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Energy | January 22, 2009 | by Andrea Nocito

Renewable Power on Public Land: Proceed With Caution

As one of Obama’s initial acts as president, he ordered a halt to any regulatory efforts pushed through at the last minute under the Bush administration. Obama will carefully review the merits of these efforts and decide what moves forward. Let’s hope Obama reviews former Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne’s authorization allowing the Bureau of Land Management to oversee the speedy implementation of construction permits and creation of regional management offices to jolt renewable energy production.

Kempthorne’s order authorizes the Bureau to process permits for construction and operation of wind and solar energy farms, biomass production plants, and geothermal facilities. Of course, updating electrical lines to carry renewable energy supplies is also part of Kempthorne’s order to the Renewable Energy Coordination Offices. 

 

The initiative gives the head of the Bureau authority to approve facilities that will generate renewable energy across eager states like Arizona, California, Nevada and Wyoming. The decision ostensibly would ensure that both the best environmental practices are carried out and requires collaboration with other environmental and energy minded government organizations. But the effort has a few major problems: financial resources, and employment of the target goals. 

 

The secretary has had this initiative on his plate since the enactment of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The Act set a target of generating 10,000 megawatts of electricity on public lands by 2015. In waiting until 2009 when the country -- including the federal government -- is strapped for cash to start this effort leaves the Obama administration and the management of each Renewable Energy Coordination Office less than equipped. Had this effort launched in early 2006, when the economy was less vulnerable and where appropriations could have been set aside for future use over the course of five or six years, the Bureau might have been well on its way to generating 10,000 megawatts. Now, even though Obama is committed to renewable energy and will conceivably support this measure, it will be fruitful to revisit, even rewrite the order so that it has more teeth. 

 

For instance, the Bureau should be required to collaborate not only with other government agencies but also private organizations and universities who have been experimenting with renewable energies for years. Long-term appropriations should be set aside for the Bureau to draw from through 2015. All too often, budget is given to a government organization for one or two years, long enough to analyze what it would take to build and operate a project, but void of funds to actually do it. Let’s hope the new administration takes a long look at this order because a better order and a better implementation plan will bring America a "new era of responsibility" (President Obama).