The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is partnering with the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), which will allot $3.5 million toward renewable energy development on public lands in the United States.
The funding derives from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda from the Inflation Reduction Act, which provides $1 billion toward federal permitting and environmental reviews. Funds will go towards NREL’s research for supporting environmentally-sound renewable energy development on public lands.
The research will help in reaching the goal of creating a carbon-free power sector by 2035 and will support the Energy Act of 2020 toward permitting at least 25 gigawatts of renewable energy production on public lands no later than 2025.
“Our partnership with NREL is key to supporting President Biden’s call to achieve a clean energy future,” said BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning. “This funding will help us use cutting-edge modeling to ensure balanced, responsible development of renewable energy sources.”
Priority activities for the funds include gathering geothermal data analytics to ensure the environmentally sound development of geothermal technology and assessing whether solar and wind plants are more productive as stand-alone operations or hybrid facilities. The potential for building out solar, wind, geothermal, and transmission facilities will be examined as well. Finally, the NREL will assess the potential of battery storage, hydrogen production, and hydroelectric power on public lands.
The BLM has been working with the NREL towards developing renewable energy, including ongoing efforts towards solar development in the western U.S. The two also work closely to support an infrastructure transition that allows for renewable energy to enter the grid.
With control over one in every ten acres of U.S. land and 30% of the nation’s minerals, the BLM has immense potential to help with the U.S. transition to clean energy. The organization has recently faced scrutiny over the Willow Project, which allows oil drilling on federal lands in Alaska and will add about 280 million tons of greenhouse gas into the atmosphere.
This recent funding announcement reveals necessary steps towards developing renewables rather than continuing fossil fuel production.
Clean energy development must also include consideration of people and wildlife already occupying the lands being used. The NREL works to ensure a just energy transition in their research and clean energy development.
"To reach our clean energy goals, we must use every resource at our disposal," said NREL Director Martin Keller. "I am excited for this opportunity to advance our mission by building on our work with the Bureau of Land Management and supporting projects that further integrate renewable energy into the grid."
