The federal government made the right decision this week in reversing its planned moratorium on applications to build solar plants on government land.
It would have been a disastrous blow to a fledgling industry that needs support as this country attempts to wean its crippling reliance on oil.
The Bureau of Land Management had planned to halt consideration of new solar plant applications while it did a comprehensive study on possible environment impacts. That would have taken almost two years.
Now, we believe the government ought to take into consideration how such projects might affect wildlife or water resources, but we believe that can be done on a project-by-project basis while the BLM conducts its larger review.
The solar industry already is anxious about the fate of $1.3 billion in solar tax credits included in a $6 billion alternative energy package stalled in Congress.
The application moratorium, which would have affected millions of acres in six Western states, including Colorado, would have injected an unacceptable amount of uncertainty into the industry.
As we’ve said before, Congress needs to get its act together and pass the solar tax credits. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said recently he hoped to get the tax credit issue resolved after Congress comes back from its Fourth of July break.
Solar has made great advances in recent years. Many projects have come on line in Colorado, including an 8.2 megawatt plant in the San Luis Valley.
It’s one piece of the new energy economy in Colorado that the governor and others have been pushing so fervently in recent years.
Other components include a burgeoning wind energy industry and experimental projects in biomass energy production and even research into converting pond scum to fuel.
With the price of a barrel of crude oil skyrocketing from $65 last year to more than $145 on Thursday, solar energy development must be a part of the broader answer.
Solar companies had filed more than 130 proposals with the BLM since 2005 to lease federal land and build solar plants and sell energy to utilities. The plants included in the applications have the potential to power more than 20 million homes.
It’s clear that large tracts of land covered by sun-collecting panels has the potential to affect plants, animals and water supplies in these desert environments.
But surely there’s a sensible way to assess and mitigate such problems. It’s imperative this country pursue every option in developing alternative energy sources.
