Arizona State Office
| Contacts: | Dennis Godfrey (602) 417-9499 | |||
| Eddie Arreola (602) 417-9505 |
Plans for Solar Energy Project to be Unveiled to Public
Phoenix -- A proposed solar energy project near Maricopa, Arizona, will be the focus of a public meeting and open house on February 5.
When: 5:30 to 8 p.m., Tuesday, February 5, 2013.
Where: Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Course Clubhouse, 48456 West Highway 238, Maricopa.
Who: Marisol Energy 2, LLC, is hosting the meeting.
What: The Maricopa Solar Park Project is a 300-megawatt photovoltaic plant, proposed to be built on public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Information on the company, the project, and potential public involvement will be provided.
The proposed site is west of Maricopa and immediately north of the Sonoran Desert National Monument.
The meeting, which is required by the BLM’s Programmatic Solar standards, is an opportunity for the company to introduce itself, explain the proposed project, and collect informal information on public concerns and issues.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2011, recreational and other activities on BLM-managed land contributed more than $130 billion to the U.S. economy and supported more than 600,000 American jobs. The Bureau is also one of a handful of agencies that collects more revenue than it spends. In FY 2012, nearly $5.7 billion will be generated on lands managed by the BLM, which operates on a $1.1 billion budget. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.