The solar power revolution in the USA is picking up further momentum with the recent announcement of the creation of solar energy study areas.
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said federal agencies will work with local officials to designate tracts of U.S. public lands in the West as prime zones for utility-scale solar energy development in order to help speed up reviews of industry proposals for the establishment of solar farms.
According to Salazar, the two dozen areas being evaluated could generate nearly 100,000 megawatts of solar electricity. Through coordinated environmental studies, effective land-use planning, zoning and priority processing, Zalazar says responsible solar energy production can be accelerated and will help build a clean-energy economy for the USA.
The solar energy study areas are located in Nevada, Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. Collectively, they encompass about 670,000 acres. Only lands with suitable levels of solar irradiation, slope and proximity to appropriate infrastructure such as roads and transmission lines were considered for solar energy study areas. Sensitive lands, wilderness and other high-conservation-value lands as well as lands with conflicting uses were excluded. This should go some way to reassure green groups who have expressed concerns regarding large solar farms threatening sensitive environments.
There will be no shortage of demand for the land.
Currently the US Bureau of Land Management has received around 470 renewable energy project applications including 158 active solar applications. These projects would cover 1.8 million acres, with a projected capacity to generate 97,000 megawatts of electricity. This would be enough to power 29 million homes, the equivalent of 29 percent of the nation’s household electrical consumption.
