Pulse of the Land - 11/3/2025
A weekly brief for conservation and cleaner energy
This Week’s Take
Data centers and reliability needs are pushing big buyers toward firm, round-the-clock power, hence the nuclear restart, while corporate solar and battery projects keep scaling. At the same time, federal scrutiny of offshore wind and stretched park resources show how policy and capacity can slow or reshape timelines.
Senator Mike Lee’s Border Lands Conservation Act would let the Department of Homeland Security build roads and other “tactical” infrastructure within 100 miles of the borders, even inside designated wilderness, risking permanent cracks in bedrock protections right where energy siting is already tense. My playbook stays the same: build on disturbed and private lands first, keep intact public lands truly intact, and require transparent, early consultation with tribes and local communities.
The State of Public Lands and Energy Relationship
October 30 — Conservation coalition pushes Wyoming lease review.
The Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks and The Wilderness Society urged the Bureau of Land Management to strengthen environmental analysis for an upcoming Wyoming oil-and-gas lease sale. Why it matters: More rigorous review can steer drilling away from key wildlife habitat and migration routes. Protect NPS
October 27 — Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rejects Tri-State’s large-load tariff for data centers and other very big customers.
The Commission said Tri-State’s proposed “High-Impact Load” tariff intruded on state jurisdiction over retail service, blocking provisions like upfront security payments and minimum monthly charges it wanted to apply across its footprint. Why it matters: FERC’s rejection keeps large-load terms in state and co-op hands, likely pushing data centers toward existing-capacity sites (substations, brownfields), lengthening timelines, and forcing clearer answers on who pays for grid upgrades. Utility Dive
Lease Moves (current and upcoming):
October 29 – November 5 — Wyoming state trust-land oil & gas auction (197 parcels, 66,095 acres).
Wyoming’s Office of State Lands & Investments is wrapping an online sale covering 16 counties. Leases run 5 years with $1/acre annual rent and one-sixth or one-eighth royalty; bidding minimum is $1/acre bonus (state trust lands = still public). Why it matters: revenue supports schools, but development footprints can intersect migration routes and sage habitats, watch county-level results. Wyoming Office of State LandsNovember 6 — BLM federal lease sale (New Mexico & Oklahoma: 21 parcels, 8,843 acres).
The New Mexico State Office will auction parcels online via EnergyNet with standard federal terms and notable conservation guardrails. Example: No-Surface-Occupancy for Lesser Prairie-Chicken and Dunes Sagebrush Lizard core habitat on select tracts; other parcels carry controlled surface use for playas, springs/seeps, fragile soils, paleontology, plus cultural and threatened-species notices. Why it matters: lease decisions this week set where drilling can proceed and how wildlife/hydrology constraints shape on-the-ground development. BLMDecember 10 — Context note (offshore ahead): Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 262 status.
Interior had targeted Dec 10, 2025 for the next Gulf sale, but BOEM indicates deferral while it implements the new offshore program under the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” Why it matters: shifts near-term offshore timing and pushes more attention back onto onshore leasing and transmission siting. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
Government Spotlight Public Lands
Border security pretext for a backdoor land grab? Mike Lee’s Border Land Conservation Act. DHS, ICE, and DOD in Wilderness Border Zones.
October 2 — Sen. Mike Lee’s Border Lands Conservation Act would amend the Wilderness Act to let DHS operate inside designated Wilderness within 100 miles of both borders, ordering Interior/USFS to build and maintain “navigable” roads, authorize motorized/air access, barriers, and surveillance (cameras, drones, sensors, etc.), and reserve those routes for DHS/DoD. Translation: permanent infrastructure in places Wilderness law was designed to keep roadless and quiet. As
warns, it “turn[s] immigration into an excuse to destroy the Wilderness Preservation System.” eroding bedrock protections and the wild character itself. Coverage last week from Meateater’s, Katie Hill, maps millions of acres in the 100-mile bands, from the Southwest deserts to the Boundary Waters, now in the crosshairs.“If the bill gets anywhere, the amount of wilderness impacted in these regions could account for almost triple the acreage of Lee’s budget reconciliation selloff proposal. In the Lower 48, a known total of 3,318,773 acres across Washington, Minnesota, California, and Arizona would be impacted. Alaska would provide an additional 6,242,479 acres across five wilderness areas.” - Katie Hill
If Congress truly cares about border security, resource agencies need staffing, and targeted backcountry enforcement. Not a blanket carve out that militarizes the last quiet places and starves conservation.
This is a border pretext for a backdoor land grab. (Congress.Gov, Wes Siler's Substack, Meateater)
October 31 — Grand Canyon tightens water and fire rules.
Grand Canyon National Park implemented Stage 3 water restrictions and Stage 2 fire restrictions linked to the Transcanyon Waterline construction and limited water supply. Why it matters: Resource constraints are now directly shaping access and wildfire risk management in one of the nation’s most visited parks.
November 1 — Cumberland Island road proposal faces pushback.
Park advocates opposed a new beach access road proposal at Cumberland Island National Seashore. Why it matters: Even non-energy projects can fragment habitat and set precedents for new motorized access in protected seashores.
Clean Energy in the News
October 27 — Google and NextEra plan to restart an Iowa nuclear plant.
The Duane Arnold Energy Center would be redeveloped for round-the-clock clean power starting in 2029. Why it matters: Restarts can supply large, steady power for data centers without expanding new footprints on public lands, if safety and licensing hurdles are cleared.
October 30 — Faraday Solar (UT) goes live (≈685 MWdc / 525 MWac).
Excelsior Energy Capital confirmed the project reached commercial operations; Meta is taking the output via PacifiCorp’s green-energy tariff. Why it matters: one of the largest new U.S. solar plants to switch on this year, showing big-tech demand still pulling utility-scale builds forward.
October 30 — ContourGlobal closes >$350M for 324-MW “Black Hollow Sun” solar (CO).
Financing (tax equity + debt) advances the project toward 2026 completion. Why it matters: hard financing in a tighter market = construction certainty.
October 31 — Flatiron Energy upsizes credit facility to $250M for battery projects.
Developer increased its portfolio financing to accelerate near-term U.S. grid-scale storage builds. Why it matters: more capital flowing to storage to firm solar/wind and cover evening peaks.
October 31 — PowerCap enters U.S. with sodium-ion storage + plans for manufacturing.
The Australia-based company announced U.S. market entry and a factory plan. Why it matters: alternative chemistries (sodium-ion) can relieve lithium supply and cost pressure for large batteries.
October 31 — “Ducks Solar” community solar + battery energized (Oregon, Illinois; 7.7 MW).
First in ComEd’s northern Illinois territory to pair community solar with onsite storage. Why it matters: pairs local generation and resilience—community solar with batteries is scaling beyond pilots.
October 29 — Detroit breaks ground on first “Solar Neighborhood.”
42 acres of vacant land will host city-owned arrays; home energy-efficiency upgrades are bundled for nearby residents. Why it matters: model for brownfield/urban infill solar that reduces land-use conflict.
October 31 — Energy Department offers $100 million to modernize coal plants.
The department announced funding to refurbish and upgrade existing coal-fired units. Why it matters: Extending coal capacity competes with clean-energy buildouts and may slow emissions progress, even as reliability concerns persist.
Thank you for reading! I highlight threats to public lands and the energy industry’s impact. I believe clean energy is the future, and ALL energy projects should prioritize private land first to keep wild places wild. When energy extraction is needed on public lands all projects must restore the land after extraction. Public lands are unique and once lost, they’re gone forever.