Federal Lands Sprinkled with Wind, Solar and Geothermal Projects
The over-use of fossil fuels is focusing greater attention on upping the ante for wind, solar and geothermal power. And the key player in this effort, says a new report by a congressional watchdog agency, is the federal government.
Uncle Sam is well positioned to usher in a new era of renewable energy development, mainly through its land management activities. The Government Accountability Office goes on to say that it oversees tens of millions of acres and that Congress has directed the Department of Interior to facilitate the construction of at least 10,000 megawatts of green energy by 2015.
With that, the agency's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has worked to streamline the permitting processes and has tripled its staff so that it could administer applications that it has received. None of this, however, is without controversy: When such projects are built, they invariably displace wildlife and are put atop sensitive areas, all of which require transmission lines. Altogether, BLM has authorized, so far, 5,450 megawatts of green energy to be built on federal property.
“Federal land management agencies have taken several steps to foster renewable energy development on federal lands since EPAct 2005,” says the GAO report. “Specifically, these agencies have developed or revised policies aimed at, among other things, improving the renewable energy permitting process, formalized coordination within and across agencies and with state and local governments, and devoted increased resources to processing applications.”
The BLM manages a total of 248 million acres in 12 western states that make up one-eighth of the U.S. landmass. It has identified nearly 23 million acres of public land in six different southwestern states with solar potential: Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah. It has also selected more than 20 million acres of public land in 11 western states with wind capabilities.
The land agency has received hundreds of applications to build utility-scale renewable energy projects. It has approved 25 of them. Of those, 10 are solar, 8 are geothermal and 7 are wind, says the GAO. Most of the paperwork has been denied or sent back because applicants supplied insufficient information. About a quarter of the proposals are still pending.
Frustration Builds
While the would-be developers are saying that BLM has done a good job of coordinating the relevant regulators, those builders are also saying that the agency’s staff is spread thin. Meantime, nearly all proposed deals are constrained by the lack of transmission to move electrons from remote locations to the urban areas where the green power would be needed.
The first utility-scale geothermal projects were built on federal lands in the 1970s while several wind-related projects have been going in California since the 1980s. And, in May 2012, the first utility-scale solar project began operating on BLM-managed land, says GAO.
But certain deals have opposition. Environmentalists, for instance, favor more solar development -- but not at the expense of the broader ecology. Some groups such as the Wilderness Society are saying that brownfield sites are a better choice for new construction because they would enhance previously-spoiled lands.
BrightSource's 377-megawatt Ivanpah project, for example, has felt the pressure: It is now 84 percent complete and will have 400,000 mirrors on pristine land in the California desert, which is ideal for generating and transmitting solar power. Still, the developer had to placate scientists and green groups who said it would kill off wildlife there.
“Developing renewable energy projects on a scale large enough to generate substantial electric power can affect the environment across hundreds, even thousands, of acres of federal land and, depending on the energy source, may preclude uses of those acres for other purposes,” says GAO. “Like other development projects, (they) can affect the surrounding environment: (W)ater used in some solar technologies may diminish scarce groundwater in the arid Southwest, or the turning rotors of a wind turbine may kill birds and bats.”
All renewable energy projects proposed for BLM-managed lands receive the full environmental review required by the National Environmental Protection Act. That entails full-scale public hearings, meaning that they do not get any special treatment.
Growing concerns over clean air and water are increasing the emphasis paid to green energy. To that end, the federal government is a key partner that can facilitate such potential, given its administration of public lands.
EnergyBiz Insider has been awarded the Gold for Original Web Commentary presented by the American Society of Business Press Editors. The column is also the Winner of the 2011 Online Column category awarded by Media Industry News, MIN. Ken Silverstein has been honored as one of MIN’s Most Intriguing People in Media.
Twitter: @Ken_Silverstein
energybizinsider@energycentral.com
Copyright © 1996-2013 by CyberTech, Inc. All rights reserved.
To subscribe or visit go to: http://www.energycentral.com
To subscribe or visit go to: http://www.energybiz.com