Local officials are calling for state regulations that would require federal land managers to enter agreements with local jurisdictions before moving forward with major renewable energy projects.
Local officials in rural Nevada counties say they are being overwhelmed by proposed renewable energy projects, largely planned for public lands managed by the federal government.
As Jeniffer Solis explains in Daily Yonder, “Several rural counties are now asking state lawmakers to establish a policy that would require federal agencies to coordinate all their land use planning and management decisions with state and county governments when considering massive utility-scale energy projects on Nevada’s public lands.”
Local officials say they do not have the resources and staff required to assess and monitor large-scale solar and wind projects and how they could impact local infrastructure and economies. In some counties, a significant portion of employment depends on federally managed lands. For example, “Nearly all of Eureka County’s employment is in the natural resources sector, including mining, farming, and ranching.”
There is also concern over regulations for environmental protection, how to dispose of defunct solar panels and equipment, and how massive solar projects will impact ranching and agricultural production.
FULL STORY: Rural Officials Tell NV Lawmakers They Can’t Keep Up With Flood of Proposed Energy Projects
New Jersey Agrivoltaic Project Combines Solar Energy With Farming
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BLM Allocates Funding to Study Renewables Impact on Public Lands
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Renewable Energy Overtakes Coal for First Time
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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
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Albuquerque’s Microtransit: A Planner’s Answer to Food Access Gaps
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This City Will Pay You to Meet Your Neighbors
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Commentary: Our Silence Will Not Protect Us
Keeping our heads down and our language inoffensive is not the right response to the times we’re in. Solidarity and courage is.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
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