WASHINGTON — The Division of the Inside yesterday introduced that it’s taking the following steps towards allowing two proposed transmission initiatives, which is able to facilitate elevated renewable vitality improvement and supply in Nevada.
The Bureau of Land Administration (BLM) is initiating the environmental assessment for the Greenlink North venture and releasing a draft environmental affect assertion for Greenlink West transmission initiatives, which collectively would assist join eight gigawatts of fresh vitality to the Western energy grid.
These initiatives signify continued progress within the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts to speed up transmission buildout to decrease customers’ vitality prices, forestall energy outages within the face of utmost climate, create good-paying union jobs, and make progress in direction of reaching President Biden’s aim of a 100% clear electrical energy grid by 2035.
“The Division of the Inside is dedicated to increasing clear vitality improvement to deal with local weather change, improve America’s vitality safety and supply for good-paying union jobs,” mentioned Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Administration Laura Daniel-Davis. “Below President Biden and Secretary Haaland’s management, this Administration is taking an all-hands-on-deck strategy towards formidable clear vitality objectives that can help households, enhance native economies, and assist enhance local weather resilience in communities throughout the West.”
“Our public lands have a important function to play within the clear vitality transition,” mentioned Bureau of Land Administration Director Tracy Stone-Manning. “As a way to guarantee wholesome public lands sooner or later, the BLM should assist paved the way on addressing local weather change.”
The Greenlink West transmission venture would run for greater than 450 miles, connecting Las Vegas to Reno, and offering capability for renewable vitality improvement in Clark, Esmerelda, Lyon, Mineral, Nye and Storey counties. The discover of availability for Greenlink West opens a 90-day public remark interval on the venture’s draft environmental affect assertion and related useful resource administration plan modification. If authorized, the Greenlink West transmission venture is anticipated to have the potential to unlock as much as 4 gigawatts of renewable vitality.
The discover of intent for the Greenlink North transmission venture, a 232-mile-long, 525 kV transmission line operating by White Pine, Eureka, Lander, Churchill and Lyon counties, begins a 45-day scoping and public remark interval to assist inform the event of the BLM’s environmental affect assertion for the venture. If authorized, the Greenlink North transmission venture may additionally unlock as much as 4 gigawatts of renewable vitality.
The BLM goals to finalize the proposed paperwork and develop a report of resolution for the Greenlink West venture by late 2024, and to launch draft environmental planning paperwork for the Greenlink North venture for public remark later this 12 months.
The initiation of environmental assessment for the Greenlink North venture and launch of a draft environmental affect assertion for Greenlink West comply with a number of different main milestones within the Division’s continued progress on clear vitality initiatives, together with: approval of the Sunzia Southwest Transmission Challenge in New Mexico; building approval for California’s Daylight Storage II 300 MW Battery Storage System; and subsequent steps within the assessment of Utah’s Star Vary Photo voltaic Challenge and Nevada’s proposed 300 MW Bonanza Photo voltaic Challenge.
Since 2021, the BLM has authorized 35 initiatives (10 photo voltaic, 8 geothermal, and 17 gen-ties) on roughly 23,396 acres of BLM-managed lands. These initiatives are anticipated to supply 8,160 megawatts of electrical energy — sufficient to energy greater than 2.6 million houses.
The BLM is presently processing 74 utility-scale onshore clear vitality initiatives proposed on public lands within the western United States. This consists of photo voltaic, wind and geothermal initiatives, in addition to interconnected gen-tie traces which might be very important to wash vitality initiatives proposed on non-federal land. These initiatives have the mixed potential so as to add over 37,000 megawatts of renewable vitality to the western electrical grid. The BLM can be endeavor the preliminary assessment of over 150 purposes for photo voltaic and wind improvement, in addition to 51 purposes for wind and photo voltaic vitality testing.
The BLM manages huge stretches of public lands which might be making important contributions to the nation’s renewable vitality portfolio. To advertise the event of those vitality sources, the BLM gives websites for environmentally sound improvement of renewable vitality on public lands. The environment friendly allowing of renewable vitality and transmission from our nation’s public lands is essential in reaching the Biden-Harris administration’s aim of a carbon pollution-free energy sector by 2035, in addition to Congress’ route within the Power Act of 2020 to allow 25 gigawatts of photo voltaic, wind, and geothermal manufacturing on public lands no later than 2025.
Courtesy of The Division of the Inside.
Featured picture: The Blue Mountain geothermal plant in Humboldt County, Nevada. Picture by Dennis Schroeder, NREL.
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