What could have been the largest solar PV projects of its time in the US, the 6.2 GW strong Esmeralda Seven Solar Project, has suffered a huge setback as the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has ‘cancelled’ the facility.
The Esmeralda Seven Project comprised the following 7 solar and battery energy storage system (BESS) facilities:
Lone Mountain Solar: 1 GW solar PV and 500 MW storage
Nivloc Solar: 500 MW PV and BESS
Smoky Valley Solar: 1 GW PV and BESS
Red Ridge I Solar: 600 MW PV and BESS
Red Ridge 2 Solar: 600 MW PV BESS
Esmeralda Energy Center: 1 GW PV and BESS
Gold Dust Solar: 1.5 GW PV and 1 GW BESS
These facilities were proposed to be located on public land managed by the BLM in Esmeralda County, Nevada.
Details regarding the BLM cancelling the environmental review of the project under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) are not yet available owing to the ongoing government shutdown. However, the project page on its website specifies the NEPA status of the project as cancelled.
Local media reports referred to a Department of the Interior statement that explains that ‘the proponents and the BLM agreed to change their approach’ regarding the project. “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,” stated the department.
This move is consistent with the federal government’s pushback against renewables following the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) in July 2025. Solar and wind energy technologies have especially been at the receiving end with earlier-than-expected clean energy tax credits phasing out (see US Treasury Tightens Rules on Clean Energy Tax Credits).
The Esmeralda project may not be the last to meet this fate, fears the industry, as the government continues to tighten rules around solar and wind energy projects (see Elevated US Federal Scrutiny For Wind & Solar Energy Projects). It is also starving clean energy of federal funds (see US To Pull Back $13 Billion In Funds Meant For Green Energy).
