In May 2024, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM or the Agency) issued a final rule updating its renewable energy and right-of-way (ROW) policies. BLM is one of the largest landholders in the United States, with significant...more
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has finalized two rules to further prioritize the health of public lands and facilitate renewable energy leases: the Conservation and Landscape Health Rule and the Rights-of-Way, Leasing,...more
This article is part of Womble Bond Dickinson’s Energy & Natural Resources thought leadership series titled Striking the Balance: Permitting Reforms for Mining and the Energy Transition. In this series, we’ll explore the...more
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced an update to its 2012 plan for solar power development in the western U.S., adding five states to the original six. The original plan identified prime areas for solar development...more
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced the advancement of 15 new renewable energy projects in the western U.S., including a 500 MW photovoltaic facility in Riverside County, which was fully operational Friday, as well as...more
Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland announced on December 5, 2022, that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will develop an updated Solar Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) to help guide solar energy...more
In order to keep pace with the federal government’s ambitious goal of permitting the production of at least twenty-five (25) gigawatts of renewable energy through projects placed on public land by 2025, the Department of the...more
BLM Notices Nearly 90,000 Acres for Solar Leasing in CO, NM, and NV - On December 21, the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) published a Notice in the Federal Register calling for expressions of interest and nominations for...more
The first major long-duration storage procurement has arrived - Bullet Greentech Media – October 16 - California regulators said this year that the state will need 1 gigawatt of long-duration storage by 2026. But the...more
Renewable energy on public lands may receive a boost from legislation introduced by Reps. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) and Mike Levin (D-CA) on July 17....more
On 24 July, 2018, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) instructed its personnel that the agency lacks authority to require monetary payments and other forms of compensatory mitigation as a condition of obtaining authorization...more
DRECP under review in an effort to alleviate burdens on energy development. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently issued a notice of intent to review the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) for...more
On Nov. 10, 2016, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued its final rule (Rule) governing solar and wind energy development on public lands. The Rule creates a new leasing program that uses competitive leasing processes...more
A challenge to the validity of oil and gas permits outside the judicial review process is a collateral attack and will be struck, the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench held recently in Ominayak v Penn West Petroleum Ltd, 2015...more
Phase I of the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (“DRECP”) is underway on the 9.8 million acres of public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”). As discussed in our previous post, the four lead...more
The guidance will significantly affect infrastructure projects located on federal land and federal permitting of major energy projects. On December 18, the White House’s Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued...more
On October 1, 2014, Víctor Osorio, Chile’s Minister of Natural Resources, announced that 200 public land concessions were being made available, through a cooperation agreement with the Ministry of Energy, to Non-Conventional...more
On September 30, 2014, the Bureau of Land Management issued a proposed rule that would establish competitive processes, terms, and conditions, including rental and bonding requirements, for solar and wind energy development...more