An upcoming meeting in Grand Junction will offer participants an opportunity to comment on solar energy development on U.S. Bureau of Land Management lands in the West.

“The BLM is committed to expanding renewable energy development on public lands to help lead the nation into a clean energy future, enhance America’s energy security and provide for good-paying union jobs,” said BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning. “We look forward to hearing from the public on effective ways to expand our nation’s capacity for producing solar energy while continuing to ensure robust protection of our public lands and waters.”

The meeting is scheduled for 3 to 7 p.m. Feb. 9 in the Whitewater and Kannah Rooms of the Grand Junction Convention Center, 159 Main St. A virtual meeting also is set for 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. Feb. 13.

The meetings are part of a series of scoping sessions scheduled through February in western states and Washington, D.C., to gather comments on updates to an environmental impact statement for BLM utility-scale solar energy planning.

The BLM is considering updates to its 2012 western solar plan that included six southwestern states — Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah. The BLM also seeks comments on expanding solar planning to include Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming.

A public comment period on updates to the solar plan will remain open for 15 days after the last public scoping meeting.

For more information on meetings and to view the notice of intent to update the impact statement, visit the BLM website at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2022371/570.