Sun vs. Saddle: Nebraska Ranchers Resist NextEra’s Solar Rush
How Nebraska’s Ranchers Are Fighting to Save Grazing Land—and Their Way of Life—from a Wave of Corporate Solar Expansion
Tensions Rise as Nebraska Farmland Faces a Solar Invasion
Under Nebraska’s broad blue skies, the heart of America’s cattle country is facing a new kind of land rush—not for oil or railways, but for solar energy. In the past year, rural communities in Custer and Lancaster Counties have become battlegrounds in a high-stakes confrontation between multi-generational ranchers and one of America’s largest renewable energy companies, NextEra Energy. The proposed solar projects, some stretching across thousands of acres, are being met with rising anxiety, legal resistance, and a powerful plea to protect the region’s agricultural heritage before it’s paved over by panels.
