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Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, R-Calif., has announced the first comprehensive list of 244 proposed renewable energy projects that could produce up to almost 70,000 MW of clean energy annually, building on California's aggressive renewable energy goals.
These
proposed projects throughout the state include solar, wind, geothermal,
biomass and small hydro facilities, and will help move California
toward achieving the governor's renewable energy goal of 33% by 2020.
Currently, California facilities produce just over 8,000 MW of
renewable energy annually. In October, Schwarzenegger signed a memorandum of understanding
(MOU) with U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to
expedite the permitting process for renewable energy projects in
California and appointed a special advisor to oversee the fast-tracking
of the permitting process for renewable energy facilities.
Of
the 244 proposed projects, up to 53 have indicated they will apply for
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds and will break
ground by the end of 2010. For those proposed projects looking for
federal stimulus support, 22 could generate power at utility-sized
levels of larger than 200 MW, totaling more than 9,000 MW. Many of the
proposed projects are currently moving through a state, federal or
local permitting process.
"I am very encouraged by the
governor's renewable energy goals and his vision that development in
California should occur on private and state lands, as well as on
federal public lands," says Secretry of the Interior Salazar. "Moving
forward together on all these fronts will help ensure that we all can
make responsible decisions on where to site these large projects while
still protecting sensitive lands and resources in California."
A list of the proposed projects that are currently in review or have been approved is available at www.energy.ca.gov/33by2020/documents/index.html.
The projects are separated by those seeking ARRA funding. The project
list is subject to change, as projects may lack financing, fail to meet
strict environmental standards or adequately address land-use issues.
