- BLM said the site will be reserved for two years, preventing the land from being sold or subject to new mining claims.
- US Congress directed BLM to enable the construction of 25 GW of Renewable projects on public lands no later than 2025.
The United States Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has designated 4,211 acres (1,704 hectares) of public lands in Nevada’s White Pine County for the proposed development of about 400MW solar park. Also, the agency said that the specific site will be reserved for two years, preventing the land from being sold or subject to new mining claims.
During this period, the land will be removed from appropriation, and BLM will determine whether it is suitable for the proposed photovoltaic (PV) scheme. If the outcome is positive, the land 15 miles west of Ely will become home to the Pantheon Solar Development Project launched by Pantheon LLC.
In addition, the proposal includes a battery energy storage component with a proposed capacity of up to 950 MW. This segregation for the identified land was effective from October 31, 2023. The process aligns with a decision by the US Congress directing BLM to enable the construction of 25 GW of solar, wind and geothermal projects on public lands no later than 2025. Last month, BLM set aside 70,000 acres of public land for what will be Nevada’s largest wind farm. This will include a 600MW plant built in the state’s primarily uninhabited Newark Valley.