Published 8:00 am Tuesday, February 24, 2026
By Michael Kohn
The Bureau of Land Management said a proposed 4,037-acre solar power project on federal land between Bend and Redmond has been withdrawn by the developer, halting plans for what would have been one of Central Oregon’s largest energy facilities.
The project, proposed in 2024 by Enel Green Power North America, was planned for Bureau of Land Management property east of U.S. Highway 97. It was expected to generate up to 700 megawatts of electricity — more than the 500-megawatt Pelton-Round Butte Dam Complex, currently the largest power producer in Central Oregon.
At the time of the proposal, Sarah Bennett, a public affairs officer with the Bureau of Land Management, said the agency had processed permits allowing Enel to install meteorological data collection equipment for the proposed array. Initial steps also had been taken to begin an environmental impact statement, with work anticipated to start in early spring 2025 and take about two years to complete, Bennett said.
Those steps have been shelved and the applicant has requested to withdraw its application, according to Faith Simitz, a realty specialist with the Bureau of Land Management. No reason for the withdrawal was provided said Simitz.
Enel Green Power North America did not respond to questions from The Bulletin over the application withdrawal.
Projects canceled
Cancellation of the project follows close on the heels of other stalled projects in the region. A large solar project near Christmas Valley is on hold while developers await transmission approvals. And in Lake County, a large solar array is on ice following the withdrawal of its application.
The halt in multiple projects comes amid uncertainty for the solar industry. New import tariffs under the Trump administration, combined with the repeal of clean energy tax incentives, have created challenges for solar developers.
But the recent loss of solar projects could also be a reflection of broader challenges impacting the industry.
Kandi Young, a spokesperson for the Oregon Public Utility Commission, said solar development moves through multiple phases, with key milestones at which developers decide whether to continue or end a project.
Factors such as interconnection timelines, supply-chain constraints, financing, land-use permitting, power purchase agreements and changes in federal incentives can influence those decisions, she said.
Few projects survive
Nationally, about 13% of solar developers that request interconnection ultimately bring projects into operation, according to 2025 data from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Young said.
The commission does not approve or cancel individual solar projects, Young said. Instead, it monitors utility resource portfolios and interconnection trends and works with regulated utilities to address issues within its authority.
Because utilities plan energy portfolios rather than rely on a single project or technology, it is difficult to attribute specific near- or long-term impacts to the cancellation of one solar project, Young said.
However, the commission does not anticipate immediate reliability concerns for Oregon’s energy supply, outside extreme conditions.
Regional resource adequacy analyses generally point to reliability risks during periods when Oregon-based solar generation is limited, such as winter mornings and evenings or late summer evenings. State planning efforts incorporate a mix of technologies and transmission connections to other Western regions to address medium- and long-term reliability, Young said.
Michael Kohn has been public lands and environment reporter with The Bulletin since 2019. He enjoys hiking in the hills and forests near Bend with his family and exploring the state of Oregon.
He can be reached at: 541-617-7818, michael.kohn@bendbulletin.com

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