Feds Reverse Course, Will Start Accepting New Solar Applications
The federal Bureau of Land Management, facing heavy criticism for its recent decision to impose a nearly two-year moratorium on taking new applications for solar projects, Wednesday reversed itself and announced it will again begin accepting the proposals.
The agency's decision to impose the hiatus, first reported by Climate Law Update early last month, was tied to the work the BLM and the Department of Energy are carrying out to analyze the environmental impacts on big solar projects in six Western states. Solar advocates complained the time-out could stunt the industry. In Wednesday's statement, BLM Director James Caswell cited the chorus of complaints that rang out when officials sought out public input:
“We heard the concerns expressed during the scoping period about waiting to consider new applications and we are taking action. By continuing to accept and process new applications for solar energy projects, we will aggressively help meet growing interest in renewable energy sources, while ensuring environmental protections.”
The agency had said it would continue working on the 130 or so applications it had received prior to the moratorium. Linda Resseguie, who is managing the so-called programmatic environmental impact statement for the BLM, told Climate Law Update Wednesday the agency would juggle the prior applications, any new proposals and the environmental process at the same time. Resseguie said the applications already in hand cover about a million acres of land but that none had yet been fully processed.
Solar industry representatives, industry supporters, environmentalists and at least one heavyweight politician who had criticized the moratorium reacted positively to the move. In San Francisco, Thelen attorney Eric Stephens, who works on financing for solar and other renewable projects, called the development good news, despite the existing backlog, because it eliminates at least one element of uncertainty:
"There are many projects out there in the early stage of development that can now be put back on the drawing board. The longer and more doubtful the process, the more difficult it is for these projects to get financing."
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who had earlier ripped the halt on accepting new applications, called the reversal "a good decision" by the agency. The Democrat added:
"Nevada is the Saudi Arabia of solar energy and is poised to lead a global clean energy revolution, and we need to do all we can to encourage public and private investment in projects to develop this amazing potential."
Rhone Resch, the president of the trade group, the Solar Energy Industries Association, in a statement called the BLM announcement a victory for the industry. But Resch, who complained that solar energy had been "singled out" for a moratorium, muted his praise:
"While we applaud today’s announcement, BLM has only resolved half the problem. They have yet to approve a single solar energy project. Expediting the permitting process is the next step in developing solar energy projects on federal lands."
Katherine Gensler, who manages regulatory and legislative affairs for the organization, told Climate Law Update the industry was concerned that had the moratorium stood it would have put solar developers at a competitive disadvantage with others seeking to use BLM land.
The Sierra Club took a somewhat similar, but much harsher tone. In a statement, Carl Pope, the environmental group's executive director, said that the organization believes that environmental reviews need to be conducted on renewable energy projects, but that the moratorium was a symptom of the "pervasive rot" of the current administration:
"The real problem here is that the Bush administration is starving key government agencies of the resources they need to effectively do their jobs. We need to give the BLM and other agencies the staff and financial resources they need to conduct proper environmental reviews as expediently as possible."
The BLM's Resseguie said her agency had believed that applications already on file were sufficient "to get a good start with solar energy development" and that future applications would move more quickly once the environmental review process was completed. But she said the industry had made a compelling argument and that officials did not want to chill solar's progress:
"The department, the administration, felt that it was important not to put a damper on the enthusiasm for solar energy at this point in time. That it wasn't the right message to send to the public."
Resseguie said any applications still pending at the time the environmental process is completed would be subject to whatever new policies and procedures are put in place. Right now the agency has a first-come-first-served policy for handling applications but it has said it might move to a competitive process. Resseguie said she was uncertain how that would eventually play out.
(Photo: Nevada solar project; Department of Energy-National Renewable Energy Laboratory; Credit: Geri Kodey)
