BLM warns NEPA changes, secretarial review will delay many Nevada solar projects; Libra Solar paused

CARSON CITY — Bureau of Land Management officials briefed the Lyon County Board of County Commissioners on Nov. 20 about recent federal changes to environmental review rules and the status of regional energy projects, warning that many renewables projects will face delays.

Kimberly Dow, district manager for the BLM Carson City District, said the Department of Interior has adopted a single NEPA handbook for DOI agencies that imposes page and time limits — 75 pages and one year for environmental assessments (EAs) and 150 pages and two years for environmental impact statements (EIS). "Public involvement is now generally limited to mandatory requirements or when it's determined to be warranted," Dow said, adding that BLM Nevada's existing internal timelines (shorter than DOI's limits) will continue to govern many reviews.

Dow told commissioners the changes mean that for many projects the public’s first opportunity to comment may come only after a final EA or final EIS and decision are published, rather than through earlier scoping and draft documents. She said cooperating agency and tribal consultation remain in place.

On renewable projects, Dow said BLM Nevada posted an EA for a recent geothermal lease sale and reported statewide sales of 86 parcels (about 280,000 acres), which brought in approximately $9.5 million. In the Carson City District, nine nominated parcels were sold in the district’s October lease sale.

On solar, Dow said the district had notified Lyon County of 12 applications of interest within the county. "We sent a letter to Lyon County identifying the solar applications within your area of interest," she said. Most of those projects remain pre-NEPA or in baseline-data collection. She highlighted that one project, Libra Solar, had a right-of-way issued in November but cannot proceed to the next construction steps until the secretary provides concurrence, meaning the project is effectively paused.

Dow said a July 2025 secretarial memorandum requires secretarial review of dozens of wind- and solar-related actions and that BLM Nevada submitted 10 projects for secretary-level review, prioritizing projects far along in permitting. In addition to the secretarial review pause, Dow said reductions in incentives under new federal law may cause some proponents to withdraw applications.

BLM also briefed the board on transmission work tied to Greenlink (two Greenlink projects) and a roughly 16-mile transmission loop near Silver Springs that would be partly on BLM land and could serve multiple end users, including a potential Microsoft data center. Dow said cultural surveys and other permitting steps remain outstanding; she estimated the Greenlink North decision in April and construction could finish by December 2028 for that segment.

Dow said an earlier Pinet solar application was reconfigured by its proponent into a 103‑acre, 200‑megawatt battery energy storage system after failing to secure a power purchase agreement and because Greenlink routing constrained solar placement.

Commissioners asked about timelines and which decisions determine whether projects receive scoping or additional public engagement; Dow said the district’s default is to forgo scoping unless a state director or program requirements make it necessary. "If it's very controversial or there's a lot of interest, we go to our state director and have a conversation," she said.

Why it matters: Commissioners said Lyon County has an interest in early notification of proposed projects and stressed that counties should be brought into communications as soon as applications are accepted. The secretarial review requirement and changing NEPA practice could reduce earlier local opportunities to influence project design and mitigation.

Next steps: BLM will continue baseline-data review where allowed and await secretarial concurrence where required; commissioners said they want to be informed early when projects reach county-relevant milestones.