BLM holds 66,000 acres of Nevada for solar development

As part of President Obama’s plan to reduce carbon pollution and promote American-made clean energy sources, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced the withdrawal of lands identified for solar energy development in the West from new mining claims.

The BLM published a Federal Register notice July 5 announcing the approval of a Public Land Order that withdraws 303,900 acres of land within 17 Solar Energy Zones in six western states from the location of mining claims that could impede development of solar energy sites.

The lands had already been segregated from the mining laws under temporary measures. The Public Land Order extends the withdrawal for 20 years.

The Department of the Interior established the Solar Energy Zones in October 2012 as part of a western solar plan that provides a road map for utility-scale solar energy development on lands managed by the BLM in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah.

The land order encompasses a total of 65,946 acres in what the Bureau of Land Management calls the Mt. Diablo Meridian. There are 9,690 acres being withdrawn in Amargosa Valley; 4,810 acres in Gold Point, which is about 30 miles northwest of Beatty; and 16,560 acres in Millers, 12 miles northwest of Tonopah.

Two other parcels outside Nye County include 6,160 acres in Dry Lake, 20 miles northeast of Fallon and 28,726 acres in Dry Lake Valley, located 20 miles north of Lake Tahoe.

Solar Energy Zones encompass the lands most suitable for solar energy development because of solar resources, access to existing or planned transmission, and low conflict with biological, cultural and historic resources. The Public Land Order puts into action the recommendation in the western solar plan to withdraw the public lands encompassed by Solar Energy Zones from potentially conflicting uses, including location under the mining laws. The withdrawn acreage is subject to valid existing rights.

In a press release, BLM Principal Deputy Director Neil Kornze stated, “The Public Land Order protects the integrity of the Solar Energy Zones and helps us meet President Obama’s goal of green-lighting enough private renewable energy capacity on public lands to power more than 6 million homes by 2020.”

Under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, the BLM is charged with managing the public lands for multiple uses. Location of new mining claims within the Solar Energy Zones could preclude opportunities for development of solar energy of these lands.

Since 2009, the BLM has approved right-of-way applications for 25 solar energy development projects with planned total capacity of over 8,000 megawatts, or enough to power over 2.4 million homes.

The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation.