Interior Secretary Haaland announces 15 clean energy projects in the West

Nov. 7 (UPI) -- The Interior Department has announced 15 new renewable energy projects across the West, including major investments in solar and battery storage projects, power transmission lines and geothermal energy development.

"The Biden-Harris administration is committed to expanding clean energy development to address climate change, enhance America's energy security and create good-paying union jobs," said Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.

"The projects we are advancing today will add enough clean energy to the grid to power millions of homes."

The projects are another extension of the Biden administration's Investing in America agenda, which allocates money for modernizing outdated infrastructure such as roads, bridges, transit, rail, drinking and wastewater infrastructure, among other things, and building and investing in new, clean energy technology and creating jobs that go along with it.

"The Investing in America agenda is mobilizing historic levels of private sector investments in the United States, bringing manufacturing back to America after decades of offshoring, and creating new, good-paying jobs, including union jobs and jobs that don't require a college degree," said a White House statement.

The administration says the investments will develop modern, resilient infrastructure that protects communities from the worsening impact of climate change.

Haaland announced the new projects at the Western Governors Association Winter Meeting on Monday.

Most of the work on the projects will be carried out by the Bureau of Land Management, including on transmission lines proposed across Arizona, Nevada and Utah, and for developing geothermal energy in Nevada, and on a solar and battery storage project in Arizona.

"The BLM's work to responsibly and quickly develop renewable energy projects is crucial to achieving the Biden-Harris administration's goal of a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035," said BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning.

Next week, among other projects, the BLM will announce the construction of a 500-kilovolt gen-tie transmission line crossing public lands about 60 miles west of Phoenix, Arizona. When completed, the transmission line will support delivery of utility-scale solar energy from the 150-megawatt Harquahala Sun solar generation facility into the grid.

The Biden administration has a goal of a 100% clean electricity grid by 2035.