$300M set for energy projects

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Interior Department is sending more than $300 million in federal stimulus money to the Bureau of Land Management to update its facilities and jump-start renewable energy projects across the country, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced Saturday.

Salazar said the 650 approved projects will “restore our landscapes and our watersheds” and help fulfill the Obama administration’s target for renewable energy development.

Salazar made the announcement at the Red Rock Conservation Area outside Las Vegas. The desert area’s fire station was one of several facilities slated to receive solar panels under the effort.