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FACT BRIEF

Is there a plan to use nine million acres of Nevada land for solar energy?

By Todd Butterworth
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NO

In 2016, the world’s largest solar project was proposed for Nevada on 16,000 acres of land 225 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Sandstone Energy X would have generated between 1,500 and 2,000 megawatts of electricity — enough to power one million homes. However, SolarReserve withdrew its right-of-way application for the project in January 2019 after ongoing operational difficulties with a similar, but much smaller, solar project it operated in Nevada called Crescent Dunes.

The 850-megawatt Battle Born Solar Project, also proposed near Las Vegas, was canceled in 2021 due to aesthetic concerns raised by local citizens.

The world’s largest operational solar project is the Bhadla Solar Park in India, which covers 14,000 acres of land with more than 10 million solar panels that generate up to 2,250 megawatts of electricity. 

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
ZME Science World’s biggest solar power plant might be built in Nevada — it’s supposed to power 1 million homes or as much as Hoover Dam
KLAS Solar plant near Tonopah producing power for NV Energy after stop during bankruptcy
Nevada Independent NV Energy sends termination notice to massive Tonopah solar project, developer accuses Energy Department of taking over
Electrek The US’s largest solar farm is canceled because Nevada locals don’t want to look at it
Ornate Solar Top 5 Largest Solar Power Plants in the World (2022)
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The Nevada Independent
The Nevada Independent is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news and opinion website founded in 2017 by veteran political journalist and commentator Jon Ralston. The site and its supporting channels are focused on ethical, unbiased and transparent journalism. In general, we aim to gather and disseminate important public information and increase civic engagement. We are supported by corporate donations, memberships, event ticket sales and sponsorships and foundation grants. We disclose all our members and donors. Donors have no influence over our content, ever. The Nevada Independent is the dba for Nevada News Bureau, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit founded in 2010 by Elizabeth Thompson, who now serves as one of The Nevada Independent's managing directors and its Editor.
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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.