A
ssessing
The
P
otential
For
R
enewable
E
nergy
On
P
ublic
L
ands
F
ebruary
2003
U.S. D
epartment
of
the
I
nterior
B
ureau
of
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and
M
anagement
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epartment
of
E
nergy
E
nergy
E
fficiency
and
R
enewable
E
nergy
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A
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DOE/GO-102003-1704
February 2003
NOTICE
This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States government.
Neither the United States government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any
warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or
usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not
infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by
trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement,
recommendation, or favoring by the United States government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions
of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States government or any
agency thereof.
Available electronically at http://www.osti.gov/bridge
Available for a processing fee to U.S. Department of Energy
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COVER PHOTOS (top to bottom): Wind turbines, Palm Springs, CA (PIX 01241, Warren Gretz, NREL);
photovoltaic system, Lake Powell, UT (PIX 08022, Warren Gretz); hybrid cottonwood tree farm,
Washington State (PIX 00241, Warren Gretz); concentrating solar power system, southwestern U.S.
(courtesy of Henry Price, NREL); geothermal power plant, Sierra Nevada range, CA (PIX 10991, courtesy
of Geothermal Resources Council).
iii
Acknowledgments
David Garman, Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy,
the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP), and the DOE National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
gratefully acknowledge Ray Brady, Mike Kirby, and Lee Otteni in the Bureau of Land Management (BLM),
Department of the Interior, for their contributions to this partnership project in support of BLM’s National Energy
Policy activities. Their vision and commitment enabled the project partners to assess public lands with the highest
potential for renewable energy resource development by industry.
The primary authors of this report are Mike Kirby (National Science and Technology Center, BLM); Doug Dahle,
project leader (Federal Energy Management Program, NREL); Donna Heimiller (Distributed Energy Resource
Center, NREL); Barbara Farhar (Geothermal Program, NREL); and Brandon Owens (formerly in the Energy
Analysis Office, NREL). The authors thank DOE FEMP Director Beth Shearer and FEMP Renewable Energy
Program Lead Anne Sprunt Crawley for funding and programmatic support. We also thank DOE Wind &
Hydropower Program Manager Peter Goldman for providing NREL technology staff support in the development of
the report. And we thank the following NREL staff members for their contributions:
Mark Mehos and Hank Price (Concentrating Solar Power).
Byron Stafford and John Thornton (Photovoltaics)
Ed Cannon, Larry Flowers, and Brian Parsons (Wind)
Richard Bain, Kevin Craig, and Ralph Overend (Biomass)
Gerry Nix (Geothermal)
Liz Brady-Sabeff and Dave Renne’ (Distributed Energy Resources Center)
Tonya Cook, May Anne Dunlap, and Paula Pitchford, (Communications)
Judy Hulstrom, Kathy Rose, and Margo Stenzel (Information Services)
Pam Lee-Bull and Judy Powers (NREL FEMP)
Lynn Kaemmerer (Human Resources).
We are also grateful to these BLM and DOE experts for contributions regarding the geothermal “top-pick” sites:
Paul Dunlevy (Geothermal Program Lead, BLM, Washington, DC)
Rich Hoops and Jack Kelly (BLM Nevada State Office)
Nancy Ketrenos, Duane Dippon, Corey Plank, and Eric Stone (BLM Oregon/Washington State Office)
Sean Hagerty, Sonja Santillan, and Larry Vredenberg (BLM California State Office)
Jim Fouts and Al McKee (BLM Utah State Office)
Jay Spielman and Joe Torrez (BLM New Mexico State Office)
Bill Lee (BLM Idaho State Office)
Susan Norwood (Geopowering the West Program, DOE)
Joel Renner (Idaho National Energy Engineering Laboratory, DOE).
And we thank Mary James, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and John Townshend, University of
Maryland, for contributing biomass data (see Appendix B).
Also acknowledged for their voluntary contributions are these organizations and industry partners in Colorado:
Dale Osborne (Disgen, Inc.)
Doug Larson (Western Interstate Energy Board)
Ron Lehr (Attorney, WindPowering America)
John Neilson (Colorado Land & Water Fund)
Randy Manion (Western Area Power Administration)
Randy Gee (Duke Solar)
Roger Davenport (Science Applications International Corporation).
Finally, the authors thank all those who responded to BLM’s request for public comment on the draft.
iv
Assessing the Potential for
Renewable Energy on Public Lands
Contents Page
Acknowledgments............................................................................................................. iii
Executive Summary ........................................................................................................... 1
1. Objective
...................................................................................................................... 2
2. Scope
............................................................................................................................ 2
3. Background .................................................................................................................. 2
4. The Approach for Assessing Renewable Energy Potential ......................................... 4
Task 1―Gather available information on renewable energy potential
(including low-impact hydro, solar, wind, biomass and geothermal) ......................... 4
Task 2―Develop appropriate screens ......................................................................... 6
Task 3―Process data identifying broad geographical areas as high-,
medium-, and low- or no potential for renewable energy development .................... 11
Task 4―Report on high-potential areas for inclusion in a
Renewable Energy Action Plan ................................................................................. 18
5. The Comparative Analysis ......................................................................................... 18
6. Recommendations
...................................................................................................... 26
7. List of Appendices
..................................................................................................... 27
A. Western U.S. Renewable Resource and BLM Land Ownership GIS Maps ....... A1
B. Detailed Description and Data Sets for GIS Maps
............................................. B1
C. Intermediate and Analysis Results GIS Maps .................................................... C1
D. Intermediate and “Top-Pick” GIS Maps for Geothermal Field-Based
Resource Assessment
.......................................................................................... D1
E. Planning Units with Highest Renewable Energy Potential ................................. E1
F. State Policies and Financial Incentives for Renewable Energy .......................... F1
G. References ........................................................................................................... G1
H. BLM, DOE, DOE National Laboratory Contacts
............................................... H1
