Bureau of Land Management
Solar Energy Permitting and Program Resources
In January 2016, the BLM joined with other federal and state agencies to establish a multiagency Avian-Solar Collaborative Working Group (CWG) to address issues related to potential avian-solar impacts. Specifically, the CWG was established to promote better understanding of avian-solar issues and to develop an Avian-Solar Science Coordination Plan to provide a framework for future research needed to support agency decisions regarding utility-scale solar development. The Science Coordination Plan (Plan) was published on November 30, 2016 (see below).
Other agencies participating in the CWG included the U.S. Department of Energy, Solar Energy Technologies Office (DOE); U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; U.S. Geological Survey; U.S. Department of Defense; and state energy and wildlife agencies from Arizona, California, and Nevada.
The CWG is no longer active. Please contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for information on current policy regarding avian-solar interactions.
The CWG issued a number of documents and hosted several public events. CWG documents and information about past CWG events are available below.
In 2016, the CWG released the final Avian-Solar Science Coordination Plan (PDF, 2.0 MB). The objectives of this Plan were to identify and prioritize research on avian-solar interactions needed to better inform decisions on solar siting and permitting, and the implementation of monitoring, minimization, and mitigation measures.
The CWG also prepared a Fact Sheet to summarize the Science Coordination Plan (PDF, 242 KB).
A summary of substantive changes to the draft Plan (PDF, 120 KB) was also prepared.
A Technical Symposium on Avian-Solar Interactions was held on August 16, 2017, in Sacramento, California. The objectives of this technical symposium were to:
More details about the 2017 symposium, along with the agenda and presentation files, can be found at the symposium website.
The multiagency CWG held a public workshop on May 10-11, 2016 in Sacramento, CA. The purpose of this workshop was to share information on avian-solar interactions and obtain public input regarding (1) the multiagency CWG, (2) related ongoing initiatives, (3) the purpose of the Avian-Solar Science Coordination Plan, and (4) preliminary elements of the plan.
Workshop documents, including presentation slides, are available below.
The CWG held a public webinar on Augusts 31, 2016 to present the draft Science Coordination Plan to the public and address initial stakeholder questions. In conjunction with the August webinar, a draft version of the Plan was released for public review and comments were accepted through mid-September 2016. Webinar documents are provided below.
Links to other relevant documents are provided below.