Biden solar plan opens 1.1M acres in Oregon
Areas marked in green would be open to applications for solar development while those marked in pink would be excluded.
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
By Pete Danko – Staff Reporter, Portland Business Journal Sep 11, 2024
Updated Sep 11, 2024 8:36am PDT
The Biden administration's updated roadmap for big solar on Western federal lands opens up nearly 400,000 additional acres in Oregon to potential development compared to a draft version.
A leading Oregon conservation group said it generally supported the plan but could press the administration on a few areas where solar might be allowed.
The proposed plan designates 1.15 million acres of Bureau of Land Management lands in Oregon mainly in the state's high desert southeastern quadrant as available for solar application while putting more than 14.5 million acres off limits. BLM expects about 51,000 of the acres actually to be used for utility-scale solar power development by 2045.
The tilt toward more space for solar came mainly from extending from 10 miles to 15 miles the required proximity to existing or planned transmission lines.
What is the Western Solar Plan?
The BLM's final environmental impact statement released on Aug. 29 updates an analysis of six Southwestern states that were in an original 2012 Western Solar Plan and extends the plan to the Pacific Northwest and Wyoming.
The agency expects to put the plan into law after resolving any issues that come up in a 30-day protest period and 60-day state review period.
In all, the final plan makes 31 million acres available for solar application, up from 22 million acres in the draft plan. It excludes some 130 million acres. The stated hope is to strike a balance between efficient solar development and ecosystem and species protection.
The Solar Energy Industries Association was pleased by the boost in available land, although it noted that "fossil fuels have access to over 80 million acres of public land, 2.5 times the amount of public land available for solar."
National conservation groups Natural Resources Defense Council and The Wilderness Society put out statements supporting the plan. Oregon reaction to Western Solar Plan
The Oregon Natural Desert Association was measured in its response.
Conservation Director Mark Salvo noted that the plan would protect 14 acres in Oregon for every 1 acre identified for potential application. And he said it could serve to safeguard fragile lands while "helping support more efficient planning and permitting in those areas that are deemed appropriate for solar."
But ONDA has some concerns about areas that make for good mule deer winter habitat, he said, and areas adjacent to the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and between it and the Steens Mountains Cooperative Management and Protection Area.
Salvo said ONDA could "ask some clarifying questions" and "provide more information" to BLM on those issues.