US, California Release Roadmap for Solar Projects

State and federal officials sought Tuesday to bring order to California's boom for renewable-energy plants in the Mojave and other southern California deserts, releasing a roadmap covering 22.5 million acres that designates some areas for large-scale solar, wind and geothermal plants and others for conservation of desert habitat and animals.
 
"We have amazingly special places here," U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said in a news conference at a desert wind farm near Palm Springs with U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer and other officials releasing the multi-agency draft plan.
 
By taking a look at the desert as a whole, Jewell said, the plan's designers are ensuring "the areas that should be protected are set aside. The areas that should be developed are streamlined" for building utility-scale renewable energy plants.
 
The release of the plan follows a renewable-energy building boom in southeastern California's deserts during the first term of the Obama administration, when the federal government gave billions of dollars in loans to developers placing sprawling, utility-scale solar projects in virgin desert.
 
The plan released Tuesday recommends designating a total of 2 million acres as appropriate sites for future solar, wind and geothermal projects. Another 4.9 million acres under the U.S. Bureau of Land Management would be among the areas set aside as conservation areas, if the draft plan is adopted.

Comments (0)

This post does not have any comments. Be the first to leave a comment below.


Post A Comment

You must be logged in before you can post a comment. Login now.

Featured Product

HPS EnduraCoilTM Cast Resin Medium Voltage Transformer

HPS EnduraCoilTM Cast Resin Medium Voltage Transformer

HPS EnduraCoil is a high-performance cast resin transformer designed for many demanding and diverse applications while minimizing both installation and maintenance costs. Coils are formed with mineral-filled epoxy, reinforced with fiberglass and cast to provide complete void-free resin impregnation throughout the entire insulation system. HPS EnduraCoil complies with the new NRCan 2019 and DOE 2016 efficiency regulations and is approved by both UL and CSA standards. It is also seismic qualified per IBC 2012/ASCE 7-10/CBC 2013. Cast resin transformers are self-extinguishing in the unlikely event of fire, environmentally friendly and offer greater resistance to short circuits. HPS also offers wide range of accessories for transformer protection and monitoring requirements.