Federal Government Approves Major Nevada Power Projects

Electric power lines at sunset in El Segundo, California, on Aug. 31, 2022. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

Major energy projects in Nevada have been approved by the federal government, including a transmission line that will run for hundreds of miles along the state’s border with California.

The Greenlink West Transmission Project will create a system of new transmission lines and facilities from North Las Vegas to Reno, passing through several counties, according to a Sept. 9 press release from the Department of the Interior.

The lines are expected to be built in 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.

Upon completion, the project could transmit up to 4,000 megawatts of energy, enough to power at least 4.8 million homes, according to the department.

The administration also approved the Libra Solar Project, which involves building a solar facility and a battery energy storage system on approximately 5,778 acres of public land in Mineral County, Nevada.

The Department of the Interior estimates that the project could generate and store enough power for more than 212,000 homes. It would also be the largest solar-plus-battery energy storage project in Nevada.

Acting Deputy Secretary of the Interior Laura Daniel-Davis said the goal of the new projects is to make communities more energy-resilient and create jobs.

A public comment period has been opened for another initiative, the Bonanza Solar Project. The project proposes building a solar facility, battery storage, and a 5.4-mile generation tie line (gen-tie) on approximately 5,133 acres of public land in Clark and Nye counties, near Las Vegas.

Since 2021, the BLM has approved 41 renewable energy projects on public lands: 10 solar, 13 geothermal, and 18 gen-tie lines, which consist of poles, wires, cables, anchors, and foundations connecting nearby power generation sites and substations.

The White House’s national climate adviser, Ali Zaidi, said the projects are part of a wider strategy to combat pollution.

“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,” she said.