New Onshore Renewable Energy Progress in Nevada to Create Jobs and Lower Energy Costs
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is finalizing two projects and moving forward two more that will advance new transmission lines and solar facilities across the state, helping deliver clean, reliable energy from the Nevada desert to the Western electric grid and creating jobs for union workers. The two projects receiving approval – the Greenlink West Transmission Project and Libra Solar Project – will unlock up to 4.7 gigawatts of clean energy, enough to power nearly 5 million homes.
“From building large scale transmission lines to solar power generating facilities, the Interior Department and our team at the Bureau of Land Management are leading the way in the development of reliable, clean energy across the West,” said Acting Deputy Secretary Daniel-Davis. “The infrastructure projects we are advancing today in Nevada are helping meet President Biden’s ambitious renewable energy goals while making communities more energy resilient and creating good-paying jobs in the clean energy economy.”
“Under President Biden and Vice President Harris’s leadership, we are making critical investments to both strengthen our grid and feed more clean energy to homes and businesses – which will create good-paying union jobs, bolster resiliency, strengthen energy security, and lower Americans’ utility bills,” said White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi. “In Nevada and across the country, our leaps forward to efficiently permit wind, solar, transmission, and other clean energy projects are part of a broader strategy to lead the world in the global clean energy race and the fight against pollution – all while protecting our communities and investing in local economies.”
Since the start of the Biden-Harris administration, the BLM has approved 41 renewable energy projects on public lands (10 solar, 13 geothermal, and 18 gen-ties), allowing for early achievement of the goal to permit 25 gigawatts by 2025. Leaders have also celebrated the groundbreakings of the TransWest Express Transmission Project, Ten West Link, and the SunZia Transmission Project, with Greenlink West becoming the fourth approval during this Administration. With today’s announced progress, the BLM has now permitted enough clean energy projects on public lands to power over 12.5 million homes and is currently processing another 55 utility-scale project proposals across the West.
“Future generations are depending on us to transition to a clean energy economy,” said BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning. “As we continue to build clean energy projects in Nevada and across the West, we remain committed to collaborating with states, Tribes and communities to responsibly manage our public lands and create good paying jobs.”
Earlier this year, the Department issued a final Renewable Energy Rule that will lower consumer energy prices and the cost of developing solar and wind projects, improve project application processes, and incentivize developers to continue responsibly developing solar and wind projects on public lands. The BLM also released a proposed updated Western Solar Plan last month, which offers a roadmap for solar energy development on public lands and expansion of efficient and environmentally responsible solar project permitting across the West.
President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is growing the American economy from the middle out and bottom up – from rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure, to driving over half a trillion dollars in new private sector manufacturing and clean energy investments in the United States, to creating good-paying jobs and building a clean energy economy that will combat the climate crisis and make our communities more resilient.
Acting Deputy Secretary Daniel-Davis and Climate Advisor Zaidi joined BLM-Nevada State Director Jon Raby and renewable energy industry representatives to announce progress on the following projects:
Greenlink West Transmission Project
The BLM is issuing a Record of Decision for the Greenlink West Transmission Project that will create a system of new transmission lines and facilities crossing federal, state, Tribal and private lands from North Las Vegas to Reno through Clark, Esmeralda, Lyon, Mineral, Nye, Storey and Washoe counties. Upon completion, the project could transmit up to 4,000 megawatts of clean energy, enough to power at least 4.8 million homes. This approval comes after a robust environmental review was initiated in 2023.
Libra Solar Project
The BLM is also issuing a Record of Decision for the Libra Solar Project, which is expected to generate and store up to 700 megawatts of energy on approximately 5,778 acres of public lands in Mineral County, Nevada. The project includes both a solar facility and a battery energy storage system, which could generate and store enough clean energy to power over 212,000 homes. The Libra Solar Project will be the largest solar-plus battery energy storage project in Nevada and one of the largest in the United States. The efficient review of this proposal also was initiated in 2023.
Greenlink North Transmission Project
The BLM has opened a comment period for the proposed Greenlink North Transmission Project Draft Resource Management Plan Amendment and Environmental Impact Statement. If approved, the project would designate a 210-mile long by 3,500-foot-wide utility corridor starting near Ely in White Pine County, crossing public lands through Eureka, Lander and Churchill counties, and ending near Yerington in Lyon County. This transmission project could unlock up to 4,000 megawatts of clean energy.
Bonanza Solar Project
The BLM has opened a comment period for the Bonanza Solar Project Draft Resource Management Plan Amendment and Environmental Impact Statement. The proposed 300-megawatt solar facility would include battery storage and a 5.4-mile gen-tie line on approximately 5,133-acres of public lands in Clark and Nye counties, near Las Vegas.
