5 Nevada renewable energy projects make BLM priority list PDF Print E-mail
Written by Jim Sloan   
Friday, 02 December 2011 17:19
Silver_State_lable_web_350pThe Bureau of Land Management has put five Nevada renewable energy projects on its 2012 priority list.

The five utility-scale projects in Nevada include three solar farms, one wind project and a geothermal project. All the projects would be built on public land.

The five projects in Nevada include:

• Amargosa North Solar, a 100-megawatt photovoltaic project being built by Pacific Solar Investments.

• Silver State South, a 350-megawatt photovoltaic farm planned by First Solar. The first phase of this project is under construction and will be complete by the end of the year. NWP has been meeting with the developer on the second phase but the builders are waiting for a transmission and substation to be built by Southern California Edison before moving ahead.

• Moapa Solar Project, a 350-megawatt plant planned on tribal lands in Clark County. This one appears to be a good project situated in the right location – directly north of the proposed Dry Lake Solar zone in the Apex area.

• The 200-megawatt Searchlight wind farm being built by Duke Energy. The draft EIS for this one should be out in a month or two. We’re not aware of any biological issues, but the Lake Mead Recreation Area is opposed to it because of the visual impact of its location west of Cottonwood Cove.

• The 62-megawatt New York Canyon geothermal project planned by Terragen.

All told, the five Nevada projects are expected to generate up more than 1,100 megawatts of power a year and cover more than 50,000 acres of BLM land in the state. In addition, five solar farms in California, one solar farm in Arizona, three wind farms from Wyoming, one wind farm each in Arizona and California and a geothermal plant in California made the BLM priority list.

According to the BLM’s February 2011 policy memorandum, the priority list helps BLM ensure that projects don’t disturb sensitive areas or require intense road transmission line construction. Projects that avoid special areas, including sensitive wildlife habitat, conservation areas and wilderness, and have fewer conflicts get a higher priority.

We look forward to seeing BLM plans to deliver conservation of wildlife habitats or important landscapes in lieu of the continued transition of so much public land to single-use developments.

 

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