The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is inviting public comments on a proposal for a 700-MW solar photovoltaic (PV) park with battery storage in Nevada's Pahrump Valley. The comment period, which opened on Thursday, will last for 90 days, allowing input until December 19.
The agency is specifically looking for feedback on the Draft Resource Management Plan Amendment and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) associated with the project.
BLM emphasized that the most constructive comments should address the resource analysis, including potential environmental effects of the proposed action and alternatives, as well as measures to mitigate those effects.
The Copper Rays solar complex is planned to be developed on approximately 4,414 acres of BLM-managed land in Nye County, located about 40 miles west of Las Vegas. The project is being proposed by Copper Rays Solar, LLC, a subsidiary of Leeward Renewable Energy. According to the documentation, the installation will occur in three phases and will incorporate a battery storage system with a capacity of 700 MW.
In a related initiative, BLM is also conducting a public comment period for the Cowboy Solar project, which proposes up to 200 MW of solar capacity in New Mexico's Eddy County.
If deemed viable, this project will utilize 2,528 acres of public lands. The comment period for Cowboy Solar will close on November 3.
Will the power serve Nevada or California, California has a lot of desert it can place solar farms to serve California. The Pahrump Valley is already low on water reserves and wells are constantly being drilled deeper to get to the water as it is. We have seen what happens when these batteries catch fire and the smoke from these fires would fill the Pahrump Valley and be a great health problem for everyone in the valley. I vote NO to preserve the Pahrump Valley !