Western Caucus Chairman Dan Newhouse (WA-04) and Representative Harriet Hageman (WY-AL) led nine additional Western Caucus members on a letter to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) requesting the agency withdraw their proposed updated Western Solar Plan.
“The proposed Western Solar Plan is another Biden-Harris Administration policy that is detrimental to communities across the West,” said Chairman Newhouse. “This plan risks violating the multiple-use mandate for public lands established by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act and threatens valuable grazing lands while also elevating intermittent energy over more affordable and reliable sources. I’m proud to join Representative Hageman and my colleagues in asking BLM to withdraw this misguided proposal and prioritize an all of the above energy approach to unleash the full energy potential of the American west.”
“The BLM’s ‘Western Solar Plan’ will adversely impact 31 million acres of federal lands across 11 states and upend existing activities that drive America’s energy independence, thus weakening the resilience of the American energy grid and propping up unreliable energy sources, while simultaneously stripping local communities of important revenue-generating activities,” said Representative Hageman. “This proposal will severely impact Wyoming, as half of our state’s surface lands are federally managed. The ‘Plan’ blocks off large swaths of lands for the installation of environmentally unfriendly solar panels, eliminating the ability to graze, mine, or produce fossil fuels – all the things that America needs to drive down costs of energy, food, and housing. The Biden-Harris assault on our Western way of life needs to be brought to a swift end this November, before they can inflict even more damage.”
Also signing the letter are Western Caucus Vice Chairs Doug Lamborn (CO-05), Pete Stauber (MN-08) and Ryan Zinke (MT-01), and Representatives Cliff Bentz (OR-02), Lauren Boebert (CO-03), Ben Cline (VA-06), Chuck Fleischmann (TN-03), Ralph Norman (SC-05) and Matt Rosendale (MT-02).
Full text of the letter can be found here.
Background:
The Final Utility-Scale Solar Energy Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) updates and expands the 2012 Western Solar Plan to encompass five additional states – Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming – totaling 11 states and over 31 million acres eligible for solar development.
Following the announcement on August 29, 2024, a 30-day protest period and 60-day governor’s consistency review was initiated. A final Record of Decision and Resource Management Plan Amendments are expected to be announced in late fall/early winter 2024.
In January 2024, the draft Utility-Scale Solar Energy Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement was released with a 60-day public comment period. Western Caucus Members sent a letter to the BLM expressing concerns over the agency’s draft PEIS.
