The final approval for the construction of the Oberon Solar project in California has been issued by the Bureau of Land Management. The move is part of the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts to update America’s power infrastructure in the West. The goal is to permit at least 25 gigawatts of solar, wind, and geothermal production on public lands by 2025.
The Oberon Solar project in California will be constructed on about 2,600 acres of BLM-managed land close to Desert Center in eastern Riverside County. It is set to feature 500 megawatts of battery storage. It will provide up to 500 megawatts of renewable energy which is enough to power roughly 146,000 homes.
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Oberon Solar to contribute to the Biden-Harris administration’s target of 100% carbon-free power by 2035
Oberon Solar is one of three Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan projects announced by the Department of the Interior. The Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan is a landscape-level plan focused on 10.8 million acres of public lands in the desert regions of seven California counties.
The project is a prime example of how California’s public lands are crucial to meeting the Biden-Harris administration’s target of 100% carbon-free power by 2035.
According to Karen Mouritsen, BLM California State Director, “The BLM is committed to prudent renewable energy production that strikes a balance between conservation and exploitation of public land.”
64 utility-scale onshore clean energy projects that have been proposed are now being processed by the BLM. This covers clean energy projects that are proposed on non-federal territories, such as solar, wind, and geothermal projects as well as interconnect gen-tie lines. The western power system might benefit from an additional 41,000 megawatts of renewable energy from these projects.
