The U.S. Department of Interior has permitted more than 25 GW of clean energy, including solar, wind and geothermal projects, surpassing this goal ahead of its timeline to do so by next year.
“Since Day One, the Biden-Harris administration has worked tirelessly to expand responsible clean energy development to address climate change, enhance America’s energy security and create good-paying union jobs,” says Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland.
“Surpassing our goal of permitting 25 GW of clean energy by 2025 underscores the significant progress we have made in helping build modern, resilient climate infrastructure that protects our communities from the worsening impacts of climate change. The Interior Department will continue to advance projects that will add enough clean energy to the grid to power millions more homes and help ensure a livable planet for future generations.”
The Department today also announced a final Renewable Energy rule from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) that aims to lower consumer energy costs and the cost of developing solar and wind projects, improve renewable energy project application processes and incentivize developers to continue responsibly developing solar and wind projects on public lands. The final rule also includes additional incentives for use of project labor agreements and American-made materials.
In addition, the BLM announced that two solar projects in California, the Arica and Victory Pass projects, are now fully operational, adding 465 MW of clean electricity to the grid. These projects, the first two approved under the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan, are located in eastern Riverside County.
