White House Announces New Renewable Energy Projects

Obama Administration announces seven major renewable energy projects to be expedited

As a part of his We Can’t Wait initiative, President Barack Obama recently announced that seven nationally and regionally significant solar and wind energy projects will be expedited, including projects in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Wyoming. Together, these job-creating infrastructure projects would produce nearly 5,000 megawatts (MW) of clean energy, enough to power approximately 1.5 million homes, and support the President’s all-of-the-above strategy to expand American made energy.

As a part of a Presidential Executive Order issued in March of this year, the Office of Management and Budget is charged with overseeing a government-wide effort to make the permitting and review process for infrastructure projects more efficient and effective, saving time while driving better outcomes for the environment and local communities.

“As part of President Obama’s all-of-the-above strategy to expand domestic energy production and strengthen the economy, we are working to advance smart development of renewable energy on our public lands,” said Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. “These seven proposed solar and wind projects have great potential to grow our nation’s energy independence, drive job creation, and power economies across the west.”

The renewable energy projects build on the Obama Administration’s record in permitting a number of utility-scale renewable energy projects. Thanks to a coordinated and focused review process, in the past three years, the Department of the Interior has approved more utility-scale renewable energy projects on public lands than in the past two decades combined, a total of 31 new projects. When constructed by the companies, these projects are expected to generate enough renewable energy to power 2.3 million American homes.

The projects are: Mohave Wind Energy (BP Wind) State: AZ; Quartzsite Solar Energy (Solar Reserve) State: AZ; Desert Harvest Solar Energy (enXco) State: CA; McCoy Solar Energy (NextEra) State: CA; Moapa Solar Energy Center (RES Americas) State: NV; Silver State South (First Solar) State: NV; Chokecherry/Sierra Madre Wind Energy (Power Company of WY) State: WY.

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