Trump-won states led over 70% of first-half U.S. solar capacity
Southern Nevada’s vast desert — where the sun beats down an average of 300 days a year and where spiky green shrubs known as Spanish daggers dot the landscape — has emerged as a focal point for a new generation of federal-land solar farms. Eight such projects are advancing through the Interior Department’s pipeline, according to the Bureau of Land Management.
Gov. Joe Lombardo, a Republican, is taking credit for the administration’s reversal — and said it was relatively easy to persuade the president to embrace solar in the Silver State. Nevada, which voted for Trump in 2024 and gets about one-third of its energy from the sun’s rays, is one of the top producers and consumers of solar power in the U.S.
Speaking on the “GangboX” podcast, which focuses on union construction workers in the area, Lombardo recounted telling Trump about Nevada’s solar ambitions. “I walked him through it. I said, ‘You’ve been to Nevada; you have a hotel in Nevada,’” Lombardo said. “He goes, ‘OK, sounds good, I’m glad you brought it up. I’ll call Burgum and tell him it’s allowable in Nevada’ — that’s as simple as it was.”
The developments are part of a broader pattern. States that Trump won in 2024 accounted for more than 70% of all solar capacity installed in the U.S. in the first half of 2026, and eight of the top 10 states for new installations were Trump-won states, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. The industry has grown quickly even though the Trump administration last year essentially put new solar development on federal lands on ice.
Two of the highest-profile Nevada projects advancing are the Mosey Solar Project and the Purple Sage Energy Center, both poised to be built around the Pahrump Valley. Mosey, a 500-megawatt solar farm with battery storage, is projected to cost $1.7 billion and cover about 3,565 acres of public land; construction could begin as soon as 2029. Purple Sage is a slightly smaller solar-power and battery-storage project. Until recently, both had been in limbo.
“It’s encouraging to see these projects moving forward,” said Tim Pawlenty, president and chief executive of the Solar Energy Industries Association. “But we also need a predictable, durable permitting framework that allows all projects to move forward in a timely way so we can keep adding affordable power to the grid.” Kelsey Jonat, senior manager of development at Clearway Energy Group, the developer behind Mosey, said the project will “support a more resilient energy grid and create new revenue” for the area.
The advance comes despite the administration’s broader constraints on renewable energy. An order from Trump to scrutinize renewable projects requires Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s office to personally approve all solar and wind energy projects on federal lands and waters. A federal judge sided with renewable companies after they challenged the department’s policy in court, blocking the requirement. The One Big Beautiful Bill, according to the source, gutted incentives for clean energy.
Since the start of Trump’s second term, about 20 applications and two solar authorizations have been closed by the Bureau of Land Management, the agency said, with some withdrawn by applicants and others rejected. “Projects advance only when they meet appropriate siting and information requirements, protecting public lands and serving the long-term interests of the American people,” a BLM representative said, adding that advancing projects will “contribute to increased renewable energy, economic opportunity and reliable power.” Outside Nevada, only a handful of solar projects on federal land have moved forward this year, according to the bureau, which has lost hundreds of staff under Trump.
White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said Trump’s priority is “expanding baseload power for the American people, and he will continue to unleash reliable, affordable and secure energy.”
Nevada Democrats expressed caution about the broader federal environment. Rep. Susie Lee said developers remain in a tough spot. “We already have a struggling economy, but then you take a sledgehammer to one of the more promising sectors of our economy and basically stall any development?” she said. “No one quite knows what the special sauce is for getting your project approved.” Sen. Jacky Rosen, also a Democrat, called solar power “a critical industry for our state” for lowering utility costs and strengthening Nevada’s energy portfolio.
The state’s energy infrastructure is set to be tested as Nevada becomes a top locale for power-hungry data centers. The Interior Department approved a data center in Boulder City this summer that was originally pitched as a solar project. Las Vegas is particularly energy-thirsty. The commercial sector — including the iconic Strip lighted up by flashing neon signs flanking air-conditioned clubs and casinos — accounts for about two-fifths of the city’s total electricity demand, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Local reactions in the predominantly conservative Pahrump Valley are mixed. Kevin Emmerich, who founded the nonprofit Basin and Range Watch, said the opposition is not to solar energy itself but to the amount of land involved and the destination of the power. “There’s not a hate for solar panels — there’s resentment for the amount of land they want and where they want to send the power,” Emmerich said. “A lot of us have our own solar panels — we think it’s kind of neat.” Nevada solar power has long fed California homes, including through the Silver State South Solar Project that came online 10 years ago.