21 Gigawatts of Solar for California Land That Can No Longer Be Used for Agriculture

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There’s a water district in San Joaquin Valley in California where there’s empty land that “can no longer sustain irrigated agriculture.”

The Westlands Water District board of directors have decided on a plan for this land. They are going to have solar power plants built there — perhaps 21 gigawatts of them.

Sounds like excellent use of dry, empty land that isn’t suitable for other things. And, hey, maybe it will even help to replenish the soil out there.

The Valley Clean Infrastructure Plan may be seem practical and sensible, but it’s also a “major land-repurposing initiative” that is a new approach to dealing with fallowed land. The water district claims that it will “preserve the long-term viability of agriculture in the San Joaquin Valley” and allow farmers “to concentrate limited water supplies on their most productive and resilient acreage.” California faces major issues with drought, limited water supply, growing population, and enormous agricultural needs.

“California law AB 2661, enacted in September, authorizes the water district to develop, construct and own solar generation, battery storage and transmission facilities as identified in the plan. The law also requires the district to adopt a community benefits plan with input from local communities, a requirement the district has endorsed. A community benefits plan typically involves payments from a project owner to the neighboring community,” pv magazine writes.

“The Westlands Water District is the nation’s largest agricultural water district, encompassing 1,000 square miles and providing water to 700 farms with an average size of 875 acres, in western Fresno and Kings Counties.”

Featured image by Jw4nvc, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons