BLM to review proposal for Samantha Solar Project in Nevada

ELY, Nev. – The Bureau of Land Management has received an application for the proposed Samantha Solar Development Project west of Ely in White Pine County and is initiating the environmental review of the project. As proposed, the project would generate up to 600 megawatts of solar energy from nearly 2,900 acres of public lands, enough to power more than 180,000 homes.

A notice will publish in tomorrow’s Federal Register to protect these lands from being sold or subject to new mining claims for two years, subject to valid existing rights, while the BLM considers the proposal.

Recently, the Department of the Interior announced that BLM had achieved the major milestone of permitting 25 gigawatts of clean energy projects, including solar, wind, geothermal, and gen-ties (transmission lines that cross public lands to connect renewable energy projects on private lands to the grid). BLM is currently processing 67 utility-scale onshore clean energy projects proposed on public lands in the western United States, which have the combined potential to add more than 31,000 megawatts of renewable energy to the western electric grid. BLM is also undertaking the preliminary review of nearly 190 applications for solar and wind development, as well as 88 applications for wind and solar energy testing.

BLM manages vast stretches of public lands with the potential to make significant contributions to the nation’s renewable energy portfolio and provides sites for environmentally-sound renewable energy projects. Efficient deployment of renewable energy from our nation’s public lands is crucial in achieving the Biden-Harris administration’s goal of a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035.

For more information, please contact BLM Acting Ely Deputy District Manager Tiera Arbogast at 775-289-1847.