October 11, 2026 - Tonopah, NV - As reported by Eli Segall of the Las Vegas Review-Journal on October 8, the Crescent Dunes Solar Power Tower has sold for a tiny precentage of the cost to build it. Basin and Range Watch has commented on and reported on this massive remote project since the beginning because it is sited on public lands in a special sand basin of Big Smoky Valley west of Tonopah, Nevada. A huge amount of taxpayer money went into subsidizing this solar thermal project, yet it was plagued by leaks in the molten salt energy storage tanks, and also killed many birds in the intensely hot solar flux.

Excerpt from the Las Vegas Review-Journal:

Once touted as a clean-energy blueprint, Nevada solar plant sells for cents on the dollar

A twice-bankrupt solar power plant in Nevada that was backed by the federal government has been sold for a fraction of what it cost to build.

Sons of Liberty Construction purchased the Crescent Dunes solar energy plant near Tonopah for $7 million. The sale closed this summer, federal court records show.

Overall, it cost more than $1 billion to build the massive energy complex and place in service, according to a court filing from a project lender.

https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/energy/once-touted-as-a-clean-energy-blueprint-nevada-solar-plant-sells-for-cents-on-the-dollar-3897150/