Interior makes renewable energy production a top priority

In signing his first order since taking office, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Wednesday signaled a major priority shift in public lands management, saying the department will increase its focus on the production, development and transmission of electricity created from renewable sources.

The order will have far-reaching consequences, as the Interior Department manages one-fifth of the country's landmass and more than 1.7 billion acres offshore. It's also sure to generate concern among oil and gas developers, who could see their clout diminished by the elevation of renewable energy priorities, and among environmentalists, who fear expanded electric transmission corridors could harm vulnerable species.

Salazar said a top order of business will be to reduce the backlog of more than 200 applications for permits to develop renewable energy on public lands.

The directive also creates an energy and climate change task force that will identify specific zones on public land where Interior can facilitate large-scale renewable energy projects quickly. A key element of developing these projects successfully will be approving transmission rights-of-way applications to deliver the energy to consumers, Salazar said.

"We have to connect the sun of the deserts and the wind of the plains with the places where people live," he said. Wherever necessary, he said, the department will revise existing policies or create new ones to achieve the Obama administration's goal of putting the country on a cleaner energy path.

Interior's Bureau of Land Management has identified 21 million acres of public land with wind energy potential in 11 Western states, 29 million acres with solar energy potential in six Southwestern states, and 140 million acres in the West and Alaska that have geothermal potential.

Salazar also noted the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo., has identified more than 1,000 gigawatts of wind potential off the Atlantic Coast and more than 900 gigawatts off the Pacific Coast.

To facilitate offshore wind development projects the Minerals Management Service will soon finalize new regulations for renewable energy, he said.

Interior will continue to develop oil and gas resources responsibly, but Salazar said the department in the past had failed to capitalize on the "huge potential" for renewable energy development on public land.