Scientific American: Government pushes solar power in six western states

[txlibdem]

On Thursday, The Obama administration proposed establishing "special energy zones" on public lands in six western states deemed good locations to build utility-scale facilities to produce electricity from solar power. The goal is to streamline the approval process and make it cheaper to access the grid for renewable energy. I'm all for that!

December 16, 2010
By Tom Doggett

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The western states targeted with 24 solar energy zones were Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and Utah.

Bob Abbey, who heads the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management, the agency that will review any specific solar projects, said the amount of electricity that could be generated by the sun on all BLM lands in the six states, including, the designated energy zones could total 24,000 megawatts over 20 years.

The department does not have an estimate for solar generation just on the designated energy zones.

"For years, the oil and gas industries have had an easy path for getting permits to drill on public lands. With today's announcement, solar energy projects are now closer to a more predictable review and approval process for projects on public lands," said Rhone Resch, president of Solar Energy Industries Association.

The proposal will be open for public comment for 90 days and the department expects to issue a final report during the fall of 2011, said Salazar.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=government-pushes-solar-power

This proposal comes one day after the Senate voted to extend the 30% rebate for solar or wind energy projects.