US approves 550 MW of green energy projects

Jul 15, 2011 - The US Department of the Interior today said it had permitted four renewable energy projects on public lands with combined capacity of 550 MW.

The projects include the 250 MW Mojave solar project in California proposed by Spanish engineer Abengoa (MCE:ABG), the 200 MW Imperial Solar Energy Centre solar plant in California planned by US energy firm Tenaska Inc, a 100 MW wind farm in Oregon by West Butte Wind Power LLC, and utility Southern California Edison's high-voltage transmission line project to connect desert solar farms to the southern California grid.

The projects can generate total electricity enough to supply 185,000 to 380,000 households and yield several million dollars in local government tax revenues, the Interior Department said.

The agency said also its Bureau of Land Management (BLM) had issued notices of intent to start environmental reviews of two wind projects and a solar project in California with total capacity of 370 MW.

The department added that it would partner with the Department of Energy to prepare a supplement to the Draft Programmatic Environment Impact Statement for Solar Energy Development ( Solar PEIS), which aims to identify potential solar energy zones for utility-scale project development on public lands in six western states. The supplement is expected provide more clear criteria for solar energy zones identification, new incentives for developers in the approved zones, additional surveys of biological and cultural resources and the impact of transmission lines.

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