Two Nevada-based environmental advocacy groups are suing federal agencies in an effort to stop the construction of NV Energy’s massive Greenlink West transmission project, a 472-mile power line stretching from Las Vegas to Yerington. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court by Friends of Nevada Wilderness and Basin and Range Watch, argues that federal agencies failed to comply with critical environmental laws before approving the project.

At the heart of the legal action are allegations that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and National Park Service acted “arbitrarily and capriciously” when granting approvals for the project, and that their actions amounted to an “abuse of discretion.” The groups contend that the agencies violated both the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act, among others.

The lawsuit seeks a court order halting construction of the project until the agencies correct what the plaintiffs allege are serious procedural and environmental oversights.

NV Energy, which has said the Greenlink West line is critical to meeting future energy demands and supporting Nevada’s clean energy transition, declined to comment on the pending litigation.

Conservation Groups: ‘We Felt We Had No Options’

For Friends of Nevada Wilderness, this lawsuit represents a milestone — and a reluctant one. It’s the first legal action the organization has taken in its 40-year history.

“We felt we had no options here,” said Shaaron Netherton, the group’s executive director. “We felt the intact landscapes, the botany, the wildlife, deserved a champion. And we’re it.”

The Greenlink West project, expected to be completed in 2027, includes overhead transmission lines and substations spanning one of Nevada’s most unspoiled landscapes, including portions of Esmeralda County, which conservationists describe as one of the most intact natural areas left in the state. Friends of Nevada Wilderness had previously pushed to have portions of the route designated as Areas of Critical Environmental Concern, a move that was not adopted by the BLM.

The project is part of NV Energy’s broader Greenlink Nevada initiative — a plan to upgrade the state’s energy infrastructure and increase access to renewable power. The western portion alone is now estimated to cost over $4 billion.

Lawsuit Highlights Overlooked Impacts, Fossil Sites, and Sensitive Habitats

The lawsuit argues that the BLM failed to adequately assess the cumulative impacts of related solar development proposals in the region. Since Greenlink West’s approval, multiple utility-scale solar projects — collectively referred to as the “Esmeralda 7” — have been proposed in the same area. These projects could span up to 62,000 acres, equivalent to the size of Las Vegas.

“The fact that the final EIS completely ignored the future impacts of a proposed industrial solar field complex the size of Las Vegas is simply a dereliction of duty,” Netherton said.

The transmission line will also pass through Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument, an area protected by Congress since 2014 that contains some of the largest fossil assemblages from the Pleistocene era in the Mojave Desert.

According to Kevin Emmerich, co-founder of Basin and Range Watch and a former National Park Service employee, the construction would violate protections under the National Park Service Organic Act of 2016.

“Greenlink West would destroy fossils that are protected under the National Park Service Organic Act of 2016,” Emmerich said.

In addition, the transmission line’s route crosses Nature Conservancy-owned lands, raising further alarm from environmental groups that say the ecological costs of the project haven’t been fully considered or disclosed.

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More Projects, More Controversy

The lawsuit comes just one day after the BLM released the final analysis for the Greenlink North transmission project — a companion line to Greenlink West. If completed, the two lines would connect with the existing One Nevada Transmission Line, creating a vast triangular high-voltage network across the state.

Greenlink North would run approximately 235 miles from Ely to Yerington, primarily along U.S. Highway 50, a scenic and sparsely populated corridor dubbed “the loneliest road in America.” The proposed route cuts through sensitive greater sage-grouse habitat and other ecologically valuable landscapes overseen by the Department of Defense, U.S. Forest Service, and private landowners.

Environmental groups including the Center for Biological Diversity and Sierra Club have called for Greenlink North to be rerouted along Interstate 80 to avoid further degradation of pristine ecosystems.

“Plowing a giant energy transmission line through ‘the loneliest road in America’ (Highway 50) will propel numerous imperiled species like the iconic greater sage grouse toward extinction,” said Megan Ortiz, staff attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Re-routing the project along Nevada’s existing transmission lines would ensure that our state’s wild places remain wild.”

Public comment for the Greenlink North project remains open through June 23, with a final decision expected later this year.

Originally reported by Amy Alonzo in The Nevada Independent.