A federal plan initiated during the Obama administration is set to expand its reach by incorporating an additional 5 million acres in the Northwest.
States relinquishing land for this initiative include Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Washington, and Wyoming, as reported in an OPB article on January 22.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management announced the expansion on Wednesday, citing the need for more land to fulfill President Biden’s objective of achieving a 100% clean electricity grid by 2035.
The Northwest’s 5 million acres will be added to the existing Obama-era plan known as the 2012 Western Solar Plan, which originally encompassed Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, Utah, and New Mexico.
This expansion is expected to make a total of 22 million acres of federal land available for clean energy production.
The article notes that the plan is anticipated to be finalized this year, with Bureau of Land Management managers expressing confidence in a swift permitting process due to the pre-identified low-risk nature of the selected land concerning conflicts with critical habitat and wildlife.
Additional insights from the article reveal that 50% of land in Oregon is federally owned, managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management or the U.S. Forest Service, and that 3% of the state’s electricity has been sourced from solar power in recent years.
Furthermore, the proposed plan explicitly excludes 126 million acres of old forest growth, critical habitat, historic locations, and recreational sites.
