01/16/2009 GAAS:018:09 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Print Version |
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.
