Brady PieperThe U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has announced the advancement of four renewable energy projects in Nevada that will bring new transmission lines, solar facilities and over 4.7 gigawatts of renewable energy to homes on the Western electric grid.
The announcement finalizes two projects – the Greenlink West Transmission project and the Libra Solar Project – that will bring a combined 4,700 megawatts of renewable energy to western homes. The projects aim to advance renewable energy technologies, deliver clean, reliable energy from the Nevada desert to the Western electric grid, create more union jobs and power nearly 5 million homes.
For one project, BLM is issuing a Record of Decision (ROD) to NV Energy for the Greenlink West Transmission project. As a part of the larger Greenlink program, the West project will construct a 350-mile, 525-kilovolt transmission line from Las Vegas to Yerington along with additional transmission lines on private, state and federal lands. Construction on the project is set to begin in the first quarter of 2025 and end by May 2027.
The Libra Solar Project, managed by Las Vegas-based LLC Arevia Power, aims to generate and store up to 700 megawatts of energy through a solar facility and battery energy storage system on 5,778 acres of BLM-issued public land. BLM is issuing a ROD to Arevia Power following a review of the proposal initiated in 2023. The project will be the largest solar-plus battery energy storage project in Nevada, one of the largest in the U.S. and has the potential to power over 210,000 homes.
For the second half of the announcement, BLM has initiated comment periods for two additional proposals, the Greenlink North Transmission Project and the Bonanza Solar Project.
The Greenlink North Transmission project, the second piece of the Greenlink program, will construct a 525 kilovolt transmission line that spans 235 miles from Ely to Yerington. Project facilitators anticipate the program will support an “unprecedented” growth in both companies and residents with improved system reliability and the promotion of economic development.
The fourth project of the announcement, the Bonanza Solar project, has opened a 90-day public comment period hosted by the BLM. Following EDF Renewables Development Inc’s right-of-way application and preliminary Plan of Development, the project will construct, operate and decommission a proposed 300-megawatt solar energy initiative which includes battery energy storage and interconnection to the regional transmission system. The project, proposed on public land, will claim right-of-way for construction on 5,133 acres of BLM-managed land in Clark and Nye counties.
Since 2020, the BLM has approved 41 projects addressing renewable energy initiatives on public lands. These projects include ten solar, 13 geothermal and 18 gen-ties proposals and expedite BLM’s goal of achieving 25 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2025.
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