Administration Promoting ‘Responsible’ Clean Energy Projects on Public Lands

WASHINGTON — The Biden-Harris administration on Thursday unveiled the latest steps it is taking to promote responsible clean energy development on public lands while continuing to nudge the nation closer to the president’s goal of creating a carbon-free energy sector by 2035.

Since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, the Interior Department has permitted more than 25 GWs of clean energy projects on public lands — enough to power more than 12 million homes.

These projects have included wind, solar and geothermal facilities as well as the high-voltage transmission lines — known as “Gen-Tie Lines” — that connect project substations on both federal and nonfederal lands to the point of interconnection with the existing grid.

On Thursday, the department announced it has finalized a new renewable energy rule that will reduce acreage rents and capacity fees for solar and wind energy projects by 80% through 2035, and see the reduction transition to 20% (compared to the rates in place in 2016) for 2038 and beyond.

Administration officials said the scope of the rule was driven by a desire to improve the financial predictability for developers undertaking or considering pursuing long-term projects on public land.

The rule also contains provisions to streamline and otherwise improve the renewable energy project application process.

At the same time, consistent with administration policy in other parts of the economy, the final rule includes additional incentives for use of project labor agreements and American-made materials. 

Along with all this, the Bureau of Land Management on Thursday announced the full operational status for two new California solar farms — the Arica and Victory Pass projects — that will now add 465 MW of clean energy to the grid, enough to power about 139,000 homes.

With these two projects coming online, more than 10 GW of clean energy are currently being generated on public lands, powering more than 5 million homes across the West, officials said.

The two projects represent a combined infrastructure investment of about $689 million, and will generate $5.9 million in annual operational economic benefit.

Acting Deputy Interior Secretary Laura Daniel-Davis said Thursday’s announcement underscored the critical role public lands are playing in the nation’s clean energy transition.

“Finalizing the Renewable Energy rule is a significant milestone that will allow the Interior Department to continue leading the way on renewable energy while furthering President Biden’s commitment to building a clean energy economy, tackling the climate crisis, protecting lands and waters, promoting American energy security, and creating jobs in communities across the country,” she said in a written statement.

“Surpassing our goal of permitting 25 gigawatts of clean energy by 2025 underscores the significant progress we have made in helping build modern, resilient climate infrastructure that protects our communities from the worsening impacts of climate change,” added Interior Secretary Deb Haaland in an accompanying statement. 

In addition to specific project approvals, the Interior Department has also leased eight new areas in Solar Energy Zones with the capacity to generate nearly 2.5 GWs of additional clean energy. 

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Land Management, an agency of the department, is currently processing permits for an additional 66 utility-scale clean energy projects proposed on public lands in the western United States. 

These projects have the combined potential to create thousands of good-paying jobs, add more than 32 additional GWs of renewable energy to the western electric grid and power millions of more homes, officials said.

At the same time, the bureau is conducting a preliminary review of about 200 additional applications for solar and wind development, as well as more than 100 applications for solar and wind energy site area testing. 

In related news, on Thursday it also announced the beginning of construction for the Camino Solar project in Kern County, California.

The 44 MW solar facility will consist of 105,000 solar panels and is expected to power nearly 13,400 homes once it becomes operational. The new solar farm Camino Solar is adjacent to Avangrid’s 189 MW Manzana Wind Farm, which reached commercial operation in 2012. 

Dan can be reached at [email protected] and @DanMcCue