Friday, April 3, 2009 | 2 a.m.
It says something about Southern Nevada’s desirability as a place to do business when the local office of the Bureau of Land Management has 55 applications for solar energy development projects awaiting approval. Entrepreneurs recognize the vast potential that our area offers to harness sunshine and want to set up shop on federal land to take advantage of those opportunities.
A major roadblock has been getting the BLM to find the time to perform the environmental reviews necessary before the projects can be constructed. But the Obama administration’s support of solar energy led to a commitment from the agency to hire four employees to oversee renewable energy projects.
The additional employees are not the only reason the BLM should act expeditiously to approve worthy applications. As reported March 22 by Alexandra Berzon in the Las Vegas Sun, a sister publication of In Business Las Vegas, solar projects must begin construction by the end of 2010 to be eligible for grants for “shovel-ready” projects as part of the federal economic stimulus package.
It would be tragic if projects weren’t approved for construction before that deadline, especially in Southern Nevada, where there is a desperate need for new jobs. Given the stiff competition for viable solar energy development, our region cannot afford to be left behind.
One BLM official, Pahrump office field manager Patrick Putnam, told the Sun he believes the application reviews can be completed in 14 to 16 months, which would be in time to meet the stimulus deadline if the agency began working on them today.
Meeting that time frame should be made a top priority at the BLM so that Southern Nevada can enjoy the fruits of a thriving solar industry as soon as possible.
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