(Reuters) – The Biden Administration has approved two large solar power projects in California’s desert, and it is currently preparing permit applications for 50 additional clean energy facilities. This comes as part of President Obama’s Climate Change Agenda.

The Interior Department, which oversees most of the nation’s public lands, is key to President Joe Biden’s “whole-of-government” approach to tackling global warming. The Interior Department has pledged to increase renewable energy development, and reverse the emphasis of former President Donald Trump on maximising fossil fuel extraction.

Clearway Energy Group LLC in California’s Riverside County approved the department approval of two solar projects: Victory Pass and Arica. They are first projects to be approved by the Obama administration in California under an agreement that sets aside desert areas for development of solar and wind power.

Interior hopes to allow Intersect Power’s Oberon Solar project in the region “in coming days.” On a conference call with journalists, Tracy Stonemanning from Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), stated that the project developer was working to alleviate concerns about desert woods’ impact.

All three facilities will generate almost a gigawatt each, sufficient to power approximately 274,000 homes.

In 2020, Congress instructed the Interior to allow 25 gigawatts renewable energy on public lands. The agency stated that the 50+ project applications it was processing could add up to 27.5 GW to its grid.

Officials said that the agency has increased its ability to manage renewable energy permits after efforts had been stalled by Trump’s administration. In response to the complaints of clean energy industry officials that federal land is too expensive to be accessible for solar and wind developers, it has initiated a program to lower lease fees and make federal lands more affordable to use by those who want to build.

Deb Haaland from Interior said, “We are empowering BLM personnel to reengage these longtime projects or relationships and to help us get on track for delivering on the promises that have been made.”