Take Action
Copper Rays Solar Project
As of September 20, 2024, the Bureau of Land Management has opened a 90-day comment period on the Copper Rays Solar Project, a proposed 700 megawatt (MW) photovoltaic solar project with 700 MW of battery storage on about 4,414 acres of BLM land in Nye County, Nevada.
The Copper Rays Solar Project would be in the Pahrump Valley, immediately adjacent to the Clark County line, southeast of the town of Pahrump, and approximately 40 miles west of Las Vegas.
The 90-day comment period on the Draft Resource Management Plan Amendment and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) opened today and will close December 19, 2024.
BLM intends to host one virtual and one in-person public meeting. See the meeting details below:
- Pahrump, Nev. on October 22, 2024, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time PDT at the Pahrump Nugget Hotel and Casino, 681 NV-160, Pahrump, Nev., 89048.
- Virtual meeting on October 24, 2024, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. (PDT).
Register for the virtual meeting on October 24, 2024 at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Qr9d_2Y0THiCwDNHRUmdng
Interested parties may mail written comments to the BLM Pahrump Field Office, Attn: Copper Rays Solar Project, 4701 N. Torrey Pines Drive, Las Vegas, Nev. 89130 or email comments to BLM_NV_SND_EnergyProjects@blm.gov. Comments may also be submitted starting on Friday September 20, 2024 by using the βParticipate Nowβ link here.
For more information, please contact Jessica Headen, Project Manager, at 702-515-5206 or email BLM_NV_SND_EnergyProjects@blm.gov.
Talking Points to Use in Your Comment:
- The proposed project will have significant impacts to desert tortoise populations and other at-risk species whose habitat is already shrinking.
- The portion of Pahrump Valley included within the proposal is a largely intact portion of Mojave Desert that should be conserved to meet climate goals. Developing it for utility scale solar is not consistent with this.
- The Salt Song trail, a spiritual pathway for southern Paiute and Chemehuevi peoples, will be adversely impacted. Cultural sites and resources may be as well.
- The proposed project will not be a tangible net benefit to local communities, potentially impacting property values, a rural lifestyle, and local economic sustainability.
- The proposed project will withdraw significant water resources from an already over drafted aquifer, thereby negatively impacting the environment and communities that depend upon this limited resource.
- The proposed project will impair historical and otherwise intact viewsheds, including that of the Old Spanish National Historic Trail. Β