US Cancels Major Solar Project in Nevada Biden Had Supported

The United States is canceling a major solar project in Nevada, the latest effort by President Donald Trump to limit renewable energy development.

The Esmeralda Seven solar farm is now listed as “cancelled,” according to the Bureau of Land Management’s website, last updated Thursday.

NextEra Energy Inc. The proposed project, from developers including Invenergy and Invenergy, consisted of seven solar farms spread across 118,000 acres of federal land northwest of Las Vegas. It would be one of the largest photovoltaic power plants in the world.

Developers now have the option to “submit individual project proposals to the BLM to more effectively analyze potential impacts,” the Department of the Interior said in a statement. The decision comes as the department’s institutes allow inspections and other requirements for wind and solar farms on public lands that critics say effectively prevent the development of clean energy projects on federal property.

These include a directive requiring Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to personally sign 69 separate approvals for wind and solar proposals and an energy capacity density standard that could be difficult for solar projects to meet.

NextEra said in a statement that it was still committed to “continuing comprehensive environmental analysis of our project, working closely with the Bureau of Land Management.”

A spokesman for Invenergy declined to comment.

Esmeralda Seven was one of several major clean energy projects advanced by President Joe Biden, but efforts to promote renewable energy have faced growing opposition since Trump took office.

“The gears have come to a grinding halt, not just for this project, but for all public lands solar projects in the state,” said Patrick Donnelly, director of the Nevada-based Center for Biological Diversity.

With help from Josh Saul and Mark Chediak.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to the text.