Putting the scale in utility-scale solar.
"The U.S. Department of the Interior on Monday signed off on Nevada’s Gemini Solar Project, which could be the largest U.S. solar plant once constructed," reports Emma Foehringer Merchant.
"In addition to topping the list as the largest solar project in the U.S., Gemini includes 380 megawatts of battery storage, part of a trend of mega-solar projects coming with significant storage attached," according to Merchant.
"The project will serve NV Energy, part of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate, as the utility works to meet Nevada's state requirement for 50 percent renewables by 2030 and 100 percent clean energy by 2050."
A separate article for the Wall Street Journal (paywall) notes that the $1 billion, 690-megawatt project would be large enough to power 260,000 households, or "enough to cover the residential population of Las Vegas." Additional coverage is available from the Los Angeles Times.
Read the full story: Trump Administration Approves $1B Gemini Solar Project in Nevada Desert
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
US buildings threatened, destroyed by fires set to triple by 2060
Researchers found a high fire risk for socioeconomically vulnerable neighborhoods in the American West.
LA residents may be allowed to paint their own crosswalks
Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky put out a motion instructing the Los Angeles Department of Public Transportation to study the feasibility of allowing volunteers to paint crosswalks.
Dallas moves to overhaul its zoning code
The city's zoning reform will allow more multi-family and mixed-use developments.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority