The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has released a draft analyzing the environmental impacts of the proposed Gemini Solar Project, which would be located on BLM-administered land northeast of Las Vegas.
The agency is also opening a 90-day comment period and will hold a series of public meetings to discuss the project and its anticipated impact on BLM-managed public lands and resources.
If approved, the project would total 690 MW AC – which would make it the largest solar facility in the U.S. Project proponents estimate that the project would generate up to 2,000 direct jobs at peak construction, with a permanent staff of seven operating the facility after construction.
“The proposed Gemini Solar Project would represent a significant increase in renewable energy capacity for Nevada and the West,” comments Tim Smith, BLM’s southern Nevada district manager.
The BLM published a notice of availability in the Federal Register for a draft resource management plan amendment and draft environmental impact statement analyzing the proposal by Solar Partners XI LLC (Arevia) to construct, operate and eventually decommission the Gemini Solar Project. The project would be located on roughly 7,100 acres of BLM-administered public lands approximately 33 miles northeast of Las Vegas and directly south of the Moapa River Indian Reservation.
The notice of availability opens a 90-day public comment period that will end on Sept. 5. The BLM will also host a series of public meetings, with details to be announced at least 15 days in advance through public notices, media releases, mailings and the BLM website. More information can be found here.
