There may be room for solar power in President Donald Trump’s “energy dominance” push after all.
More than three months after the Interior Department placed a hold on permitting new wind, solar and geothermal power projects on federal lands, the Bureau of Land Management has indicated it could soon advance a handful of major solar projects that were close to finishing the permitting process at the time of Trump’s inauguration in January, according to BLM documents and emails viewed by POLITICO’s E&E News.
BLM would not confirm that it plans to complete the environmental reviews by the deadlines outlined in those documents. And the bureau has already missed initial deadlines to release environmental reviews on two large solar projects in Nevada. But the projects moving forward would be significant, eventually producing enough electricity to power hundreds of thousands of homes.
Now the question remains what happens with the dozens of other solar projects at the beginning of the permitting process. Will BLM going forward have the financial resources and staff to consider those amid the Trump administration’s government downsizing and proposed budget cuts?
