14-05-2025
BLM announces ‘significant policy shift' related to solar, wind leases
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Discounted leases for solar and wind projects would be rescinded under a proposal announced Wednesday by the federal government.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management called it a 'significant policy shift' to eliminate conditions that favored renewable energy projects under the Biden administration. It has wide implications for projects in Nevada, where BLM leases provide the land for solar energy projects planned between Las Vegas and Reno, as well as elsewhere in the state.
It's not unexpected, but shows how federal agencies are implementing the sweeping executive orders that came out in the first days of the Trump administration.
'An economic blow to Nevada': Trump's executive order on energy has wide implications
'Eliminating the Biden administration's preferential treatment of unaffordable, unreliable'intermittent' projects and dismantling excessive, one-sided restrictions on traditional energy sources like oil, gas, and critical minerals, will unlock the full potential of America's natural resources,' Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said in the announcement.
'This step will restore balance, strengthens our energy independence, and ensures taxpayers get the maximum return from the responsible use of our public lands,' he said.
Nevadans have shouldered the burden of high utility bills in recent years as natural gas prices soared, but prices dropped after a big spike in 2022. Renewable energy has become a bigger part of the electricity that NV Energy sells — rising to 47% in 2024.
The BLM news release said the move 'would eliminate rate reductions that biased renewable energy development over other energy sources, while still allowing renewables to play a part in achieving American Energy Dominance. This action would align with the direction of Executive Order 14154 and Secretary's Order 3418, Unleashing American Energy, which will reinvigorate the U.S. energy sector by creating high-paying jobs as well as safe, reliable, and robust domestic energy production on BLM-managed lands.'
BLM said it would show a commitment to 'all-of-the-above energy development that serves the national interest.'
Specifically, it proposes to rescind a rule issued on May 1, 2024.
The announcement follows a Tuesday news release that promised faster reviews of leases, reducing the entire process to six months.
The Trump administration had previously ordered environmental reviews to be less cumbersome, reducing the time allowed to complete the process.
Oil and gas leases can be competitive in some states, but a recent auction in Nevada brought only the minimum bid for most of the land available. An article posted by the advocacy group Taxpayers for Common Sense said Nevada has little potential for oil and gas development.
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