The Bureau of Land Management has big plans for opening up public lands for utility-scale solar energy developments, including in Deschutes County, where two projects under consideration would dwarf any other solar facility currently in the area.

One of the projects is proposed to occupy 4,037 acres of BLM-managed land between Bend and Redmond, east of U.S. Highway 97. The second would use 3,265 acres of public land southeast of La Pine. If built, both projects would be among the largest solar arrays in the United States.

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Solar power is a growing renewable energy source as state and federal governments look for ways to reduce their carbon footprint. In 2007 the Oregon Legislature established a climate goal of lowering greenhouse gas emissions to 45% below 1990 levels by 2035 and 80% below 1990 levels by 2050.

Western solar plan goals

The Bureau of Land Management has earmarked 31 million acres in 11 states for its so-called Western Solar Plan to help states achieve their climate goals. Around 1 million acres of BLM land in Oregon are now available for solar projects.

Jennifer Kalez, a spokesperson for the Oregon Department of Energy, said given Oregon’s lofty goals, it’s not surprising there is interest in large-scale projects.

“We expect the state will see more renewable projects like solar to support those goals,” she said.

The project between Bend and Redmond, proposed by Enel Greenpower North America LLC, is planned to generate 700 megawatts of power. The La Pine project, proposed by Finley Butte Climate Fixer LLC, is a 650-megawatt project.

Both are still in their infancy and neither has filed documentation with the Oregon Department of Energy.

Immense capacity

The potential capacity of these power stations is greater than the 500-megawatt Pelton-Round Butte Dam Complex, currently the largest producer of power in Central Oregon. They would also be much larger than any other solar project in Central Oregon. Currently, Deschutes County is home to four solar farms between 10 and 13 megawatts. Crook County has three solar farms in the 40- to 60-megawatt range.

The top five solar projects in the United States today are in the 500 megawatts to 1-gigawatt range.

Last week, Oregon’s Energy Facility Siting Council approved the Wagon Trail Solar Project, a 500-megawatt solar facility in Morrow County, Kalez said. That one is the largest approved solar project in Oregon to date.

Sarah Bennett, a public affairs officer with the Bureau of Land Management, said her agency has processed permits to allow Enel Greenpower to install meteorological data collection equipment for its proposed array.

Initial steps have also been taken to start an environmental impact statement for the project, said Bennett.

“Work on the environmental impact statement for (the Enel Greenpower project) is anticipated to start early spring 2025 and should take about two years to complete. Public input will be gathered several times during the process,” she said.

The Finley Butte Climate Fixer Project is on a similar timeline trajectory but about six months behind Enel Greenpower’s project, Bennett said.

Environmental considerations

The environmental impact statement will take into consideration the natural habitat and wildlife of the High Desert, which can be disturbed by solar panel farms due to their large footprint and fencing. Solar farms also use considerable amounts of water to keep panels clean. As these projects move forward, the BLM will need to weigh their impacts on wildlife habitat and local resources.

Andrew Walch, district wildlife biologist with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, said his agency works collaboratively with developers to employ strategies to minimize and avoid the most critical habitats, including known migration corridors.

“For unavoidable impacts, we work with regulators to identify appropriate mitigation to replace the lost habitat,” said Walch.

Target areas for solar use in the county tend to be those with lower resource value, said Deschutes County Commissioner Phil Chang, who has a background in resource management.

“For example, they tried to leave out important mule deer winter range sites,” he said. “If the BLM tried to filter out important habitat and other high resource value areas from their offering it makes me feel a little better about this Western Solar Project.”

Chang said the scale of the projects “raises some concern,” but he acknowledges that trade-offs are inevitable as the United States works toward meeting its climate goals.

“There is no energy source without some impacts,” he said. “We do need to expand our power production and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from our portfolio.”