A joint USDA and DOI report, New Energy Frontier – Balancing Energy Development on Federal Lands, updates the development of renewable and conventional energy from federal lands and Outer Continental Shelf areas. The report documents the progress made to date and the Administration's plan of action for continued initiatives to ensure accountability, efficiency and responsibility in the management of Federal energy resources. Among the highlights...
•Interior’s Bureau of Land Management approved nine large-scale solar projects, with a total generating capacity of 3,682 MW. BLM also received more than 100 additional applications for utility-scale solar energy projects in four western states;
•This past year, USDA launched a major new Wood-to-Energy Initiative that seeks to build a forest restoration economy by integrating wood-to-energy activities within the larger forest products sector. Consisting of a broad-scale effort to coordinate USDA technical and program support to stimulate the wood-to-energy sector, the initiative takes its cue from the Administration’s emphasis on the role of renewable fuels and forest restoration in sustaining rural jobs and prosperity. In our National Forests, USDA has helped remove 86,927 tons of biomass to produce energy.
•Identified 24 solar energy study areas in six western states, comprising more than 1,000 square miles, being analyzed in detail to determine if they are appropriate for Solar Energy Zones with the potential to be used for large-scale solar energy production;
•USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program can provide funding for the development of renewable energy projects on public lands, such as wind and solar projects. In the past two years, REAP has assisted in more than 270 wind energy project across the country.
•Utilized the ‘Smart from the Start’ approach used in processing solar projects in the West to guide the Atlantic OCS wind energy initiative to facilitate siting, leasing and construction and spur the rapid and responsible development of the region’s vast offshore wind resources;
•States all along the Atlantic coast are actively pursuing development of OCS wind resources under the Smart from the Start initiative to help achieve renewable energy goals; and industry is considering the potential for offshore wind development in a number of areas;
•Expanded the 25 wind energy facilities on BLM lands in the West by approving four new projects and reviewing and processing 47 additional project applications;
•Through the Biomass Research and Development Initiative, USDA has provided funding for the development of new tools to better evaluate the impact of expanded biofuel production on the environment and to assess the potential of using federal land resources to sustainably increase feedstock production for biofuels and biobased products.
•Worked to increase geothermal energy production on public lands, approving four priority geothermal projects in Nevada since 2009; BLM oversees 58 geothermal leases in a producing status covering about 56,000 acres on BLM lands and 120 geothermal leases covering 134,000 acres on U.S. Forest Service lands; a reasonably foreseeable development scenario indicates a potential for 12,210 MW of electrical generating capacity from 244 geothermal power plants by 2025.
Source: U.S. Department of Interior press release
•Interior’s Bureau of Land Management approved nine large-scale solar projects, with a total generating capacity of 3,682 MW. BLM also received more than 100 additional applications for utility-scale solar energy projects in four western states;
•This past year, USDA launched a major new Wood-to-Energy Initiative that seeks to build a forest restoration economy by integrating wood-to-energy activities within the larger forest products sector. Consisting of a broad-scale effort to coordinate USDA technical and program support to stimulate the wood-to-energy sector, the initiative takes its cue from the Administration’s emphasis on the role of renewable fuels and forest restoration in sustaining rural jobs and prosperity. In our National Forests, USDA has helped remove 86,927 tons of biomass to produce energy.
•Identified 24 solar energy study areas in six western states, comprising more than 1,000 square miles, being analyzed in detail to determine if they are appropriate for Solar Energy Zones with the potential to be used for large-scale solar energy production;
•USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program can provide funding for the development of renewable energy projects on public lands, such as wind and solar projects. In the past two years, REAP has assisted in more than 270 wind energy project across the country.
•Utilized the ‘Smart from the Start’ approach used in processing solar projects in the West to guide the Atlantic OCS wind energy initiative to facilitate siting, leasing and construction and spur the rapid and responsible development of the region’s vast offshore wind resources;
•States all along the Atlantic coast are actively pursuing development of OCS wind resources under the Smart from the Start initiative to help achieve renewable energy goals; and industry is considering the potential for offshore wind development in a number of areas;
•Expanded the 25 wind energy facilities on BLM lands in the West by approving four new projects and reviewing and processing 47 additional project applications;
•Through the Biomass Research and Development Initiative, USDA has provided funding for the development of new tools to better evaluate the impact of expanded biofuel production on the environment and to assess the potential of using federal land resources to sustainably increase feedstock production for biofuels and biobased products.
•Worked to increase geothermal energy production on public lands, approving four priority geothermal projects in Nevada since 2009; BLM oversees 58 geothermal leases in a producing status covering about 56,000 acres on BLM lands and 120 geothermal leases covering 134,000 acres on U.S. Forest Service lands; a reasonably foreseeable development scenario indicates a potential for 12,210 MW of electrical generating capacity from 244 geothermal power plants by 2025.
Source: U.S. Department of Interior press release
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