BLM begins review of 3 more Nevada solar projects

By Scott Streater | 10/30/2024 04:28 PM EDT

One of the proposed projects would rank among the largest of its kind.

Transmission towers are shown near solar panels.

Transmission towers are shown near solar panels from the 100-megawatt MGM Resorts Mega Solar Array after it was launched on June 28, 2021, in Dry Lake Valley, Nevada. Ethan Miller/Getty Images

The Bureau of Land Management’s solar push in Nevada continues, with the bureau announcing Wednesday it is evaluating three proposals northwest of Las Vegas, including a project that would rank among the largest power-producing solar plants in the world.

BLM officials said they are in the preliminary stages of review for the three photovoltaic solar projects, two of which would be in Clark County and one in the Amargosa Valley in neighboring Nye County that would cover 10,000 acres and produce enough electricity to power about 360,000 homes.

The fate of the three projects, however, may depend as much on the outcome of next week’s presidential election as any other factor, given former President Donald Trump’s well-chronicled dislike for most forms of green energy. Trump has directly criticized large solar farms in deserts, something he did at a recent roundtable with voters and during his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris in September.

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The Larrea Solar and Mosey Solar projects in Clark County, and the Rock Valley Solar project, are among dozens of large-scale solar, wind and geothermal power projects currently under active or preliminary BLM review.

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