 2,890 megawatts of solar and geothermal energy generation, according to the report. Almost all of those were solar ventures, such as the 500-megawatt Yellow Pine and 350-megawatt Hot Pot projects in Nevada. 

The agency continues signing new leases for renewable projects, including granting Minersville Solar Energy LLC the first competitively awarded rights for solar ventures in Utah. If the three parcels are fully developed, they could generate more than 600 megawatts of electricity, Interior said.

The bureau said it is now processing proposals for 48 solar, wind and geothermal projects on public lands, with an anticipation to permit 4,703 megawatts by Oct. 1, the start of the next fiscal year. Staffing constraints and environmental reviews are limitations on the pace, according to the report to Congress. 

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