Aug 29 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden's

administration said on Thursday it had finalized a plan to

expand solar energy on federal lands in 11 western states, part

of a broader push to speed the permitting and construction of

big infrastructure projects.

The White House wants to accelerate approval of projects

ranging from power transmission to wind and solar farms as it

seeks to decarbonize the power sector to fight climate change,

and is eager to tout its "Investing in America" agenda ahead of

the November presidential election.

"We've been really pushing ourselves to use our executive

authority wherever possible to improve the federal permitting

process," White House Deputy Chief of Staff Natalie Quillian

said in an interview.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management's plan identified 31

million acres (12.5 million hectares) best suited for solar

development in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New

Mexico, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming.

The lands identified have high solar potential and low

conflicts with wildlife and plant habitats, giving projects

proposed in these locations a jumpstart on permitting.

The White House also said the Environmental Protection

Agency had conditionally approved a rule creating emissions

reduction credits for companies in Maricopa County, Arizona to

transition vehicle fleets to cleaner alternatives. Those credits

can be sold to the owners of planned semiconductor factories in

the region to offset air emissions and help the area comply with

federal air quality standards, the White House said.

The EPA is tasked with approving state plans to reduce

pollution in areas like Maricopa County, home to Arizona's

capital of Phoenix, because it has elevated ozone emissions.

The county has attracted an influx of investment in chip

manufacturing from companies like Intel ( INTC ) and Taiwan's

TSMC tied to federal incentives, and the new credits

will help those facilities get up and running, the White House

said.

The administration said the plan will add to gains it has

already made in speeding environmental permitting, which it said

had so far shaved six months from the median time required to

complete a review.

It added U.S. agencies had permitted more projects than the

administration of former President Donald Trump, who is

challenging Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential

election.