The Obama administration this week approved construction of the first large solar power plants on federal land. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar approved a $2.1 billion, 709-megawatt system on 6,360 acres in California’s Imperial Valley and a 45-megawatt project on 422 acres in the state’s Lucerne Valley. Together, the two plants could generate enough energy to power 566,000 homes. A handful of other solar projects are expected to be approved before year’s end, when federal grants and loan guarantees for renewable energy expire. Last week, the administration unveiled plans to use solar panels on the White House for the first time since the Carter administration in the 1970s.
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