Big Week for Renewables on Federal Land

The U.S. Department of the Interior and Department of Defense, in partnership with other federal agencies, this week announced several major renewable-energy initiatives:

• Permitting will be accelerated for seven large private projects on federal lands in Arizona, California, Nevada and Wyoming, including the first major development on tribal land. Projects total 5 gigawatts.
• The Department of Defense agreed to work toward development of about 1 GW of solar, wind and geothermal on vast tracts of land reserved for military purposes across the Western states. Part of the agreement focuses on streamlining DoD’s role in approving offshore wind projects.
• The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will procure $7 billion in PPAs for locally generated renewable energy, over 30 years, from privately financed projects.