The announcement is significant because a growing number of renewable energy projects have been eyed for public lands in recent years, raising opposition from environmentalists concerned about damage to sensitive wildlife habitats and other similar areas.
One area that has been especially prone to such controversies at this point in time is California's Mojave Desert. Such regulatory concerns have been prompting some companies to focus more on distributed solar projects that use existing rooftops and other structures to add clean energy to the grid.
"Today, we are providing the solar energy industry the level of certainty it needs about the costs associated with projects on the public lands and ensuring a fair return to American taxpayers for the use of their public lands," said Bob Abbey, director of the BLM.
The Department of the Interior and the Department of Energy also contributed to the development of the solar rental schedule, which is focused on per-acre rental fees of varying costs.
