The global boom in solar — with or without the U.S.

The U.S.'s focus on fossil fuels and pullback of support for clean energy further cedes influence over the future global energy system to China. Photo by STR/AFP/Getty Images/Postmedia files

To the south of the Monte Cristo mountain range and west of Paymaster Canyon, a vast stretch of the Nevada desert has attracted modern-day prospectors chasing one of 21st-century America’s greatest investment booms.

Solar power developers want to cover an area larger than Washington DC with silicon panels and batteries , converting sunlight into electricity that will power air conditioners in sweltering Las Vegas along with millions of other homes and businesses.

But earlier this month, bureaucrats in charge of federal lands scrapped collective approval for the Esmeralda 7 projects, in what cam