Gov. Schwarzenegger Issues Statement on Secretary of the Interior’s Plan to Expedite Development of Renewable Energy
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger issued the following statement on the Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne’s order today authorizing the Bureau of Land Management to establish coordination offices, including one in California, which will expedite the permitting of wind, solar, biomass and geothermal projects, along with needed electrical transmission facilities.
“California has set the most aggressive targets in the nation for renewable energy-33 percent by the year 2020-but we won’t be able to meet that goal without the federal government’s commitment to partner with us to clear red tape for renewable projects,” Governor Schwarzenegger said. “I’m pleased to see the federal government build on the agreement we signed with them in November and move to streamline the permitting and siting of new plants and transmission lines. We look forward to working with our federal partners to grow California’s renewable energy market for wind, solar, biomass and geothermal projects along with the needed transmission lines to meet our long-term energy and climate change goals.”
Last November, the California Energy Commission, California Department of Fish and Game, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a coordinated approach with our federal partners in the expedited permitting process. This coordinated approach will significantly reduce the time and expense for developing renewable energy on federally-owned California land, including the priority Mojave and Colorado Desert regions.
Also, in November, the Governor signed an executive order to streamline California’s renewable energy project approval process and announced his plans to propose legislative language to expand the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard to 33 percent renewable power by 2020.
