LAS VEGAS ( KLAS ) — An updated Western Solar Plan finalized on Friday sets the course for renewable energy development across 11 states, but ignores many of the conflicts that Nevada conservationists hoped it would address.
The U.S. Department of the Interior trumpeted the plan as a document that would ensure the responsible development of solar energy. It identifies 31 million acres as potential sites for renewable energy development, but acknowledges only about 700,000 acres will actually be built by 2045.
Such assurances are empty for advocates who argued — and eventually filed protests — as federal land managers pushed ahead with decisions to open land to development. A public meeting in Las Vegas on Feb. 13, 2024, showed alternatives considered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the agency that controls more than 60% of all the land in Nevada…