US Government "Freezes" 70 Billion Watts of Solar Power Projects For Two Years

When we last saw our hero Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne he was extolling the benefits of increased off shore drilling claiming that no "substantial" amount  of oil was lost from sea drilling after the hurricanes Katrina and Rita swept through the Gulf of Mexico in 2005, despite the fact that oil slicks could be seen from space as shown by satellite photos after Katrina's passing.

(See previous post "John McCain Lied About Oil Not Being Spilled After Katrina and Rita and Conservative Pundits Have Been Making the Lie Bigger " for details)

But suddenly he is calling for a two year moratorium climate friendly solar power projects that could supply 20 million homes  in projects in development right now!

As everyone knows actions like this put a wet blanket on future development too. There has been some talk of even more efficient solar generators being developed in Israel with an eye on the money that could be made by bringing the technology to the huge American market.  Much of this solar power doesn't rely on expensive silicon panels either, but on the heating ability of the sun when properly focused.

I can see that some environment evaluations might be good, but Mr. K., we're in a bit of a crisis here!  We need power that doesn't put out gases associated with global warming and we need that now!

I really hate to feel like the Bush administration is intentionally stalling solar power projects to make a crisis worse so that the need to distribute licenses for off shore drilling will seem more critical. I mean everyone already thinks that the Bush administration and the Republican party in general favor Big Oil and even Big Nuclear because of these industries' ties to big campaign contributions (as well as past history with major players in the White House).  But you guys are sure making it hard not to suspect more nefarious orders coming out of that undisclosed location where the guy with the pacemaker resides.

Environmental News Service reports in "Feds Freeze Western Solar Power for Environmental Analysis"

 The federal government is calling a halt to new applications for solar power developments on public land in six western states while the 125 applications now in the pipeline are evaluated.

The evaluation of both current and future applications will depend on the results of an environmental impact statement that will be the joint responsibility of the Bureau of Land Management, BLM, and the Department of Energy, DOE, the agencies announced earlier this month.

...

"Preparing a programmatic EIS [environmental impact statement] is a necessary first step in evaluating to what extent public lands with high solar energy potential may be able to help meet the Nation's need for renewable energy," said BLM Director Jim Caswell.

Um can I ask where these guys have been for 7.5 years?????  Surely something could have been worked up before now!

I read about one of these projects 9 months ago (some of this development has been spurred by California's push for green energy which I haven't studied throughly, but I assume includes tax breaks which is why so much of this was slated to be built in our state).

The total inanity of calling a moratorium on this now to do some environmental impact reports while pushing for offshore drilling for more greenhouse gas producing oil is breathtaking.

The New York Times report "Citing Need for Assessments, U.S. Freezes Solar Energy Projects " includes:

While proponents of solar energy agree on the need for a sweeping environmental study, many believe that the freeze is unwarranted. Some, like Ms. Gordon, whose company has two pending proposals for solar plants on public land, say small solar energy businesses could suffer if they are forced to turn to more expensive private land for development.

The industry is already concerned over the fate of federal solar investment tax credits, which are set to expire at the end of the year unless Congress renews them. The moratorium, combined with an end to tax credits, would deal a double blow to an industry that, solar advocates say, has experienced significant growth without major environmental problems.

“The problem is that this is a very young industry, and the majority of us that are involved are young, struggling, hungry companies,” said Lee Wallach of Solel, a solar power company based in California that has filed numerous applications to build on public land and was considering filing more in the next two years. “This is a setback.”

... 

[Some] warned the bureau against becoming mired in its own bureaucratic processes on solar energy, while parts of the West are already humming with new oil and gas development. 

But thanks Mr. K for making the image of the Bush administration even more like the worst of all possible governments.

More  from ENS:

The 125 existing applications are for land covering almost one million acres and with the potential to generate 70 billion watts of electricity, or enough to power 20 million average American homes.

The environmental impact statement will establish a process for accepting future applications, possibly through a competitive process, which is likely to attract companies with the experience and resources necessary to quickly deploy solar energy projects.

 I call "Bullshit".  For one thing the language in italics in the paragraph above sounds suspiciously like the boilerplate that handed Iraq contracts to KBR and other big Republican campaign donors.  Big Republican campaign donors being the operative words there.  Pikers need not apply.  It is a campaign year isn't it?

The Boston Globe's Green Blog tells us in US freezes building of new solar plants on federal lands:

“It doesn’t make any sense,” Holly Gordon, vice president for legislative and regulatory affairs for Ausra, a California-based solar thermal energy company, told the Times. “The Bureau of Land Management land has some of the best solar resources in the world. This could completely stunt the growth of the industry.”

The move comes as countries such as Germany have issued sweeping incentives to attract more solar resources, as a way to stimulate energy independence from fossil fuels and Middle East oil producers, as well as try to make a dent in a worsening greenhouse gas problem. Some growing US producers, such as Marlborough-based Evergreen Solar, have big contracts with German companies. 

The New York Times report "Citing Need for Assessments, U.S. Freezes Solar Energy Projects" adds:

Much of the 119 million surface acres of federally administered land in the West is ideal for solar energy, particularly in Arizona, Nevada and Southern California, where sunlight drenches vast, flat desert tracts.

Galvanized by the national demand for clean energy development, solar companies have filed more than 130 proposals with the Bureau of Land Management since 2005. They center on the companies’ desires to lease public land to build solar plants and then sell the energy to utilities.

...

While proponents of solar energy agree on the need for a sweeping environmental study, many believe that the freeze is unwarranted. Some, like Ms. Gordon, whose company has two pending proposals for solar plants on public land, say small solar energy businesses could suffer if they are forced to turn to more expensive private land for development.

The industry is already concerned over the fate of federal solar investment tax credits, which are set to expire at the end of the year unless Congress renews them. The moratorium, combined with an end to tax credits, would deal a double blow to an industry that, solar advocates say, has experienced significant growth without major environmental problems.

“The problem is that this is a very young industry, and the majority of us that are involved are young, struggling, hungry companies,” said Lee Wallach of Solel, a solar power company based in California that has filed numerous applications to build on public land and was considering filing more in the next two years. “This is a setback.” 

tags: solar power  interior department  green house gases  global warming  

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