Biden cancels Trump plan to bend environmental rules to build renewables in California

The Biden administration said it will scrap a Trump-era proposal to weaken environmental protections for millions of acres of California desert to ease the development of wind and solar energy projects.

The move is President Biden’s latest effort to roll back his predecessor’s four-year legacy of energy and environmental deregulation.

Former President Trump’s administration made a last-minute push to accelerate energy development on public lands, by amending the so-called Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) just days before leaving office.

While Biden supports building more renewable energy installations on public lands, Reuters reports, his administration said the original DRECP balanced wind and solar development with conservation and outdoor recreation.

In a statement, Laura Daniel Davis – the Interior’s principal deputy secretary for land and minerals management – said:

“The Trump administration’s proposal in its final days to re-open the plan is unnecessary and at odds with balanced land management.”