by Jeniffer Solis, Nevada Current
The Trump administration has pulled the plug on its review of a massive joint solar project in Nevada that would have added up to be one of the largest continuous solar farms in the world – at least as it was envisioned.
On Thursday, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) canceled an environmental review of the Esmeralda Seven Solar Project – a sprawling development of seven geographically contiguous utility-scale solar projects that would cover more than 62,000 acres nearly 100 square miles — of public land about 30 miles west of Tonopah, Nevada.
The joint project was proposed by six solar energy companies, including NextEra Energy Resources, Leeward Renewable Energy, Arevia Power and Invenergy.
All together, the network of solar panels and batteries in Esmeralda County was expected to produce as much as 6.2 gigawatts of energy under ideal conditions, or enough electricity to power nearly two million homes.
After months of delays, the Department of the Interior this week said it was canceling its broad environmental review of the joint project and would instead review the seven projects that make up the development separately “to more effectively analyze potential impacts.”
The Department of the Interior said the impacted energy companies will now have the option to submit a separate application for their individual project proposals.
“The BLM did not cancel the project. During routine discussions prior to the lapse in appropriations, the proponents and BLM agreed to change their approach for the Esmeralda 7 Solar Project in Nevada,” said an Interior spokesperson in an email Friday.
“Instead of pursuing a programmatic level environmental analysis, the applicants will now have the option to submit individual project proposals to the BLM to more effectively analyze potential impacts,” the email continued.
It’s unclear how many of the impacted solar companies will continue to pursue their individual projects after the change in how the proposals will be reviewed.
A spokesperson for NextEra Energy Resources said the company was committed to their individual project – the Esmeralda Energy Center – which is a part of the Esmeralda Seven Solar Project.
“NextEra Energy Resources is one of six companies pursuing projects in Esmeralda County, Nevada. We are in the early stage of development and remain committed to pursuing our project’s comprehensive environmental analysis by working closely with the Bureau of Land Management,” a spokesperson for NextEra Energy Resources said in an email Friday.
A spokesperson for Leeward Energy, one of the companies involved in the Esmeralda Seven Solar Project, said “we don’t have any information to share regarding the project update.”
Representatives for the other four energy companies involved in developing the Esmeralda Seven Solar Project did not respond to requests for comment.
Kevin Emmerick, the co-founder of Basin and Range Watch, said he’s skeptical solar companies involved in the Esmeralda Seven Solar Project would be eager to resubmit applications after “tariffs and roadblocks set by the administration.”
In July the Trump administration mandated that all solar and wind energy projects on public lands be personally approved by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, a threshold that Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo said has already stalled several solar projects in the state.
Emmerick, who opposed the Esmeralda Seven Solar Project, said he isn’t surprised the project’s broad environmental review was canceled given the new rules under the Trump administration, and suspects singular approval of each project will be even more cumbersome.
“Solar and wind energy have several new layers of approval for each individual project so this programmatic review for all seven projects makes that kind of individual scrutiny very difficult,” Emmerick said.
Federal land managers began reviewing the developers’ joint proposals in 2023 under former president Joe Biden. But the project’s environmental review process has been stalled since Donald Trump took office.
Federal land managers were expected to issue a final environmental impact statement for the project — the last step before a record of decision is issued — at the end of April, but neither materialized.
The project has attracted strong opposition from locals and conservation groups who caution the size of the project could negatively impact the environment and rural communities’ way of life.
Several conservation groups have asked federal land managers to move the Esmeralda Seven Solar Project to areas the BLM has earmarked as “solar energy zones” — areas it sees as prime for solar development. Esmeralda County has two solar energy zones, encompassing about 21,000 acres of land.
Shaaron Netherton, the executive director of Friends of Nevada Wilderness, said she hopes the cancellation of the Esmeralda Seven Solar Project “will be an opportunity moving forward to find better sites for solar development.”
“We need to focus on disturbed areas and utilize warehouse and data center roofs for solar before using vast stretches of our public lands,” said Netherton, who opposed the joint project.
“Storey County is being completely developed for industrial buildings. This would be a great place to cover with solar. Producing energy right where it is needed,” she said.
Locals have also expressed frustration with solar companies’ lack of communication when proposing projects. Esmeralda County commissioner Fred Perez said more than a dozen solar companies have proposed projects in his county. Perez said none of those companies have been in communication with him, including the companies that comprise the Esmeralda Seven Solar Project.
Ben Norris, vice president of regulatory affairs for the Solar Energy Industries Association, said the BLM needs to further clarify “its apparent decision to abruptly cancel these solar projects in the late stages of the review process.”
“We remain deeply concerned that this administration continues to flout the law to the detriment of consumers, the grid, and America’s economic competitiveness,” Norris said.
Nevada Current is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Nevada Current maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Hugh Jackson for questions: [email protected].
