Government Commits Public Lands for Solar

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar signed an order yesterday 1,000 square miles of Western land for solar energy development. More than half of the acreage is in California.

The Los Angeles Times reports:

"The proposed California solar-generating areas are projected to have the annual capacity to produce 39,000 to 70,000 megawatts of electricity at full development -- enough to serve millions of homes. There are three large solar projects undergoing environmental review in the state."

Salazar wants to thirteen solar projects underway by 2010.

So far, the reaction from conservationists has been measured, but you can bet that development on this scale on public lands will not be without its entanglements. Stay tuned.

U.S. works to speed solar energy development in the West [Los Angeles Times]