Regulations and Policies

Federal Register Notice – Amendments to ROW Regulations

Competitive Processes, Terms, and Conditions for Leasing Public Lands for Solar and Wind Energy Development and Technical Changes and Corrections, Dec. 19, 2016; FR Vol 81, No 243, pp. 92122-92230 (509 KB)

Instruction Memoranda

Instruction Memoranda (IMs) are temporary directives that supplement the BLM's permanent Manual Sections which provide direction for its programs. The BLM developed and issued several IM policies starting in 2004 to establish and refine a Solar Energy Development program. Many of the policies included in IMs were temporary and were superseded by the 2017 update to the ROW regulations.

Details on newer IMs related to solar energy development on BLM-administered public lands are provided on the Instruction Memoranda page, and include:

BLM Compensatory Mitigation Policy

IM 2021-038, issued on July 12, 2021.

Solar Energy Rental Policy

IM 2017-096, issued on September 14, 2017.

Solar Energy Applications—Technical and Financial Evaluations

IM 2017-099, issued September 14, 2017.