US Interior Secretary Haaland touts solar energy in desert visit

U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland visited the California desert on Saturday to promote industrial solar farms and other major renewable projects on public lands in the West.

"The demand for renewable energy has never been greater," she said at a sun-splashed outdoor press briefing at the Bureau of Land Management's Palm Springs office. "The technological advances, increased interest, cost-effectiveness and tremendous economic potential make these projects a promising path for diversifying our energy portfolio."

Haaland said the Department of Interior is working with states, cities and tribes "to meet our goal of permitting at least 25 gigawatts of onshore renewable energy by 2025."

One gigawatt is roughly the size of two coal-fired power plants and can power 750,000 homes. There are an estimated 97.2 gigawatts in operation in the U.S. currently, according to the Department of Energy, or enough to power 18 million homes. 

Haaland, along with other top federal officials, sees using portions of vast federal lands to build new renewable energy as critical to cutting fossil fuel emissions, slowing rapid climate change and boosting local economies. That includes across the Mojave and Sonoran deserts in select areas.

She said the Bureau of Land Management is currently processing 49 onshore clean energy projects proposed on public lands in the western United States, including 36 solar projects, four wind projects, four geothermal projects and five interconnect "gen tie" lines that she said "are vital" to connect to clean energy projects proposed on non-federal land.

"These projects have the combined potential to add over 24,500 megawatts of renewable energy to the western electric grid." 

A megawatt can power between 400 and 900 homes. The share of electricity from solar "farms"  in the U.S. that use photovoltaic panels or concentrating solar thermal power technology is still small — just over 3% —  but is growing, according to the energy department. 

Deflecting Concerns

Haaland didn't directly respond to a question about concerns from area environmentalists and some Native Americans about loss of critical habitat for species and possible destruction of sacred sites during construction of renewable energy facilities. Haaland, who is the first Native American U.S. Cabinet member, instead said the entire Biden administration, not just her department, has made it a top priority to consult with sovereign tribes early and often on major initiatives.

She said in her prepared remarks that "at every step of the way" on its renewable energy plans, "Interior will undertake ...  broad engagement, including fishermen, outdoor enthusiasts, sovereign tribal nations, states, territories, local officials, agricultural and forest land owners and others to ...  reflect the priorities of every single community."

That's a tall order. U.S. Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Palm Desert, who was at Haaland's side on Saturday, said that in California, the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan had been carefully hammered out during the Obama administration to ensure important areas and cultural artifacts were conserved, while other areas are bulldozed and built on.

BLM California Director Karen Mouritsen said at the press event that possible refinements to the desert plan are being discussed with various groups to meet its aims. In the past, for instance, biologists have noted desert tortoises, rare wild flowers or other species in areas slated for development, while not seeing them in some areas conserved for them.  

Ruiz sees solar and lithium projects as critical not just to the U.S., but to the region.

"It is our signature, our competitive advantage to produce renewable energy," he said. "You can't talk about solar ... without talking about what we have going on in eastern Riverside County. The 36th district is a national leader in renewable energy, in fact we produce more solar energy on federal land than any other congressional district in the country."

Haaland and Ruiz also celebrated the recently enacted $1 trillion federal bipartisan infrastructure law, saying it would help repair aging infrastructure, get clean drinking water to children and others and modernize broadband and other critical systems.

Haaland deferred to top Interior department appointees when asked about continued drought and worsening shortages in the Colorado River system, which provides water for eight Western states and Mexico.

Rural water districts in the Coachella and Imperial valleys hold senior rights to the water under a 1922 Colorado River compact and court case law, but some say as interior secretary, she or other officials at her direction could open up the compact for new negotiations or take other emergency action. Water experts say if she did, districts that hold senior rights would probably take the matter all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

After the press event, Haaland and Ruiz toured the 550-megawatt Desert Sunlight solar farm off Interstate 10 north of Desert Center, and visited a natural resources conservation site managed by BLM near Corn Springs. The area  was a major site for prehistoric Native American Indian groups. The petroglyphs at Corn Springs are considered one of the finest examples of rock art in the Colorado Desert, covering a 10,000 year span.

The desert stops are part of a multi-day swing by Haaland across the Southwest, including attending the Western Governors Conference in Coronado on Thursday, touring a Wilmington neighborhood hard hit by pollution from oil and gas extraction and diesel trucks, speaking with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti about funds to plug abandoned old oil wells, and now heading to Las Vegas for a major water conference.

Janet Wilson is senior environment reporter for The Desert Sun, and co-authors USA Today Climate Point. She can be reached at jwilson@gannett.com or @janetwilson66 on Twitter