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U.S. Dept. of Interior Spurs Solar Energy Development
In an effort to develop domestic renewable energy production, the Department of the Interior released details on the Solar Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS). PEIS provides an outline for utility-scale solar energy development in six states — Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah.
The statement creates 17 Solar Energy Zones across those states, which comprise 285,000 acres of public land with the potential for future land additions. At capacity, nearly 24,000 megawatts of energy could be produced, powering 7 million houses. In addition, 19 million acres of additional land was noted for possible solar energy development outside of the Solar Energy Zones, as well as a process for mitigation, and the exclusion of nearly 80 million acres from the project for the protection of natural and cultural sites.