BLM Seeks To Increase Solar and Wind Energy On Public Lands in Arizona

The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) has announced plans to identify public lands in Arizona that would best suit wind and solar power development.

The Department's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released a draft of the plan which it has titled the Restoration Energy Design Project (RDEP). The document reflects the project's focus on lands that have been "previously disturbed." These sites include former landfills, brownfields, mines and Central Arizona Project canal rights-of-way. The project is being funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

With its release of the the draft plan, the public will have 90 days to comment on the project's Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

The DOI continues to increase the growth of renewable energy development on public lands. This news comes just two weeks after the Department crossed a major offshore wind milestone announcing its "Smart from the Start" offshore wind energy initiative has cleared an environmental review and is moving forward.

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said the RDEP will help the U.S. tap Arizona's vast solar energy potential, benefiting the environment and the economy.

“This blueprint for Arizona will help focus activity in the places where it makes the most sense to develop renewable energy, both for the companies and for the environment. Early, comprehensive analysis of things like resource potential, transmission, and environmental conflicts is simply good government. I am confident this smart planning will pay dividends for the state now and far into the future,” he said.

Image Credit: jmenard48 via Flickr.