Seven proposed solar projects to be built on public lands
Seven renewable energy projects are in the process of receiving Right-of-Way grants in Nevada, all located on public land.
The projects are being proposed by six developers and would be located near the Esmerelda Substation.
The Bureau of Land Management has a permitting role for the projects, according to Rudy Evenson, deputy chief of communications for the BLM Nevada State Office. He said that the BLM will ensure compliance with existing land management plans, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA).
Evenson said this is the first time the BLM has grouped multiple proposals for solar power developments, all for the purpose of processing variance applications.
In an announcement this week, the BLM stated that it will host two virtual public meetings to discuss the proposed solar and energy storage projects on September 8, and September 9.
According to the BLM press release, these projects include:
Esmeralda Solar Energy Center Project, NextEra Energy Resources: 500-megawatt solar and energy storage project on approximately 8,804 acres of public lands.
Nivloc Solar Energy Project, Invenergy Solar: 500-megawatt solar and energy storage project on approximately 8,635 acres of public lands.
Smoky Valley Solar Project, ConnectGen: 1,000-megawatt solar and energy storage project on approximately 5,128 acres of public lands.
Rhyolite Ridge I Solar Project, 8minute Solar Energy: 600-megawatt solar and energy storage project on approximately 6,368 acres of public lands.
Rhyolite Ridge II Solar Project, 8minute Solar Energy: 600-megawatt solar and energy storage project on approximately 6,810 acres of public lands.
Gold Dust Solar, Arevia Power: 1500-megawatt solar photovoltaic and 1,000 MW battery energy storage project on approximately 17,018 acres of public lands.
Esmeralda Solar Project, Leeward Renewable Energy: 650 MW solar and energy storage project on approximately 8,700 acres of public lands.
Evenson explained these projects face a three-step approval process.
“The first step is for the projects to obtain a variance under the current Solar Energy Development Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement,” he said.
The variance is needed because the projects are proposed in areas not identified for solar development within the plan, he explained. For now, there is no set timeline for variances to be approved and at this stage could take anywhere from six to eighteen months.
Then once a variance is obtained, the projects would go through a compliance process with NEPA.
“Compliance with NEPA will consist of either an Environmental Assessment or an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS),” Evenson said.
To get an Environmental Assessment, it could take anywhere from six months to one year before it is complete. Meanwhile, an Environmental Impact Statement typically takes more than a year.
“Each project will require a separate NEPA action, of either an Environmental Assessment or an EIS, but it is possible for the separate actions to be completed simultaneously rather than sequentially,” Evenson said.
The third step would be for the issuance of a Right-of-Way for each project, which Evenson said is “a legal authorization to use public land for a specific purpose, similar to a lease among private parties but issued by the government.”
According to the BLM press release, the two virtual public meetings for these projects are in support of the Biden-Harris administration’s goal to permit 25 GW of renewable energy on public lands by 2025, achieving 100 percent carbon pollution-free energy by 2035.
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