NEWS
U.S. Bureau of Land Management announces launch of solar energy storage plant on California public lands
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) under the U.S. Department of the Interior has actively promoted 15 clean energy projects in the western region, of which solar photovoltaic power generation and energy storage power stations have been successfully put into operation in California.
Of the 15 renewable energy projects, seven solar farms in Nevada and a solar and storage project in Arizona have advanced on environmental reviews, while milestones have also been made on transmission line upgrades in Arizona, Nevada and Utah.
One of two projects already operational in California is the 500MW Oberon solar project developed by Intersect Power, which includes 250MW of energy storage output. The developer received construction approval for the project from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in July 2022. Soon after, it successfully completed project financing worth US$3.1 billion for its 22GW near-term project portfolio, of which Oberon Solar was an important part.
Another fully operational project is located in Riverside County. The project, developed by NextEra Energy, has 364MW of solar capacity and 242MW of energy storage capacity. It is worth mentioning that the company put into operation a nearby solar and energy storage power plant last year, with a solar capacity of up to 485MW.
Not only that, in Arizona, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has begun an environmental analysis of a 700MW solar and battery energy storage system called the Ranegras Plains Energy Center project.
The project is fully owned by solar developer Savion. The Bureau of Land Management said investing in clean, reliable renewable energy demonstrates its commitment to combating climate change and supports presidential and congressional directives to allow 25 gigawatts of solar, wind and geothermal energy to be generated on public lands.
In addition, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is currently actively processing 66 utility-scale projects located on public lands on the U.S. West Coast, which are expected to provide a total of 33GW of additional solar, wind and geothermal energy capacity. This move is in line with the trend of clean energy development and BLM’s strategic goal of promoting renewable energy.