The Bureau of Land Management has pulled the plug on a massive Nevada solar power project, furthering the Trump administration’s crackdown on renewable energy projects.
BLM on Thursday updated its planning website for the Esmeralda 7 project, stating that the agency’s environmental review has been “cancelled.” The agency did not provide a reason for the cancellation.
The Esmeralda 7 Solar Project was meant to build seven solar power plants with battery energy storage on approximately 118,000 acres of BLM-managed public lands near Tonopah, Nevada. It would have produced nearly 6.2 gigawatts, enough to power millions of homes.
NextEra Energy, Invenergy, ConnectGen, and other renewables developers backed the project. It was part of the Biden administration’s efforts to expand clean energy developments on federal land.
The Esmeralda 7 solar project experienced some progress at the start of the Trump administration, with the BLM releasing an environmental impact statement for the project. BLM indicated it would make a final decision on the project by July, but that decision never occurred.
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The Trump administration has moved to curtail policies and projects related to renewable energy, especially wind projects. In July, the administration placed full responsibility for final decisions on federal permitting for wind and solar projects on Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.
