The Obama administration today finalized a plan to fast-track commercial solar development across more than a quarter-million acres of public lands in six Southwestern states, a move that was cheered by several environmental groups, developers and utilities.

The plan signed today by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar in Las Vegas will provide expedited permitting in 17 "solar energy zones" on Bureau of Land Management tracts in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah.

The 285,000 acres in the zones contain superb solar resources and access to existing or planned transmission and would minimize harm to sensitive wildlife and habitat, the agency said.

The plan provides a framework for landscape-level planning and should result in "faster, smarter utility-scale solar development" in the Southwest, Salazar said.

"Companies interested in developing solar energy facilities will know where they have to file those applications," Salazar said alongside Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Nevada BLM State Director Amy Lueders at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where the plan was first unveiled roughly two years ago.

The solar zones, if fully built out, would facilitate up to 23,700 megawatts of solar energy, which would power 7 million American homes, Interior said.

Development will also be allowed on 19 million acres of "variance" areas, though project approvals may be costlier and more time-consuming. The plan prohibits commercial solar plants on nearly 79 million acres.

The decision incorporates programmatic and zone-specific design features into 89 BLM land-use plans in the six-state study area. Revised policies and procedures will offer guidance to BLM staff on the processing of right-of-way applications for utility-scale solar energy projects.

The agency is currently using right-of-way grants to authorize solar developments, but has begun a separate rulemaking to consider leasing lands for wind and solar, similar to how oil and gas and geothermal is developed on public lands (Greenwire, Jan. 3).

"BLM will hold implementation training for BLM staff and other coordinating agencies following the issuance of the record of decision," BLM spokesman David Quick said in an email. "BLM will also provide outreach and informational forums for industry, interested stakeholders and members of the public."

Quick said the agency is encouraging developers interested in using public lands to contact state or local BLM offices to discuss the agency's procedures.

"Never before has the Interior Department worked so closely and collaboratively with the industry, conservationists and sportsmen alike to develop a sound, long-term plan for generating domestic energy from our nation's sun-drenched public lands," said Interior Deputy Secretary David Hayes in a statement.

The agency today also released a 69-page document responding to the protests it received from environmental groups, the solar industry and some utilities.

While substantive complaints were raised by the Center for Biological Diversity, Western Watersheds Project and other groups, most environmental groups have strongly supported the plan, as have major utilities.

The Natural Resources Defense Council, the Nature Conservancy, Audubon and the Wilderness Society issued a joint statement today in support of the plan with solar developers Brightsource Energy Inc., First Solar, Iberdrola Renewables and the Large-scale Solar Association, as well as utilities Pacific Gas & Electric Co. and Southern California Edison.

"We commend both Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Secretary of Energy Steven Chu for their leadership in promoting the collaborative processes associated with the development of the plan to provide a robust solar program and for ensuring the plan was completed in an open and transparent process," the groups said.

Jamie Williams, president of the Wilderness Society, said that the plan must prioritize development within the solar zones and that mitigating impacts through other conservation efforts will be critical.

"We can strike a balance between the various uses of our public lands when we recognize that not every use is right for every acre, and plan around our irreplaceable resources," he said. "For all their benefits, there is no doubt that renewable energy projects will have long-standing impacts on the land, wildlife and water resources, even within the approved zones."

But Lisa Belenky, a senior attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity in San Francisco, said that while the solar program is a step forward, her group still has significant concerns.

"We are concerned that the department did not have sufficient basis for the delination of the so-called variance lands which could undermine the careful planning for the zones," she said in an email. "Similarly, allowing a large number of projects already in the development pipeline outside of the zones to move forward may ultimately undermine the value of this planning process and the designation of the zones."

Defenders of Wildlife President Jamie Rappaport Clark was largely supportive of the plan but said it still allows unacceptable harm to vital habitat for the federally protected desert tortoise.

"BLM and the Fish and Wildlife Service should have taken a more cautious approach to exclude these areas or delay solar development until more scientific information became available on the impact of these projects on the species," she said in a statement. "Instead, they chose to merely 'discourage' development in these areas. This creates greater uncertainty for developers and could undermine the survival and long-term sustainability of a unique and iconic desert species."

Under the Obama administration, Interior has authorized 18 utility-scale solar facilities, seven wind farms and eight geothermal plants, the agency said.

Click here for more information on the BLM plan.