The Trump administration has canceled the Esmeralda 7 solar project in Nevada — a sweeping, multi-developer clean energy plan that would have been the largest solar installation in North America.
The Esmeralda 7 project, composed of seven connected solar farms proposed by NextEra Energy Resources, Leeward Renewable Energy, Arevia Power, and Invenergy, was designed to sit across around 185 square miles of public land, an area nearly the size of Las Vegas. The plan promised to deliver about 5,350 MW of electricity, enough to power nearly 2 million homes – that’s three times the Hoover Dam’s generating capacity.
The Biden administration had permitted the developers’ joint proposals, and the Trump administration had advanced the project’s draft environmental impact statement. However, the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) hadn’t issued a final environmental impact statement or record of decision.
Yesterday, the BLM’s website marked the project as canceled. That’s part of a broader shift within the Trump administration away from utility-scale renewable energy development on federal land — even as global clean energy buildout accelerates.
According to Politico, “The Interior Department in a statement Friday afternoon said that the solar developers and BLM had ‘agreed to change their approach for the Esmeralda 7 Solar Project in Nevada. Instead of pursuing a programmatic level environmental analysis, the applicants will now have the option to submit individual project proposals to the BLM to more effectively analyze potential impacts.'”
The BLM had spent years reviewing Esmeralda 7’s potential impacts on wildlife and public lands, so clean energy advocates say the decision to scrap the project is more political than procedural.
“Pulling the plug on this project without explanation won’t lower electricity bills for Nevada families and businesses. Restricting the supply of cheap electricity only makes the problem worse,” said Ted Kelly, director and lead counsel for US Clean Energy at Environmental Defense Fund. “Instead, the Trump administration is doubling down on costly fossil fuels like coal, opening up new federal lands for coal mining and handing out over $600 million in subsidies to keep polluting, aging coal plants on life support.”
Electrek’s Take
Anyone shocked by this move hasn’t been paying attention, but that doesn’t make it any less destructive. Killing the Esmeralda 7 project isn’t just a setback for Nevada – it’s a blow to US energy independence, and making the developers jump through the same hoops all over again is a stall tactic. Utility-scale solar, like Esmeralda 7, is the backbone of the transition away from fossil fuels and toward true domestic energy dominance.
The US still spends billions each year importing oil, even as solar power remains the cheapest source of new electricity in history. Every canceled project like this one delays when the US can power itself with affordable clean energy, which means higher prices, higher emissions, and fewer jobs in the long run. And don’t expect this one to be a one-off cancellation of renewables on federal lands, seeing how Trump is encouraging the buildout of fossil fuel projects on those same lands.
Top comment by Make Tesla Great Again
Let the market decide used to be the battle cry of the fossil fuel advocates.
Now they are concerned about protecting the wilderness. Just in case its needed for a pipeline down the road.
Read more: Ørsted to axe 2,000 jobs after US wind setbacks caused by Trump
Editor’s note: Environmental Defense Fund’s quote has been updated for accuracy.
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