Why farmers in California are backing a giant solar farm

"We're farmers, and we would rather farm the ground. If we had the water to do it, we would farm it. But the reality is, you don't. You have to deal with the cards you're dealt. This perspective from Ross Franson, president of Woolf Farming and Processing and board member of Westlands Water District, encapsulates why agricultural interests support the solar project despite their traditional farming heritage."

"The canal has been delivering less water in recent years because of droughts and competing claims on that water. Until recently, the farmers had a backup water supply: they could pump water from aquifers a thousand feet underground. Now, though, a new state law is coming into force which bans overpumping from the aquifer. This sequence illustrates the escalating water crisis forcing farmers to seek alternative land uses."

A massive solar farm project is advancing in California's San Joaquin Valley, covering 200 square miles and generating 21,000 megawatts of electricity with battery storage capabilities. Farmers are backing the initiative because water scarcity has made traditional agriculture impossible on large portions of their land. The Westlands Water District, a farmer-run organization, negotiates with solar companies and regulators on behalf of its members. Historically, the district secured federal funding for a canal delivering irrigation water from northern California. However, recent droughts, competing water claims, and new state laws restricting aquifer overpumping have forced farmers to leave significant acreage unplanted. Some land remains fallowed due to selenium contamination risks from irrigation.

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