U.S. Interior Department Leases in Arizona Solar Energy Zones Expected to Produce 825 Megawatts

The Bureau of Land Management on Dec. 8 auctioned utility-scale solar energy development leases in each of the three solar energy zones in Arizona. The auction is part of the Biden administration’s plans to eliminate carbon emissions from the power sector by 2035 and permit 25 gigawatts of renewable energy on public lands by 2025. It is estimated that the development resulting from the leases and right-of-way could produce 825 megawatts of solar power.

Developers of solar energy can lease public land designated as solar energy zones via a competitive leasing process. As part of Arizona’s solar energy plan, three solar energy zones have been established: 3,348-acre Brenda, 2,560-acre Agua Caliente, and 2,618-acre Gillespie solar energy zones. Prospective developers have expressed interest in leasing lands within each zone at the bureau’s Arizona State Office. This auction advances the administration’s objectives of promoting responsible solar energy production on public land pursuant to an executive order issued by President Biden in January.

Heliogen Inc. is the high bidder with an offer of $114,428 to lease a solar power plant in the Brenda solar energy zone, near Lake Havasu City. Similarly, a bid of $78,728 was placed by Leeward Renewable Energy LLC for a lease in the Agua Caliente solar energy zone, east of Yuma. The bureau did not receive any bids for the Gillespie solar energy zone southwest of Phoenix, so it made the lands available for non-competitive grants and approved an application from Candela Renewables for a right-of-way for solar energy.

Previously, the Solar Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (2012) and Renewable Arizona: Restoration Design Energy Project (2013) analyzed and designated solar energy zones. A wide range of stakeholders contributed to these efforts, including conservation groups, state and local governments, Tribes, industry representatives, and federal agencies. During the development process, the bureau will conduct environmental assessments of the proposals put forward by the companies.