by Nick Pope
The Biden administration on Thursday proposed opening up tens of millions of acres of public lands to solar energy development after imposing restrictions on oil and gas activities in vast swaths of Alaska.
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) rolled out The agency’s proposed “Western Solar Plan,” which would put about 31 million acres in 11 Western states on the table for possible solar development. The agency’s solar plan comes on the heels of its Tuesday announcement that it finalized protection for 28 million acres of public lands in Alaska, effectively to prohibit oil and gas extraction activities in the area.
“The updated Western Solar Plan is a responsible, pragmatic strategy for developing solar energy on our nation’s public lands that supports national clean energy goals and the nation’s long-term energy security,” said BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning said of the Western Solar Plan. “It will drive responsible solar development in places with fewer potential conflicts while helping the nation transition to a clean energy economy, supporting BLM’s mission to maintain the health, diversity, and productivity of public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.”
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The Western Solar Plan does not specifically authorize any specific solar projects, according to the BLM. The plan is consistent with Biden administration priorities, such as transitioning the U.S. to a 100% carbon-free economy power grid by 2035, fighting climate change and implementing the “environmental justice.”
The BLM’s restrictive actions in Alaska earlier this week are the latest example of the Biden administration’s efforts to restrict fossil fuel activities on public lands and waters. The administration tried stop modern oil and gas leases on federally controlled lands and waters in 2021 in courts he intervenedhe spent the most modest five-year timeline of offshore oil leasing in contemporary U.S. history, retroactive canceled oil and gas leases and narrow future development in an area of approximately half the Alaska National Petroleum Reserve (NPR-A).
Since 2021, the Biden administration has imposed at least 55 executive orders and mandates targeting Alaska specifically, According to to the office of Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski.
BLM did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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Nick Pope is a reporter at the Daily Caller News Foundation.
