Where I Stand:

Here is a win-win for clean energy on federal land

As he does every August, Brian Greenspun is taking some time off and is turning over his Where I Stand column to others. This week’s columnist is Ron Lurie, former mayor of Las Vegas.

Last year around this time I wrote an article highlighting a groundbreaking event at the Dry Lake Solar Energy Zone (SEZ), about 25 miles north of town. For the first time, the Bureau of Land Management auctioned off, in a competitive process, parcels of federal land to wind and solar energy developers.

The Dry Lake Solar Energy Zone lease sale was by all accounts a great success. The parcels awarded to the successful bidders generated nearly $6 million in auction revenue, and perhaps more impressive, through the lease sale the BLM took a big first step toward implementing the goals of its Western Solar Plan.

Finalized in October 2012, the BLM’s Western Solar Plan was created to provide comprehensive guidance on solar development across the West. Among other things, the plan is aimed at cutting down the amount of time it takes the agency to permit projects, while at the same time ensuring projects are sited in areas with minimal impact to natural resources and other land uses.

The BLM recently announced the final project approvals for developers awarded leases in the Dry Lake zone. When completed, the three projects green-lighted by the agency will generate upwards of 440 megawatts of energy — enough to power more than 130,000 homes.

Moreover, the time it takes to launch these projects has been significantly cut. Where the BLM once was taking two to three years to permit new wind and solar energy projects on federal land, the Western Solar Plan has now provided the agency the tools to lease parcels of land, perform permit and environmental reviews, and award final project decisions in less than a year.

As a former city councilman and mayor of Las Vegas, I can appreciate the challenges that come with large-scale planning processes. What the BLM has accomplished with its Western Solar Plan, and most recently in the Dry Lake Solar Energy Zone, is impressive.

But more can and should be done to improve renewable-energy development on federal land.

Wind, solar and geothermal energy projects that set up shop on federal lands in Nevada will inevitably create additional resource burdens for the communities around them. New roads will need constructing and local services will have to be increased. For rural communities with already-tight budgets, these uncompensated demands can’t be met.

It only seems right that if Nevada is going to support these types of projects and fully realize the job-growth benefits they come with, our communities and local governments share in the revenues they generate.

The good news is that there is a solution: the Public Land Renewable Energy Development Act (S 1407/HR 2663).

The bill, introduced recently by Sen. Dean Heller and Rep. Joe Heck, would redirect a portion of the royalty revenues generated by federal land wind, solar and geothermal energy projects to the state agencies and counties where the projects are sited.

Under the bill, a similar portion of lease revenues would be available for fish and wildlife habitat conservation and enhanced recreational access to public lands.

As a lifelong hunter and conservationist, I know healthy herds of game and streams filled with fish are direct functions of healthy habitat. Properly siting projects can go a long way toward minimizing impacts to land and water resources, but it can’t prevent all of the impacts that come with development. Nevada has a rich sporting heritage with close ties to public lands; that heritage should not be compromised for the sake of energy development.

The Public Land Renewable Energy Development Act provides a common-sense path forward for states such as Nevada. With this bill we can tap our renewable-energy potential in a way that safeguards our communities and protects our natural resources. It’s a win-win. In cosponsoring the House version of this bill, Reps. Mark Amodei, Dina Titus and Cresent Hardy all agree this is a needed piece of public policy for the state.

Ron Lurie is a former mayor and city councilman in Las Vegas.

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