from the Las Cruces Sun-Times 3/4/2011

LAS CRUCES – The federal government hosted a hearing Thursday evening in Las Cruces about a proposed policy for developing solar energy projects on public lands.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is carrying out a formal process that would guide where and how companies can build solar energy projects in six western states, including New Mexico.

Three formal proposals exist, including a policy that could open up to 22 million acres to development and an alternative that would create designated areas for projects, called “solar energy zones,” which would comprise less acreage. Also, the agency could adopt no changes, continuing with a piecemeal handling of solar energy development applications by the agency.

Several conservation groups say they’re concerned about the first proposal because of its scale and the possible impact to the desert environment. Instead, they’re backing the second proposal, though they have concerns about some of the proposed development zones.

“We’re all for solar,” said Judy Calman, staff attorney for the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance. “We just want it to be sited correctly.”

Of the three proposed zones in New Mexico, two are in Do-a Ana County: a 12,000 acre site and a 77,000 acre site. The other is near Alamogordo.

For more information or to submit comments, visit:  http://solareis.anl. gov.