Biden Administration Approves Two Big Solar Projects

The Biden administration said Tuesday that it had given the go-ahead to two major solar projects on federal land in the California desert, pushing forward with clean energy plans by using federal authority after Joe Manchin III, the West Virginia senator and coal industry supporter, this week said he would not back broader climate legislation, stalling it in Congress.

The two approved solar projects, and a third for which approval is nearing completion, would generate about 1,000 megawatts, enough electricity to power about 132,000 homes, the Interior Department said. All three projects are in Riverside County, Calif.