Date: Thursday, May 25, 2023
Contact: [email protected]
WASHINGTON — The Department of the Interior announced today that it is taking the next steps to allow two proposed transmission projects, which will facilitate further development and supply of renewable energy in Nevada.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is beginning the environmental review for the Greenlink North project and issuing a draft environmental impact statement for the Greenlink West transmission projects, which together would help connect eight gigawatts of clean power to the western power grid.
These projects represent continued progress in the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts to accelerate transmission construction to reduce consumers’ energy costs, prevent power outages in extreme weather conditions, create good-paying union jobs, and move toward achieving of President Biden’s goal of a 100% clean power grid by 2035.
“The Department of the Interior is committed to expanding clean energy development to address climate change, improve America’s energy security, and provide good-paying union jobs,” he said. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Mineral Management Laura Daniel-Davis. “Under the leadership of President Biden and Secretary Haaland, this administration is taking a hands-on approach toward ambitious clean energy goals that will support families, boost local economies, and help increase climate resiliency in communities across the West.” .
“Our public lands have a critical role to play in the clean energy transition,” he said. Director of the Bureau of Land Management Tracy Stone-Manning. “To ensure healthy public lands into the future, the BLM must help lead the way in addressing climate change.”
The Greenlink West transmission project would span more than 450 miles, connect Las Vegas to Reno and provide capacity for renewable energy development in Clark, Esmeralda, Lyon, Mineral, Nye and Storey counties. The notice of availability for Greenlink West opens a 90-day public comment period on the project’s draft environmental impact statement and associated resource management plan amendment. If approved, the Greenlink West transmission project is anticipated to have the potential to unlock up to 4 gigawatts of renewable energy.
The notice of intent for the Greenlink North transmission project, a 232-mile-long 525 kV transmission line running through White Pine, Eureka, Lander, Churchill and Lyon counties, begins a 45-day scoping and comment period to help inform the development of the BLM’s environmental impact statement for the project. If approved, the Greenlink North transmission project could also unlock up to 4 gigawatts of renewable energy.
The BLM aims to finalize the proposed documents and develop a record of decision for the Greenlink West project by the end of 2024, and post the draft environmental planning documents for the Greenlink North project for public comment later this year.
The initiation of the environmental review for the Greenlink North project and the publication of a draft environmental impact statement for Greenlink West follow several other important milestones in the Department’s continued progress on clean energy projects, including: approval of the Transmission Project Sunzia Southwest in New Mexico; construction approval for California’s 300 MW Sunlight Storage II battery storage system; and next steps in reviewing Utah’s Star Range Solar Project and Nevada’s proposed 300 MW Bonanza Solar Project.
Since 2021, the BLM has approved 35 projects (10 solar, 8 geothermal, and 17 generation) on approximately 23,396 acres of BLM-managed land. These projects are expected to produce 8,160 megawatts of electricity, enough to power more than 2.6 million homes.
The BLM is currently processing 74 proposed utility-scale onshore clean energy projects on public lands in the western United States. This includes solar, wind, and geothermal projects, as well as interconnected power lines that are vital to proposed clean energy projects on non-Federal lands. These projects have the combined potential to add more than 37,000 megawatts of renewable energy to the western power grid. The BLM is also conducting preliminary review of more than 150 applications for solar and wind development, as well as 51 applications for wind and solar testing.
The BLM manages large tracts of public land that are making significant contributions to the nation’s renewable energy portfolio. To promote the development of these energy sources, the BLM provides sites for the environmentally sound development of renewable energy on public lands. Efficient permitting of renewable energy and transmission from our nation’s public lands is crucial to achieving the Biden-Harris administration’s goal of a carbon-free energy sector by 2035, as well as the direction of Congress in the Act. of Energy in 2020 to allow 25 gigawatts. of solar, wind and geothermal production on public land by 2025.
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