The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has fast-tracked three new solar farms in Nevada totalling 440 MW of capacity, enough to power about 132,000 homes.
“The projects benefitted from the Western Solar Plan, which identified 19 specific areas that could benefit from solar power, and set up streamlined permitting processes for them,” The Hill reports. BLM said the permits took less than 10 months to process.
“Through thoughtful planning and upfront public participation, these solar projects demonstrate we can reduce permitting times, create certainty for energy developers, and achieve better outcomes for communities and the environment,” said Interior Secretary Sally Jewell. “Through a landscape-level approach, we are cutting carbon pollution and creating jobs through responsible solar development on our public lands.”
The three projects will be built by Invenergy, First Solar Inc., and NV Energy, which paid a combined $5.8 million for project rights in a June, 2014 auction. (h/t to InsideClimate News for pointing us to this story)
