US government cancels 6.2 GW Esmeralda solar project in Nevada
Image: U.S. Department of the Interior / Wikimedia Commons
From pv magazine USA
The United States Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has officially axed the Esmeralda 7 solar project, a project that would have smashed records as the largest solar facility in the United States.
The 6.2 GW solar project, located in Nevada, would have added enough electric generation capacity to power nearly 2 million U.S. homes. For context, the largest solar project in the U.S. is the Mammoth solar project in Indiana, a 1.3 GW currently project being built in phases.
The project’s NEPA environmental review had been stalled since Donald Trump took office. It is now officially listed on BLM’s website as cancelled.
Site of the Esmeralda solar project.
Image: Bureau of Land Management
Despite campaigning on an “all the above” energy policy, the Trump administration has cracked down harshly on renewable energy development.
This July, the Department of Interior announced it will require “elevated review” for solar and wind projects on public land by Trump-appointee Secretary Doug Burgum. Projects seeking leases, rights-of-way, construction and operation plans, grants, consultations and biological opinions are now subject to approval by Burgum.
Kabir Green, director of federal affairs for nature at the Natural Resources Defense Council said the move imposes unprecedented scrutiny and bureaucratic roadblocks that could indefinity delay or delay clean energy projects on public lands.
“It is not about oversight, but about unfettered obstruction of wind and solar projects that create jobs, cut pollution, lower costs and strengthen communities. This policy protects select industry profits, not the public interest,” said Green.
The Esmeralda 7 project is comprised of seven projects developed by NextEra Energy Resources, Leeward Renewable Energy, Arevia Power and Invenergy. The projects would cover about 185 square miles of land, a land area close to the size of Las Vegas.
BLM’s cancellation of Esmeralda 7 moves in lockstep with President Trump’s message on Truth social late August: “We will not approve wind or farmer destroying Solar.”
Trump’s administration has taken a series of anti-renewables actions during his second term, on top of Congress’ clean energy-gutting One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Federal actions include:
An executive order requiring that Treasury apply stricter qualifications for solar and wind projects seeking federal tax credits.
The Environmental Protection Agency is clawing back $7 billion in Solar For All grant funding. The grants are intended to support community solar projects with guaranteed bill savings for low-income Americans.
Solar and wind projects seeking to develop on federally owned land now face “final review” from Trump-appointed Department of Interior head Doug Burgum.
Trump executive order directed the Department of the Interior to scrub for “preferential treatment” for wind and solar and eliminate such treatment.
U.S. Department of Agriculture will “no longer” fund solar projects, like those made available to farms and small businesses via the $4 billion Rural Energy for America (REAP) grant program.
President Trump implemented widespread tariffs to most goods, as well as energy component-specific tariffs and tariffs on critical materials like steel and aluminum.
Despite the many roadblocks, renewable energy is dominating new-build electric generation project queues. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported the U.S. is projected to have a record year for electric capacity buildout in 2025, adding 64 GW. The previous record was set in 2002, when developers added 58 GW of capacity, 57 GW of which was natural gas.
But this time, the record year for installations will be led by an emissions-free source instead. Solar is expected to account for 33.3 GW of the 64 GW added this year. This is followed by 18.3 GW of battery energy storage, 7.8 GW of wind and 4.7 GW of natural gas, said EIA.
Analysis from Lazard finds that solar and wind energy projects have a lower levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) than nearly all fossil fuel projects – even without subsidy.
pv magazine USA has contacted the Esmeralda project developers and will follow up with more information on the cancellation listing on BLM’s site.