Oil at record highs... hey, let's put the brakes on solar!

You'd think with soaring fuel prices that the government would be doing everything possible to speed the development of alternative energy sources.

The Bureau of Land Management claims to be doing that, but it's approach is to put a 22-month moratorium on new solar projects on the land it controls (which includes 67% of Nevada).

While I understand that it's necessary to ensure that these projects don't harm vulnerable arid and semi-arid areas of the southwest, it's also disappointing that the BLM's move comes now. There are 125 pending applications for solar projects on Federal lands, some of which are over three years old.

From the Las Vegas Sun:

“[The moratorium] immediately is going to slow the momentum of a growing economy of solar business in the state of Nevada,” said Chris Brooks, director of the renewable energy division of Bombard Electric, which installed solar panels at Nellis Air Force Base. “Twenty-two months will drive businesses out of existence.”

Brooks and other solar energy insiders said the moratorium, especially coupled with uncertainty in Congress over long-term tax credits for solar development, would discourage solar manufacturers from locating in the Southwest.

Of the 125 pending applications, 23 are for Nevada, and they have the potential to produce a huge amount of electricity:

The Nevada applications, 11 in Nye County and 12 in Clark County, would involve 211,000 acres of federal land and could produce 15,000 megawatts, more than twice the peak summer load in Southern Nevada. The 125 applications nationwide, if approved, would power 20 million American homes, according to the BLM.