A Department of Interior auction of four parcels of land capable of hosting close to 3 GW of utility-scale solar development in Nevada received a total of $105.15 million in high bids, the department said last week, making it the highest-yielding onshore renewable auction it has ever had.
Interior’s Bureau of Land Management, or BLM, auctioned off a total of 23,675 acres in the Amargosa Desert last week. The department has identified provisional winners for two of the parcels and preferred applications on the other two, which were located outside of the Amargosa Valley Solar Energy Zone and will require successful bidders to submit a right-of-way application and development plan.
Nevada utility NV Energy was the high bidder for the two leases inside the solar energy zone, bidding $35.25 million for Parcel A’s 3,775 acres and $46.6 million for Parcel B’s 3,451 acres.
NV Energy is also developing two transmission projects in the state that would connect up to a total of eight gigawatts of renewable energy to the grid.
NextEra Energy Resources subsidiary Boulevard Associates placed the high bid of $21 million for the right to submit a solar energy development proposal for the 10,129-acre Parcel 1, and Leeward Renewable Energy subsidiary Silver Star Solar I placed the high bid of $2.3 million on the 6,320-acre Parcel 2, both outside the solar energy zone.
When project proposals are submitted for the parcels, they will join the 74 utility-scale onshore renewables projects on public land that BLM is currently processing. These projects include solar, wind and geothermal developments, in addition to interconnected generation-intertie transmission lines.
“This record-breaking auction for solar energy development is further evidence that the demand for clean energy has never been greater,” said Interior Secretary Deb Haaland in a June 28 statement. “The technological advances, increased interest, cost effectiveness, and tremendous economic potential make these projects a reliable path for diversifying our nation’s energy portfolio.”
