Protecting Ecosystem Services While Developing Renewable Energy: Bureau of Land Management Solar Energy Program

The Solar Energy Program was established by the Department of Interior in 2012 for the Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Solar Energy Development. Geographically, the Solar Energy Program covers approximately 100 million acres across six states across the southwestern U.S. The Solar Energy Program provides a framework for including ecosystem services into both large, regional scale assessments and localized project-level scopes. The program defines how utility-scale solar energy would be considered and developed on public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management, and also establishes solar energy right-of-way authorization policies and environmental impact minimization measures for industry use on public [...]