Biden administration finalizes the solar lands plan and touts progress

The administration of U.S. president Joe Biden announced on Thursday that it had finalized plans to expand solar power on federal lands across 11 western states. This is part of an overall push to accelerate the permitting and construction process for large infrastructure projects.

The White House is looking to speed up the approval of projects ranging in scope from wind and solar farms to power transmission as part of its efforts to combat climate change and decarbonize the energy sector. It also wants to promote the "Investing in America' agenda in advance of the November election.

Natalie Quillian, Deputy Chief Staff of the White House, said in an exclusive interview: "We have been pushing to improve federal permits wherever we can by using our executive authority."

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management plan identified 31,000,000 acres (12,5,000,000 hectares) that are best suited to solar development. These include Arizona, California Nevada, New Mexico Utah, Idaho Montana Oregon Washington and Wyoming.

These lands have a high solar potential, and there are few conflicts with plant and wildlife habitats. This gives projects that are proposed for these areas a head start on obtaining permits.

The White House said that the Environmental Protection Agency has conditionally approved an emissions reduction rule for companies in Maricopa County Arizona to switch their vehicle fleets over to cleaner alternatives. The White House stated that these credits could be sold to owners of future semiconductor factories in the area to offset air pollution and help them meet federal air quality standards.

The EPA has the responsibility of approving state pollution reduction plans in areas such as Maricopa County which is home to Arizona’s capital, Phoenix. This area has high ozone emission levels.

The White House stated that the county has seen an influx in investment from companies such as Intel and Taiwan’s TSMC, tied to federal incentives. These new credits will assist these facilities in getting up and running.

The administration claimed that the plan would add to the gains already made by the government in terms of speeding up environmental permits. It said it had shaved off six months to the median time needed to complete an assessment.

The report said that the U.S. government had approved more projects under the former administration of Donald Trump than Vice President Kamala Harris, who is running against him in the presidential elections. (Reporting and editing by Jamie Freed; Nichola Groom)

(source: Reuters)