BLM approves new solar, geothermal development plan in Calif. desert

[jpak]

http://www.eenews.net/stories/1059986013

The Obama administration has formally established a solar and geothermal power development area on a 64,000-acre strip of public and private land in Southern California that if built out to full capacity has the potential to produce enough electricity to power more than 1 million homes.

The Bureau of Land Management announced yesterday that it has issued a record of decision (ROD) establishing the West Chocolate Mountains Renewable Energy Evaluation Area (REEA) on a strip of the Imperial Valley that's sandwiched between the Salton Sea to the west and the Marine Corps' massive Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range to the east.

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BLM's plan calls for designating a 10,759-acre section of the West Chocolate Mountains REEA west of the Coachella Canal that runs through the area as a new solar energy zone. The agency has estimated that depending on the solar technology used -- either photovoltaic or concentrated solar power -- total solar development in the evaluation area could cover nearly 21,000 acres managed by BLM.

In addition, about 19,000 acres of BLM-managed land within the REEA will be set aside for geothermal exploration and development. BLM has estimated that geothermal development would result in about 1,000 acres of surface area disturbance.

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