Pahrump is nestled between an expanse of vast, open lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management, lands that have now become a target for the solar industry boom. And while divisiveness in this rural town isn’t hard to come by, if there is one thing that unites the community like no other, it’s the complete opposition to commercial solar development.
Next week, the Private Well Owners Association will be holding its monthly meeting with a special guest speaker, Kevin Emmerich, who will discuss the half-a-dozen or so large-scale solar fields either approved or proposed in and around the Pahrump Valley. In addition, Emmerich will speak on the increased interest by companies looking to mine lithium in other parts of Nye County.
“Kevin Emmerich, desert conservationist and co-founder of Basin and Range Watch, will present an update on the ‘Solar Farm Invasion in Southern Nye County’ at the Private Well Owners Association meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 6,” a news release from the association announced. “Emmerich, a National Park Service retiree and desert field biologist, will include how to oppose the proposed solar farms in Nye and Clark counties, notably surrounding Pahrump, the county’s most populated area with one of Nevada’s most endangered water basins.
“Basin and Range Watch is a nonprofit watchdog organization of desert defenders whose current focus is ‘identifying the problems of energy sprawl and finding solutions that will preserve our natural ecosystems and open spaces’,” the release detailed. “Emmerich’s presentation will explore the dual threats of solar farms and lithium mines from federally encouraged new energy developments on Nevada’s public lands. The Private Well Owners Association is an educational nonprofit dedicated to preserving private well owners’ water rights, water conservation and sustaining the rural lifestyle of this area.”
The Private Well Owners Association meets the first Wednesday of each month at the Pahrump Valley Museum, 401 E. Basin Ave. Meetings are free and open to the public.
For more information visit PrivateWellOwners.com or the group’s Facebook page. More on Emmerich’s efforts can be found at BasinAndRangeWatch.org
Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com