Interior Seeks to Expand Solar Development in Western States

The Biden administration wants to open 22 million acres for solar energy development across 11 states, proposing the first update in 12 years to a resource planning road map.

The preferred alternative for the Interior Department would be to open up the acreage that represents high solar potential and low resource conflict, the agency announced Wednesday.

The agency’s preference would add Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming to what it calls the Western Solar Plan. The original 2012 plan included about the same amount of acreage covering the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah.

The refined ...