Environmental Study Supports Plans to
Facilitate Wind Energy
Development on Public Lands
WASHINGTON— In remarks today before the Congressional Renewable
Energy EXPO in Washington, D.C., Assistant Secretary of the Interior for
Land and Minerals Management Rebecca Watson announced the completion and
availability of a study that addresses the environmental, social and economic
impacts associated with the development of wind energy on public lands.
Watson noted that the study, The Final Programmatic Environmental
Impact Statement on Wind Energy Development on BLM-Administered Lands
in the Western United States, focuses on public land administered
by BLM in 11 western states, excluding Alaska.
“Our quality of life and economic security are dependent on a stable
and abundant supply of affordable energy,” Watson said. “Encouraging
the production and development of renewable energy sources, including
wind energy, on our public lands is a way to help meet the energy needs
of the nation, as well as those of growing communities in the West.”
The study analyzes three alternatives for managing wind energy development
on BLM- administered lands: 1) the proposed action, which would implement
a Wind Energy Development Program, establish policies and best-management
practices for wind energy right-of-way authorizations, and amend 52 BLM
land-use plans; 2) the no-action alternative, which would allow continued
wind energy development under the terms and conditions of the BLM Interim
Wind Energy Development Policy, and 3) a limited-wind-energy-development
alternative, which would allow wind-energy development only in selected
locations.
“This EIS proposes a consistent, agency-wide approach to wind energy
permitting that will support and expedite site-specific analysis of individual
wind projects,” Watson said. “What this means in plain English
is that BLM has laid the environmental groundwork to speed up the permitting
of wind energy in the 11 western public-land states. It should pave the
way for development of more than 3200 megawatts of wind energy on public
lands in 11 western states. That’s enough energy to power almost
one million homes.”
The EIS examines issues common to most wind energy development projects,
adopts best- management practices to minimize impacts and amends land-use
plans to facilitate wind development. Along with the proposed land-use
plan amendments, the Final Programmatic EIS also includes the identification
of specific areas where wind energy development would not be allowed.
The proposed land-use plan amendments are designed to facilitate preparation
and consideration of potential wind energy development right-of-way applications
on BLM-administered lands, but not to eliminate the need for site-specific
analysis of individual development proposals.
The Final Programmatic EIS comes in response to recommendations set forth
in the president’s National Energy Policy, which encourages the
development of renewable energy resources on public lands. Work on the
EIS began in October 2003 and included extensive community meetings in
the West and opportunities for public comment. The document addresses
wind- energy development on BLM-administered lands in Arizona, California,
Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington
and Wyoming.
The Final Programmatic EIS is posted on the Web at [http://windeis.anl.gov]
and will be published in the Federal Register
on June 24, 2005.
Public lands administered by the Interior Department produce approximately
one-half of geothermal, 17 percent of hydropower and 7 percent of the
wind energy in the United States.
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