12 March 2009 | Luca Del Buono

 

The U.S. Interior Department on Wednesday said it has created a special task force to speed the development of renewable energy projects on federal lands.

"More so than ever, with job losses continuing to mount, we need to steer the country onto a new energy path," said Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.

The task force will identify specific zones on public lands where the department can act rapidly to create large-scale production of solar, wind, geothermal and biomass energy.

"We will assign a high priority to identifying renewable energy zones and completing the permitting and appropriate environmental review of transmission rights-of-way applications that are necessary to deliver renewable energy generation to consumers," Salazar said. "We have to connect the sun of the deserts and the wind of the plains with the places where people live."

The department will have to coordinate its efforts with other government agencies involved with energy and electricity transmission policy, including the Energy Department and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Interior is also moving forward with finalizing regulations for offshore renewable energy production, but the department will have to work with FERC to sort out which agency is responsible for issuing permits for offshore wind energy.

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Source: Reuters

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