Renewable Energy World Slips on DRECP Coverage
Online industry magazine Renewable Energy World declared in a recent article that the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) "kneecaps" the renewable energy industry, inaccurately arguing that 3,162 square miles of development focus areas is not enough for the industry. This is my attempt to deconstruct the article's overall lack of understanding of the DRECP and the state of renewable energy in the California desert: Claim 1: The energy industry will be handicapped by the DRECP because 80 percent of the development focus areas are on private lands, and it is too difficult for the industry to acquire and develop private lands: Response: This is not consistent with facts on the ground. There are nearly 4,000 megawatts of wind and solar projects approved, under construction or operational on non-federal lands in the DRECP area, indicating that industry has easily acquired and developed private lands. These include projects with a capacity of hundred