The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently released a draft roadmap — known as the updated Western Solar Plan — that outlines proposed solar energy development across the West.  The plan is designed to expand solar energy production overall, and to streamline siting and project permitting on U.S. public lands.

The plan is an update of BLM’s 2012 Western Solar Plan, that identified land having high solar potential and low resource conflicts to guide responsible solar development in the original six states — Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah. The updated plan adds areas in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming. Read more