White House fast tracks energy projects

WASHINGTON, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- Seven significant U.S. solar and wind energy projects will be expedited, including some in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Wyoming, the White House announced.

President Barack Obama, as part of his We Can't Wait initiative, announced the infrastructure projects which are estimated to produce nearly 5,000 megawatts of clean energy, enough to power approximately 1.5 million homes, a White House release reported Tuesday.

"As part of President Obama's all-of-the-above strategy to expand domestic energy production and strengthen the economy, we are working to advance smart development of renewable energy on our public lands," Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said.

"These seven proposed solar and wind projects have great potential to grow our nation's energy independence, drive job creation, and power economies across the west."

The projects include two solar power efforts in California, two in Nevada, and a wind energy project in Wyoming said to be the largest proposed wind farm in North America.

Two projects in Arizona, one solar and one wind, are intended to help the state meet its renewable energy goals, the White House said.