US Bureau of Land Management advances 6.2GW of solar projects

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
The projects are located in the US states of Nevada and Arizona. Image: Michelle Ailport, BLM

The US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is pursuing the development of nine solar PV projects with a combined capacity of over 6.2GW.

The flagship development is the Esmerelda 7 solar and battery energy storage system (BESS) project, which comprises seven utility-scale solar facilities with a combined 5.35GW of generation capacity. The sites would be deployed on 118,000 acres of public lands in Nevada, near the historic mining town of Tonopah. All of the seven sites would be paired with BESS, though the BLM did not disclose the storage capacity or duration.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

Esmerelda 7 is currently undergoing a public comment period on the BLM’s Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement and Resource Management Plan Amendment. The sites will then undergo environmental analyses before potentially being approved.

The BLM also published the final environmental impact statement for the Libra solar project, also in Nevada. The site would pair 700MW of solar PV generation capacity with a 700MW of BESS over 5,100 acres across Mineral and Lyon counties. Libra would also incorporate a 24-mile-long generation tie-line to connect the area to the grid.

A public comment period has also begun for the 270MW/300MW Elisabeth solar-plus-storage project in Arizona. BLM is seeking comments on the project’s draft environmental assessment. The site is located near Dateland, Arizona, over 1,400 acres in the Agua Caliente Solar Energy Zone, which the BLM established in 2013 as part of its Western Solar Plan.

The Bureau said it also began preliminary reviews for roughly 166 applications for solar PV and wind project development.

The BLM is part of the US Department of the Interior (DOI) and is responsible for administering federal lands. It has responsibility for around one-eighth of the total US landmass, including federally protected natural areas and tribal lands.

In April, the DOI announced that the BLM had granted permits to over 25GW of renewable energy projects on these lands. These included solar, wind and geothermal generation capacity. At the same time, it announced an update to its Renewable Energy Rule, reducing capacity fees and streamlining the application review process.

January saw the Bureau expand its Western Solar Plan and add areas in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah to the scheme. The areas identified had high solar potential and low resource conflict which the BLM said would ensure responsible development and provide certainty to developers.

Tracy Stone-Manning, BLM director said: “The Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to sustainable development means that we are protecting our natural and cultural resources while moving quickly towards our nation’s clean energy goals.”

21 October 2025
New York, USA
Returning for its 12th edition, Solar and Storage Finance USA Summit remains the annual event where decision-makers at the forefront of solar and storage projects across the United States and capital converge. Featuring the most active solar and storage transactors, join us for a packed two-days of deal-making, learning and networking.
16 June 2026
Napa, USA
PV Tech has been running PV ModuleTech Conferences since 2017. PV ModuleTech USA, on 16-17 June 2026, will be our fifth PV ModulelTech conference dedicated to the U.S. utility scale solar sector. The event will gather the key stakeholders from solar developers, solar asset owners and investors, PV manufacturing, policy-making and and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out the PV module supply channels to the U.S. out to 2027 and beyond.

Read Next

October 7, 2025
Econergy will acquire 100% stake in the 155MW Ratesti solar project in Romania, further expanding its European renewable energy portfolio.
October 7, 2025
Juniper Green Energy through its subsidiary Juniper Green Sigma Eight has signed a 70MW power purchase agreement with renewable energy giant Tata Power. 
October 7, 2025
Solar PV will account for almost 80% of the 4.6TW of new renewable power expected to be added by 2030, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
October 7, 2025
OpenSolar has secured US$13.1 million in equity financing from technology investors, including Titanium Ventures, Google and others.
October 7, 2025
Doral Renewables has secured a PPA with an unnamed 'corporate buyer' for its 430MW Cold Creek solar-plus-storage project in Texas.
October 7, 2025
US independent power producer (IPP) Arevon has begun operations at two utility-scale solar projects in Indiana.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
October 21, 2025
New York, USA
Solar Media Events
November 25, 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Solar Media Events
December 2, 2025
Málaga, Spain
Solar Media Events
February 3, 2026
London, UK