BLM approves Dry Lake East Energy Center Solar Project in Nevada

LAS VEGAS - The Bureau of Land Management today announced approval of the Dry Lake East Energy Center Solar Project on 1,635 acres of public lands in Clark County. The project is designed to generate up to 200 megawatts (MW) of electricity and provide up to 600 MW of battery energy storage reliability for the Nevada grid through the Harry Allen Substation.

"This project continues the tremendous progress BLM has made in permitting renewable energy projects that contribute to clean energy production for Nevada and the Nation," said BLM Las Vegas Field Manager Bruce Sillitoe. "We appreciate public involvement during the comment period. After carefully considering that feedback, we finalized the environmental assessment and will now offer a right-of-way to the applicant."

A summary of the 24 comments received during the public review period is included in the environmental assessment, which is available on the BLM National NEPA Register along with other associated documents.

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). The BLM is currently processing 66 utility-scale onshore clean energy projects proposed on public lands in the western United States, which have the combined potential to add more than 32,000 megawatts of renewable energy to the western electric grid. BLM is also undertaking the preliminary review of nearly 200 applications for solar and wind development, as well as 100 applications for wind and solar energy testing.

The 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.

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