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Secretary Salazar Announcement Makes Solar Energy Development a Priority on Public Lands

March 11, 2009

WASHINGTON-Rhone Resch, President and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), released the following statement today praising Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar’s order to make the production, development, and delivery of renewable energy a top priority for the department:

“We applaud Secretary Salazar’s commitment to developing renewable energy on public lands. Some of the best solar resources are in the Southwest U.S. on land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) under the Department of the Interior. Secretary Salazar’s designated ‘renewable energy zones’ will help expedite approval of project applications currently backlogged at BLM. These projects could create thousands of jobs and deliver power to more than 20 million homes.

“Secretary Salazar’s order also creates a task force that will prioritize transmission rights-of-way applications necessary to deliver renewable energy. The U.S. has some of the best solar resources in the world – potentially 6,800 GW in the Southwest alone – yet we lack a modern transmission grid that can deliver solar energy to the population centers it is needed most. Today’s order is another indication that this administration is making renewable energy development a top priority.”

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Contact:

Jared Blanton, jblanton@seia.org, 202.682.0556 ext. 96
Monique Hanis, mhanis@seia.org, 202.682.0556 ext. 4
Mark Sokolove, mark@tigercomm.us, 703.302.8382

Background Materials:

About SEIA:

Established in 1974, the Solar Energy Industries Association is the national trade association of the solar energy industry. As the voice of the industry, SEIA works to make solar a mainstream and significant energy source by expanding markets, removing market barriers, strengthening the industry and educating the public on the benefits of solar energy.

Learn more at www.seia.org.