October 23, 2026 - 2:34 pm

PAHRUMP — Preliminary development plans for a large-scale solar generation facility on the border of Nye County and Clark County won key early support from Nye County commissioners on Tuesday despite continued community opposition.

Copper Rays Solar has been proposed as a large-scale commercial solar generation facility on 4,414 acres of BLM land just southeast of Pahrump. The Bureau of Land Management issued its final environmental impact statement for the project in August, and the developer has started the process of obtaining local approvals.

Commissioners voted 4 to 1 on Tuesday to grant developer Duane Enger a special use permit and approve a preliminary development plan required under Nye County code. The vote followed an hour of public comment during which several residents expressed concerns over the project’s impact on water and the environment and skepticism about taking the developer at his word.

“Do we really want Pahrump to look like this?…