Interior Department Advances Three Solar Projects in California, Marking Significant Progress to Develop a Clean Energy Economy
WASHINGTON — The Department of the Interior announced yesterday the approval of two solar projects with a third nearing final completion on public lands in Riverside County, Calif., underscoring the Department’s commitment to promoting onshore renewable energy production. The three projects will generate roughly 1,000 megawatts (or 1 gigawatt of power) and are the first projects approved under the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) in the desert regions of seven California counties.
Select press coverage is below:
AP: Biden administration moves to expand solar power on US land
U.S. officials announced approval Tuesday of two large-scale solar projects in California and moved to open up public lands in other Western states to potential solar power development, as part of the Biden administration’s effort to counter climate change by shifting from fossil fuels. The Interior Department approved the Arica and Victory Pass solar projects on federal land in Riverside County east of Los Angeles. Combined they would generate up to 465 megawatts of electricity, or enough to power about 132,000 homes, according to San Francisco-based developer Clearway Energy. Approval of a third solar farm planned for 500 megawatts is expected in coming days, officials said.
Reuters: U.S. says moving quickly to permit renewables on public lands
The Biden administration has approved two major solar projects in the California desert and is working on permit applications for 50 more clean energy facilities, it said on Tuesday as it seeks to deliver on the president's climate change agenda. The Interior Department, which oversees most of the nation's public lands, is key to President Joe Biden's "whole-of-government" approach to tackling global warming. It has vowed to expand renewable energy development and reverse former President Donald Trump's emphasis on maximizing fossil fuel extraction.
New York Times: Biden Administration Approves Two Big Solar Projects
The Biden administration said Tuesday that it had given the go-ahead to two major solar projects on federal land in the California desert, pushing forward with clean energy plans by using federal authority after Joe Manchin III, the West Virginia senator and coal industry supporter, this week said he would not back broader climate legislation, stalling it in Congress. The two approved solar projects, and a third for which approval is nearing completion, would generate about 1,000 megawatts, enough electricity to power about 132,000 homes, the Interior Department said. All three projects are in Riverside County, Calif.
Wall Street Journal: Biden Administration Is Approving Big Solar Projects in California Desert
The Biden administration is greenlighting three large solar energy projects spanning 5,000 acres in the Southern California desert near Joshua Tree National Park, in what officials say will begin a wave of new solar installations on public lands throughout the West. The Bureau of Land Management said Tuesday it approved the Arica and Victory Pass solar projects in Riverside County, which are expected to generate a combined 465 megawatts of energy.
The Hill: Biden administration advances two large-scale solar projects in California
The Biden administration announced on Tuesday the approval of two major solar projects on public lands in California as part of a broader push to promote onshore renewable energy production. The two projects — together with a third whose approval is almost complete — will collectively generate about 1,000 megawatts of power and are the first projects to be authorized by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) under the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan in California’s desert regions, according to the Interior Department.
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