Colorado site of solar power plan - Nashville Business Journal:

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The goal is to speed projecgt permittingfor utility-scale solar power projects, an announcement from the Interiot department said. The initiativesd were announced in Las Vegaszon Monday. Under one initiative, 24 tractws of BLM land in six Western known as Solar EnergyStudy Areas, will be evaluated for thei r environmental and resource suitability for large-scale solar energy production. The areas coved 670,000 acres in Colorado, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. In Colorado, the thre e areas in the San Luis Valley that will be part of the studyy could generate upto 4,182 megawatts of solar power if fullt developed, according to the department.
Areaes deemed suitable for large solar power projects would be available for companies to builxd installations with a capacity of 10 megawatts or Companies proposing projects in these areasz would be eligible for fasterpermit processing, the departmentr said. The 24 tracts of land in the Solar Energyg Study Areas will be looked at as part of anexistinhg solar-power environmental impact study the department is conductinvg in six Western states.
The in-depth environmental revieqw of the 24 tracts is beinyg paid for with money from the American Reinvestment andRecovery Act, the announcement The department’s has received 158 applicationse for solar power projects on federal landxs in the West, including one application for a Colorado-base solar power plant capable of generatinh up to 150 megawatts of power from the sun, the departmenf said.