Bureau of Land Management
Solar Energy Program
Western Solar Plan
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Palm Springs-South Coast Field Office is initiating environmental review and public scoping on an environmental analysis and land-use plan amendment on the Oberon Solar Project. The BLM is seeking public comments on issues, planning criteria, concerns, potential impacts, alternatives, and mitigation measures that should be considered in the analysis.
For more information and to submit comments, visit the Oberon Solar Project website on the BLM National NEPA Register.
A virtual public scoping meeting on the Oberon Solar Project is scheduled for April 13, 2021, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Pacific Time. To join the meeting, use the link or phone number above.
For more information, visit the Oberon Solar Project website on the BLM National NEPA Register.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) invites the public to participate in an informational pre-application virtual workshop for the Shiprock Solar Project on May 27, from 6 - 8 p.m.
For more information, see the New Mexico news announcement entitled BLM Will Hold an Informational Pre-Application Virtual Workshop for the Shiprock Solar Project.
The BLM Las Vegas Field Office is seeking public comments on a Draft Environmental Impact Statement analyzing the environmental impacts of the proposed Yellow Pine Solar Project in Clark County, Nevada.
For more information, see the news announcement entitled Yellow Pine Solar Project Draft EIS Public Comment Period.
The BLM Rock Springs Field Office is seeking public comments on the Plan of Development for the Raven Solar Energy Project in Sweetwater County, Wyoming.
For more information, see the news announcement entitled Wyoming – Raven Solar Energy Project Review.
The BLM will hold an informational workshop regarding the Orion Solar facility proposed on BLM‑administered public lands south of Interstate 10, 30 miles east of Quartzsite.
For more information, see the Arizona news announcement entitled BLM Holds Informational Workshop Feb. 19 on Proposed Orion Solar Facility Near Quartzsite.
The Bureau of Land Management Las Vegas Field Office is seeking public comments on the proposed Yellow Pine Solar Project in Clark County, Nevada, approximately 10 miles southeast of Pahrump, Nevada.
For more information, see the Nevada news announcement entitled BLM Seeks Comments on Yellow Pine Solar Project Near Pahrump.
The Bureau of Land Management Las Vegas Field Office is seeking public comments on the proposed Gemini Solar Project in Clark County, Nevada, 25 miles northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada.
For more information, see the Nevada news announcement entitled BLM Seeks Comments on Gemini Solar Project Near Las Vegas.
The public review and comment period on the draft environmental assessment for proposed parcels within the Milford Flats South SEZ closes at midnight Sunday, May 20, 2018. Comments are most useful when they identify issues relevant to the proposed action or contain new technical or scientific information. Comments that contain only opinions or preferences will not receive a formal response, but may be considered in the BLM decision-making process.
For more information, see the May 1, 2018, Utah news announcement.
A public meeting will be hosted by the BLM Cedar City Field Office to answer questions related to the draft environmental assessment for proposed parcels within the Milford Flats South SEZ.
For more information, see the May 1, 2018, Utah news announcement.
The BLM will host a second public workshop to discuss the Solar Regional Mitigation Strategy (SRMS) for the Afton Solar Energy Zone (SEZ) in New Mexico. The workshop objectives are to present: (1) SRMS progress to date on residual impacts, impacts warranting mitigation, and goals and objectives, (2) present candidate mitigation site locations and actions nominated for consideration, and (3) provide an open forum for discussion and solicit thoughts on evaluating candidate mitigation sites.
For more information, see the Afton SEZ SRMS Project Website.
A symposium on the Technical Review of Research Related to Avian-Solar Interactions will be held on August 16, 2017, at the DoubleTree Sacramento Hotel, Sacramento, CA.
For more information, see the symposium website.
The BLM requests submission of candidate mitigation location and action recommendations by July 21, 2017.
For more information, see the June 29, 2017, New Mexico news announcement and the Afton SRMS Project Website.
BLM is seeking additional candidate site locations and action recommendations by February 17, 2017.
For more information, see the Utah SRMS Project Website.
BLM requests comments on the revised impact tables, impacts warranting regional mitigation, and goals and objectives by January 31, 2017.
For more information, see the Utah SRMS Project Website.
Jayme Lopez, principal author, will host a webinar on the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recent Competitive Leasing Rule for Solar and Wind Energy Development. This webinar, which is intended for members of industry, non-governmental organizations, local, state, and federal regulators, and the general public, will provide an overview of key elements of the new rule.
For more information, see the December 22, 2016, news announcement.
Public workshop to discuss the Solar Regional Mitigation Strategy (SRMS) for three SEZs in Utah: Escalante Valley, Milford Flats South, and Wah Wah Valley. The workshop objectives are to present: 1) SRMS progress to date on residual impacts, impacts warranting mitigation, and goals and objectives, 2) present candidate mitigation site locations and actions nominated for consideration, and 3) provide an open forum for discussion and solicit thoughts on evaluating candidate mitigation sites.
For more information, see the Utah SRMS Project Website.
BLM requests submissions of candidate site location and action recommendations and comments on the webinar information by November 15, 2016.
For more information, see the Utah SRMS Project Website.
BLM requests comments on draft impacts that may warrant regional mitigation, goals and objectives, and additional workshop materials available on the Afton SRMS Project Website.
For more information, see the October 10, 2016, New Mexico news announcement.
The BLM will host a webinar to discuss the Solar Regional Mitigation Strategy (SRMS) for SEZs in Utah. The webinar will focus on how the compensatory mitigation amount will be determined and managed.
For more information, see the Utah SRMS Project Website.
BLM is requesting stakeholder input on Utah SRMS webinar content and other documents by October 5, 2016.
For more information, see the Utah SRMS Project Website.
The BLM will host a webinar to discuss the Solar Regional Mitigation Strategy (SRMS) for the Afton SEZ in New Mexico. The webinar will focus on an updated assessment of residual impacts based on stakeholder input, a preliminary assessment of impacts warranting compensatory mitigation, and a preview of regional goals and objectives and draft mitigation desired outcomes.
For more information, see the September 22, 2016, New Mexico news announcement.
The multiagency Avian-Solar Collaborative Working Group (CWG) is asking the public to review and provide comments on the draft Avian-Solar Science Plan.
For more information and to view the Science Plan, please see the Multiagency Avian-Solar Collaborative Working Group web page.
Public webinar to present the draft Avian-Solar Science Plan and address initial stakeholder questions. If you are interested in attending the public webinar, please RSVP by August 30th to [email protected].
For more information and to view the Science Plan, please see the Multiagency Avian-Solar Collaborative Working Group web page.
The BLM will host a webinar to discuss the Solar Regional Mitigation Strategy (SRMS) for SEZs in Utah. The webinar will focus on an updated assessment of residual impacts based on stakeholder input, a preliminary assessment of impacts warranting compensatory mitigation, and a preview of regional goals and objectives, desired mitigation outcomes and potential mitigation actions.
For more information, see the Utah SRMS Project Website.
To inform development of the Avian-Solar Science Plan, the agencies will host a public workshop May 10-11, 2016 in Sacramento, CA. The purpose of this workshop will be to share information and receive public input regarding (1) the multiagency CWG, (2) related ongoing initiatives, (3) the purpose of the Avian-Solar Science Plan, and (4) preliminary elements of the plan. If you are interested in attending this workshop, please send an email to [email protected].
For more information, please see the Multiagency Avian-Solar Collaborative Working Group webpage.
The BLM is developing a Solar Regional Mitigation Strategy (SRMS) for the Afton solar energy zone (SEZ) in New Mexico. The BLM will host a public workshop on May 3rd, beginning the public process.
For more information, see the Afton SEZ SRMS Project Website.
The BLM is asking the public to review and provide comments on the Draft Regional Mitigation Strategy for three Colorado Solar Energy Zones (SEZs), which can be found on the Colorado SRMS Project Website.
For more information, see the BLM News Release.
The BLM is developing a Solar Regional Mitigation Strategy (SRMS) for three solar energy zones (SEZs) in Utah: Escalante Valley, Milford Flats South, and Wah Wah Valley. The BLM will host a public workshop on April 19th and 20th, beginning the public process.
For more information, see the Utah SRMS Project Website.
Webinar to present the contents of the draft Regional Mitigation Strategy for Colorado Solar Energy Zones document and address stakeholder questions. The document can be found on the Colorado SRMS project website.
The BLM is asking the public to review and provide comments on the Draft Riverside East Solar Energy Zone Long-Term Monitoring Strategy.
Public webinar to discuss the Riverside East Solar Energy Zone Long-Term Monitoring and Adaptive Management Strategy. The BLM will present its recently completed draft monitoring plan for the Riverside East SEZ and provide an open forum for discussion, questions, comments, and clarifications.
For more information, see the October 12, 2015, California news announcement.
The BLM is asking the public to review and provide comments on the Draft Regional Mitigation Strategy for the Arizona Solar Energy Zones (SEZs), which can be found on the Arizona SRMS Project Website.
For more information, see the September 4, 2015, Arizona news announcement.
The BLM will host a third public workshop to discuss the Draft Solar Regional Mitigation Strategy (SRMS) for three SEZs in Arizona: Agua Caliente, Brenda, and Gillespie.
For more information, see the September 4, 2015, Arizona news announcement.
The BLM is asking the public to review and provide comments on the Draft Regional Mitigation Strategy for the Dry Lake Valley North SEZ, which can be found on the Dry Lake Valley North Project Website. Written comments may be submitted to the BLM Ely District Office, HC 33 Box 33500, Ely, NV, 89301, Attn: Dan Netcher or via email to [email protected].
For more information, see the August 14, 2015, Nevada news announcement.
Webinar to present the contents of the Dry Lake Valley North SEZ draft Solar Regional Mitigation Strategy document and address stakeholder questions.
For more information, see the July 27, 2015, Nevada news announcement.
Public webinar to discuss the Solar Regional Mitigation Strategy (SRMS) for three Colorado solar energy zones (SEZs). The webinar objectives are to: 1) review stakeholder comments; 2) provide an update on regional goals and objectives; 3) review candidate site matrix revisions and additional spatial site narrowing criteria; and 4) present a draft approach to identifying the mitigation obligation.
For more information, see the July 1, 2015, Colorado news announcement.
BLM is seeking public comments on the Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Luning Solar Energy Project in Nevada through June 8, 2015. For more information, see the BLM news release and the BLM Nevada Carson City District Office NEPA page.
Stakeholders are requested to provide:
Documents are available on the Colorado SRMS project website. BLM would prefer to receive specific input directly on the Word files through Comments and corrections made in Track Changes. Documents and comments should be sent to [email protected].
The workshop objectives are to: 1) review and collaborate on regional mitigation goals and objectives for the Antonito Southeast, De Tilla Gulch, and Los Mogotes East SEZs, 2) review progress on assessment of impacts for air quality, visual, and cultural resources, 3) present proposed candidate site for consideration, and 4) conduct a group exercise on criteria for and scoring of the candidate sites.
For more information, see the May 8, 2015, Colorado news announcement.
Please provide comments on:
The documents have been posted to the Arizona SRMS project website.
If submitting revisions to the Word version documents, please use track changes and include organization name in revised filename. Please send comments to Lane Cowger, BLM Project Manager, at [email protected].
Please provide comments on:
Materials from the February 5 webinar, including the Candidate Sites Screening matrix, are available on the Colorado SRMS project website.
Send comments to [email protected]
The webinar will focus on regional mitigation fee calculation.
The dial-in number for the webinar is: 1-888-850-4523; Passcode: 672617
For more information, see the March 23, 2015, Arizona news announcement.
Webinar to revisit Arizona solar energy zone regional mitigation goals and candidate mitigation site locations.
Dial-in Number: 1-888-850-4523; Passcode 672617
For more information, see the February 20, 2015, Arizona news announcement.
Topics: Regional Mitigation Goals and a Process to Nominate Candidate Mitigation Site Locations.
Dial-in Number: 1-888-850-4523; Passcode 473080
For more information, see the Colorado Solar Regional Mitigation Strategy project website Documents page.
Please provide comments on:
Send comments to [email protected]
For more information and to submit comments, see the following:
Discussion of stakeholder comments on Landscape Assessment and Impact Assessment; preliminary recommendations on impacts that may warrant regional mitigation. Dial-in Number: 1-888-850-4523; Passcode 473080
For more information, see the November 25, 2014, Colorado news announcement.
For more information, see the November 21, 2014, and September 30, 2014, BLM Solar Program news announcements.
Please provide comments on:
Send comments to [email protected]
For more information, see the Arizona SRMS Workshop Documents page of the BLM's website.
Summary of Proposed Rule and Questions and Answers
For more information, see the November 21, 2014, BLM Solar Program news announcement.
Discussion of Goals/Objectives and Candidate Mitigation Locations
For more information, see the October 16, 2014, Arizona news announcement.
For more information, see the August 28, 2014, Colorado news announcement.
For more information, see the August 28, 2014, Colorado news announcement.
For more information, see the August 28, 2014, Colorado news announcement.
For more information, see the August 28, 2014, Colorado news announcement.
For more information, see the June 12, 2014, Arizona news announcement.
Webinar to to discuss the Riverside East Solar Energy Zone Long-Term Monitoring and Adaptive Management Strategy.
For more information, see the March 4, 2014, Arizona news announcement.
The BLM is also asking the public to review and provide comment on a draft assessment of unavoidable impacts associated with the development of the 25,069-acre Dry Lake Valley North SEZ in Lincoln County, Nevada that may warrant off-site mitigation. The public is also invited to submit candidate sites where such mitigation actions might occur. See also the project website.
For more information, see the October 29, 2013, California news announcement.
ROD