BLM opens renewable energy offices to aid with permits

The move, said outgoing Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne, will accelerate the development of renewable energy on federally-managed lands.

The Bureau of Land Management -- which manages more than 256 million acres of public lands -- was criticized under the Bush administration for opening wilderness areas to oil and natural gas drilling.

But the Renewable Energy Coordination Offices will be located in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Wyoming – four states where the greatest interest has been shown in renewable energy development, the BLM said.

California