The installation, with 200MW of solar and 600MW of storage, comes as the Bureau of Land Management releases its plan to streamline solar development in the west.

A new federal lease will let the state build an array of floating offshore wind turbines for research purposes — a key step for the emerging clean energy source.

Current EPA rules are inadequate, experts say, but the agency has committed to updating them. States like California, Maryland, and Washington can show the way.