Solar Energy in DC Δ 11th of January 2014 Ω 11:25 AM

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~ Utility-Scale Solar Energy Development on Public Lands ~ Roadmap for Utility-Scale Solar Energy ~ Smart Grids	~ sense for Ξ ~ sense for Ξ ~ sense for Ξ	~ sense for Ξ ~ sense for Ξ ~ sense for Ξ
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«Solar Sensing of U.S.	Θ	Θ
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~ Utility-Scale Solar Energy Development on Public Lands

DOI

Obama Administration Approves Roadmap for Utility-Scale Solar Energy Development on Public Lands

energy strategy to expand domestic energy production
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar finalized a program for spurring development of solar energy on public lands in six western states
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for solar energy development provides a blueprint for utility-scale solar energy permitting in
Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah
by establishing solar energy zones with access to existing or planned transmission,
incentives for development within those zones, and a process through which to consider additional zones and solar projects.

With the authorization of the Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Wind Energy Project site in Wyoming,
Interior reached the President’s goal of authorizing 10,000 megawatts of renewable power on public lands.

Since 2009, Interior has authorized 33 renewable energy projects, including
18 utility-scale solar facilities,
7 wind farms and
8 geothermal plants,
with associated transmission corridors and infrastructure.

When built, these projects will provide enough electricity to power more than 3.5 million homes, and
support 13,000 construction and operations jobs according to project developer estimates.

Energy from sources like wind and solar have doubled since the President took office
laying a sustainable foundation to keep expanding domestic energy resources
Secretary Salazar signed Record of Decision at an event in Las Vegas, Nevada with Senator Harry Reid
initiative provides a roadmap for landscape-level planning that will lead to faster,
smarter utility-scale solar development on public lands and
reflects commitment to grow American made energy and create jobs

The Solar PEIS establishes an initial set of 17 Solar Energy Zones (SEZs),
totaling about 285,000 acres of public lands,
that will serve as priority areas for commercial-scale solar development,
with the potential for additional zones through ongoing and future regional planning processes.

If fully built out, projects in the designated areas could produce as much as 23,700 megawatts of solar energy,
enough to power approximately 7 million American homes.

The program also keeps the door open, on a case-by-case basis,
for the possibility of carefully sited solar projects outside SEZs on about 19 million acres in “variance” areas.

The program also includes a framework for regional mitigation plans, and
to protect key natural and cultural resources the program excludes a little under 79 million acres
that would be inappropriate for solar development based on currently available information.

The Solar PEIS sets forth an enduring, flexible blueprint for developing utility-scale solar projects in the right way, and
in the right places, on our public lands /David J. Hayes, Deputy Secretary of the Interior/
Interior Department worked closely and collaboratively with the industry,
conservationists and sportsmen alike to develop a sound, long-term plan for generating domestic energy from our nation’s sun-drenched public lands

Decision followed release of the Final PEIS,
a comprehensive analysis done in partnership with the Department of Energy
that identified locations on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands most suitable for solar energy development.
These areas are characterized by excellent solar resources,
access to existing or planned transmission and relatively low conflict with biological, cultural and historic resources.

Secretary of Energy Steven Chu: “There is a global race to develop renewable energy technologies—and this effort will help us win this race
by expanding solar energy production while reducing permitting costs.”

Today’s action is in line with the President’s direction to continue to expand domestic energy production, safely and responsibly.
Domestic oil and gas production has increased each year,
with domestic oil production at an eight-year high, natural gas production at an all-time high, and
foreign oil imports now accounting for less than 50 percent of the oil consumed in America – the lowest level since 1995.

State-by-state list of Solar Energy Zones

Solar Energy Development Programmatic EIS
Proposed SEZ (BLM Office/County) Approximate Acreage / Resource Potential

Arizona

Brenda (Lake Havasu/La Paz) 3,348 acres / 372 megawatts
Gillespie (Lower Sonoran/Maricopa) 2,618 acres / 291 megawatts
Total 5,966 acres / 663 megawatts

California

Imperial East (El Centro/Imperial) 5,717 acres / 635 megawatts
Riverside East (Palm Springs–South Coast/Riverside) 147,910 acres / 16,434 megawatts
Total 153,627 acres / 17,070 megawatts

Colorado

Antonito Southeast (La Jara/Conejos) 9,712 acres / 1,079 megawatts
De Tilla Gulch (Saguache/Saguache) 1,064 acres / 118 megawatts
Fourmile East (La Jara/Alamosa) 2,882 acres / 320 megawatts
Los Mogotes East (La Jara/Conejos) 2,650 acres / 294 megawatts
Total 16,308 acres / 1,812 megawatts

Nevada

Amargosa Valley (Southern Nevada/Nye) 8,479 acres / 942 megawatts
Dry Lake (Southern Nevada/Clark) 5,717 acres / 635 megawatts
Dry Lake Valley North (Ely/Lincoln) 25,069 acres / 2,785 megawatts
Gold Point (Battle Mountain/Esmeralda) 4,596 acres / 511 megawatts
Millers (Battle Mountain/Esmeralda) 16,534 acres / 1,837 megawatts
Total 60,395 acres / 6,711 megawatts

New Mexico

Afton (Las Cruces/Dona Ana) 29,964 acres / 3,329 megawatts
Total 29,964 acres / 3,329 megawatts

Utah

Escalante Valley (Cedar City/Iron) 6,533 acres / 726 megawatts
Milford Flats South (Cedar City/Beaver) 6,252 acres / 695 megawatts
Wah Wah Valley (Cedar City/Beaver) 5,873 acres / 653 megawatts
Total 18,658 acres / 2,073 megawatts
Total 284,918

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~ Roadmap for Utility-Scale Solar Energy

Roadmap for Utility-Scale Solar Energy

»Obama Administration Approves Roadmap for Utility Scale Solar Energy Development on Public Lands
energy strategy to expand domestic energy production
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar
finalized a program for spurring development of solar energy on public lands in six western states
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for solar energy development
provides a blueprint for utility-scale solar energy permitting in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah
by establishing solar energy zones with access to existing or planned transmission,
incentives for development within those zones, and
a process through which to consider additional zones and solar projects

with the authorization of the Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Wind Energy Project site in Wyoming,
Interior reached the President’s goal of authorizing 10,000 megawatts of renewable power on public lands
Since 2009, Interior has authorized 33 renewable energy projects,
including 18 utility-scale solar facilities,
7 wind farms and 8 geothermal plants, with associated transmission corridors and infrastructure.

When built, these projects will provide enough electricity to power more than 3.5 million homes, and
support 13,000 construction and operations jobs according to project developer estimates.

Secretary Salazar signed Record of Decision at an event in Las Vegas, Nevada with Senator Harry Reid.
provides a roadmap for landscape-level planning that will lead to faster, smarter utility-scale solar development on public lands

Solar PEIS establishes an initial set of 17 Solar Energy Zones (SEZs),
totaling about 285,000 acres of public lands, that will serve as priority areas for commercial-scale solar development,
with the potential for additional zones through ongoing and future regional planning processes.

If fully built out, projects in the designated areas could produce as much as 23,700 megawatts of solar energy,
enough to power approximately 7 million American homes.

The program also keeps the door open, on a case-by-case basis, for the possibility of carefully sited solar projects outside SEZs
on about 19 million acres in “variance” areas.

The program also includes a framework for regional mitigation plans, and to protect key natural and cultural resources
the program excludes a little under 79 million acres that would be inappropriate for solar development based on currently available information.

Solar PEIS sets forth an enduring, flexible blueprint for developing utility-scale solar projects in the right way,
and in the right places, on our public lands,” said David J. Hayes, Deputy Secretary of the Interior.
“Never before has the Interior Department worked so closely and collaboratively with the industry,
conservationists and sportsmen alike to develop a sound, long-term plan for generating domestic energy from our nation’s sun-drenched public lands.”

The signing of the Record of Decision followed the July release of the Final PEIS,
a comprehensive analysis done in partnership with the Department of Energy that identified locations on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands
most suitable for solar energy development. These areas are characterized by excellent solar resources,
access to existing or planned transmission and relatively low conflict with biological, cultural and historic resources.

There is a global race to develop renewable energy technologies—and this effort will help win this race
by expanding solar energy production while reducing permitting costs.

Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Solar Energy Development in Six Southwestern States
Establishes an initial set of 17 Solar Energy Zones on 285,000 acres across 6
Western States - Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah;

Outlines a process for industry, the public and other interested stakeholders to
propose new or expanded zones; efforts already underway include California¡¦s
Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan and the West Chocolate
Mountains Renewable Energy Evaluation, Arizona¡¦s Restoration Energy
Design Project, and other local planning efforts in Nevada and Colorado;

Includes strong incentives for development within zones, including faster and
easier permitting, improved mitigation strategies, and economic incentives;

Sets a clear process that allows for development of well-sited projects on
approximately19 million acres outside the zones;

Protects natural and cultural resources by excluding 78.6 million acres from
solar energy development;

Identifies design features (best practices) for solar energy development to
ensure the most environmentally responsible development and delivery;

Establishes a framework for regional mitigation plans and a strategy for
monitoring and adaptive management; the first mitigation pilot for the Dry
Lake Solar Energy Zone in Nevada is already underway;

Recognizes the importance of bringing transmission to zones: in support of
more detailed system-level analyses of transmission needs, the Bureau of Land
Management is engaged in ongoing transmission planning efforts, including
through the Transmission Expansion Planning Policy Committee and the
Western Electricity Coordination Council¡¦s transmission study;

Incorporates important feedback from interested stakeholders, including
industry, conservationists, sportsmen, tribal, state and local governments. The
BLM released the Draft Solar PEIS in December 2010, and in response to the
over 80,000 comments received from cooperating agencies and key
stakeholders, issued a Supplement to the Draft Solar PEIS in October 2011.
The BLM published the Final PEIS in July 2012.

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~ Smart Grids

Smart Grids

»Funding to Improve Electric Service in Rural Communities
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced funding to modernize and improve the efficiency of rural electric generation and transmission systems.
The announcement was made on the Secretary's behalf by Under Secretary Dallas Tonsager.

USDA and the Obama administration continue to make key investments in rural electric cooperatives
that will modernize service and improve reliability for rural businesses and residential customers.

Announcement includes funding that will enable rural electric cooperatives and utilities to adopt smart grid technologies
in their operation as part of the ongoing efforts to modernize rural America's electric grid.

Secretary Vilsack announced that USDA had met its goal to finance $250 million in smart grid technologies in fiscal year 2012.
Announcement includes additional support of $134 million in smart grid technologies.

The following is a list of rural utilities that will receive USDA funding,
which is contingent upon the recipient meeting the terms of the loan agreement.

The $1.95 billion in loan guarantees announced are provided by USDA Rural Development's Rural Utilities Service.
The funding helps electric utilities upgrade, expand, maintain and replace rural America's electric infrastructure.
The agency also funds energy conservation and renewable energy projects.

For information on other Rural Development's projects >> http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/RDSuccessStories.html
The map features program funding and success stories for fiscal years 2009-2011.

USDA, through its Rural Development mission area, administers and manages housing, business and community infrastructure programs
through a national network of state and local offices.
Rural Development has an active portfolio of more than $172 billion in loans and loan guarantees.
These programs are designed to improve the economic stability of rural communities, businesses, residents, farmers and ranchers and
improve the quality of life in rural America.

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