Department of the Interior Unlocks 31 Million Acres of Public Lands for Utility-Scale Solar and Storage

WASHINGTON — Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Director Tracy Stone-Manning announced on Monday the finalization of the updated Western Solar Plan and programmatic environmental impact statement, designating 31 million acres of public lands across eleven Western states as priority development zones for utility-scale solar energy and co-located battery storage.

The comprehensive land-use framework expands upon the original 2012 solar plan, incorporating five additional states—Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming—alongside Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah, directing clean energy development toward previously disturbed public lands near existing high-voltage transmission lines while permanently excluding sensitive wildlife corridors and cultural resources.

Powering 100 Million Homes with Responsible Clean Energy Development Federal energy analysts project that designated BLM solar zones have the potential to support over 700 gigawatts of clean photovoltaic electricity, providing the carbon-free power required to meet the nation's 100 percent clean electricity target by 2035.

"The Department of the Interior is committed to expanding clean energy development on our public lands while honoring our solemn responsibility to protect sacred cultural sites, wildlife habitats, and pristine landscapes," Secretary Deb Haaland said in Washington. "By guiding solar developers to low-conflict lands with existing transmission access, this updated Western Solar Plan will accelerate responsible renewable energy permitting, create thousands of good-paying union construction jobs, and power millions of American homes with clean energy."

Key Provisions of the Finalized Plan Under the Western Solar Plan:

• 31 Million Priority Acres: Identifying flat public lands with slope under 10 percent located within 15 miles of designated high-voltage transmission corridors.
• Strict Conservation Exclusions: Automatically excluding critical greater sage-grouse breeding grounds, desert tortoise habitats, and Native American sacred lands.
• Expedited NEPA Permitting: Compressing individual project environmental reviews from five years down to twelve months for developers selecting pre-screened priority zones.

Clean energy trade associations, building trades unions, and conservation organizations commended the balanced federal plan, highlighting that predictable zoning accelerates project delivery while preserving Western biodiversity.