BLM to open 22 mil acres in Western states to solar

[GreenBoot]

Eta:
Virtual meeting links on page 7 and link below.
Written statement period ends in April.

BLM proposes to open 22 million acres in Western states to solar development

• The U.S. Bureau of Land Management on Wednesday unveiled an updated solar roadmap that proposes opening 22 million acres for developing utility-scale solar on public land in 11 Western states.
• The proposal refines the BLM’s existing maps of land open to solar development in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah, and adds new maps of potential development areas in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of the Interior.
• The BLM has proposed six alternative roadmaps with varying degrees of protection for critical habitat and cultural resources, but the preferred option appears to include lands previously ruled unsuitable for solar development, according to Kevin Emmerich, co-founder of Basin and Range Watch, a Nevada-based conservation group.

 

[USMC-40]

Well, let’s go Brandon!

 

[Hnthrdr]

Awwww fudge… please tell me how this will help our struggling mule deer populations

 

[Yoder]

It will give you all something to sight in your rifles with.

 

[ORJoe]

Well that was an emotional roller coaster

 

[Laramie]

I'm sure those solar fields will be as scenic as the wind farms.

 

[deltadukman]

I do business with a couple of sub-contractors who do business with a couple of solar companies. The money that they spend is mind boggling. It flows like wine. My personal opinion is that it is a government money siphon that will eventually dry up and leave a mess of solar panels all over the place. They are making hay while the sun shines though!

 

[Laramie]

I do business with a couple of sub-contractors who do business with a couple of solar companies. The money that they spend is mind boggling. It flows like wine. My personal opinion is that it is a government money siphon that will eventually dry up and leave a mess of solar panels all over the place. They are making hay while the sun shines though!

Agreed... and it will be sold to the American public as a way to move EV forward through the west and to help solve California's energy shortages. Screw the mule deer and sage grouse, silicon valley needs more power.

 

[OMF]

I'm sure those solar fields will be as scenic as the wind farms.

I know, right!? They should be putting the solar panels in cities on top of buildings and parking garages etc.. Add a little more ugly to the already ugly. They could plaster them around the white house dome, all over the white house lawn, and maybe even on Gavin's estate in sunny CA. Oh wait, I forgot the NIMBY rules.

 

[LookinforDirt]

Thank you Brandon and Executive Order 14008. Let’s “solve” one issue by creating another. Pure genius. Don’t forget to muck things up with windmills too.

 

[roadrunner]

You could power the world with natural gas generation from 22 million acres of disturbance.

This is the equivalent of 1/3 of Colorado being a solar field.

Talk about being irresponsible...

 

[KurtR]

They are trying to get one of those abominations built here luckily the residents of my county are raising holy hell.

 

[S.Clancy]

I know, right!? They should be putting the solar panels in cities on top of buildings and parking garages etc.. Add a little more ugly to the already ugly. They could plaster them around the white house dome, all over the white house lawn, and maybe even on Gavin's estate in sunny CA. Oh wait, I forgot the NIMBY rules.

Dude, this is what I absolutely do not understand. We have millions of acres of commercial and residential roofing across the country. Just incentivize homeowners more than they currently do. The grid infrastructure is right there already, in the cities.

As far as the farms go, I don't see this as anything different than what we use to do with oil and gas, it's just a different form of energy development and we need more electricity. Ultimately, when all factors are figured, it's prob not any better for the environment.

 

[KHNC]

Guarantee New Mexico governor will be first in line to get on her knees and beg for "me first"!

 

[xsn10s]

I wonder how these solar panel farms are going to effect the climates in these areas. Unless they reduced how much heat they produce I expect they're tinkering with our micro climates at the min.

 

[jmez]

Homeowners don't pay politicians bills. Simply more money transfer to those that write the big checks.

Ironic that one side champions conservation and the other will just sell off your public lands for development.

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[Gutshot007]

Great place for wolves to find some shade from the heat and enjoy eating some elk calve loins . Lol

 

[jmez]

Also 22 million acres you can no longer hunt or access.

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[xsn10s]

Also 22 million acres you can no longer hunt or access.

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Pretty much. I wouldn't be surprised if they add the surrounding areas in a effort to secure the solar plants.

 

[manitou1]

The right step towards sage grouse recovery... and mule deer.

What are they thinking?