Rural Nevada Counties Struggle to Keep up with Solar 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.