Renewable Energy resources (hydropower, wind, geothermal, biomass and solar) are used to generate nearly 9 percent of all electricity in America. If hydropower is excluded, renewable energy supplies 2 percent of our electricity. The Energy Information Administration expects American renewable energy production to increase by 51.3 percent between 2003 and 2025.
A January 2005 Department of the Interior report, Renewable Resources for America's Future, outlines actions the department and its agencies have taken to promote the development of renewable energy. The Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) make federal lands available for renewable energy development and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) works with tribes to develop renewable energy on tribal lands. Many departmental facilities-- office buildings, campgrounds, picnic sites, traffic signs, weather stations, fire monitoring stations and visitor centers-- are powered by solar and wind energy.
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 directs the Department of the Interior to take actions to promote the development of domestic renewable energy supplies. Federal lands and resources, including geothermal, wind and biomass already contribute important sources of domestic renewable energy. As a result of the Energy Policy Act, the Interior Department will authorize renewable energy (wind and wave) offshore.
The Department of the Interior recognizes the balance between renewable energy and other resources. The development of renewable energy resources, like fossil fuel resources, can impact other resources including fish and wildlife, cultural sites and aesthetic values. Renewable energy development on public lands must first be authorized in a land use plan; have undergone analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act; comply with all applicable state and federal environmental laws; and obtain site-specific agency approvals. As a consequence, renewable energy development on federal lands is done in an environmentally sensitive manner.
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