Two solar projects approved on public lands in California and Nevada

Federal officials have announced the approval of two solar projects on public land in California and Nevada.

The projects are expected to generate about 550 megawatts of renewable energy, or enough to power about 170,000 homes, the Interior Department said in a statement Wednesday.

Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said the two projects are among 50 such utility-scale renewable proposals that have been approved by the department since 2009.

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The Stateline Solar Farm Project will be built in San Bernardino County about two miles south of the Nevada border. The facility will generate enough electricity to power about 90,000 homes.

The second facility, called the Silver State South Solar Project, will be built near Primm, Nev. It will generate enough electricity for about 80,000 homes.

The projects have raised concerns among environmentalists who worry that construction activity will harm desert tortoises.

An environmental group, the Defenders of Wildlife, last year filed a notice of intent to sue the government under the Endangered Species Act in order to stop the projects.

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