BLM greenlights construction of 465 MW of solar projects in California

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in the US has approved the construction of the Arica and Victory Pass solar projects in California, which will together deliver 465 MW of solar capacity and 400 MW of battery storage.

The agency said on Monday it issued a notice to proceed, authorising Clearway Energy Group LLC to start full construction of the two projects located near Desert Centre in eastern Riverside County. Building work is expected to start immediately.

The 265-MW Arica solar project and 200-MW Victory Pass solar scheme, both combined with storage, represent an infrastructure investment of about USD 689 million (EUR 659m), according to the announcement.

The BLM said the final construction approval is a milestone in the Biden-Harris administration’s goal of permitting at least 25 GW of solar, wind and geothermal generation on public lands by 2025. It comes after the agency approved the projects at the end of 2021, granting the developer a right-of-way for their construction, operation, maintenance and decommissioning.

The BLM also said it is at the moment processing 67 utility-scale clean energy projects on public lands in the western US that could add 41,733 MW of renewable energy to the western electric grid.

(USD 1 = EUR 0.956)

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