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Solar Industry Comments on Solar Power on Public Lands - PEIS

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Solar Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS)

SEIA has been working with various stakeholder organizations and the Department of Interior to refine the programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS) for solar energy.

When power plants are proposed on federal land managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the BLM, in coordination with other agencies such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and state and local authorities, is authorized to permit development of solar and other energy projects. SEIA supports the use of federal land for solar power plant development and is actively engaged in BLM’s process for crafting the rules that will govern how a solar power plant is permitted and built.

Linked above are comments submitted by SEIA and our partner organizations to help refine the PEIS process and ensure responsible development of solar power projects on public lands.

August 27, 2012

Following a four year effort by DOI and DOE to streamline rules for solar development on public lands, SEIA submitted comments and an official protest [insert link] in response to the Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS). The PEIS generated significant feedback from stakeholders, including multiple comments from SEIA.

In response to the continued use of an arbitrary technical criterion in the Final PEIS, SEIA, in conjunction with the Large-scale Solar Association (LSA), also submitted an official protest. This action requests that BLM remove solar insolation levels less than 6.5 kWh/m2/day from the list of exclusion areas prohibiting solar development. Including an arbitrary technical threshold in the PEIS is inappropriate and inconsistent with the purpose of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Previous comments from SEIA and other solar stakeholders urged BLM to remove this exclusion before the Final PEIS. Amending this issue will allow more solar development on public land without sacrificing the environmental protections developed in the PEIS.

January 27, 2012

In response to the Supplement to the Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Solar, SEIA submitted two sets of comments to BLM on Jan. 27, 2012. Industry comments filed jointly by SEIA and the Large-scale Solar Association encourage BLM to maintain maximum flexibility for pending solar applications and future development of solar power plants outside of designated zones.

SEIA also collaborated on comments with a number of industry and environmental partners , in which we call for the rapid designation of new solar energy zones and encourage BLM to work closely with transmission planning entities to ensure that new solar generation and transmission align to effectively deliver clean energy to homes and businesses across the Southwest.

May 2, 2011

SEIA, in conjunction with the Large-scale Solar Association (LSA) and the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies, filed comments in response to the Department of Interior's Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS).

September 14, 2009

On behalf of the Large-scale Solar Association (LSA), the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), and the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies (CEERT), we are please to submit the following comments on the U.S. Bereau of Land Management's (BLM) Solar Energy Study Areas (SESAs).

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