Thousands of acres being sought for solar energy facility in
Panoche Valley
One of the largest solar energy projects in the United States,
encompassing up to 30,000 acres in San Benito and Fresno counties,
is proposed for the rural Panoche Valley.
County planning officials are reviewing preliminary documents on
Solargen Energy’s proposal, as some residents of the rural area are
questioning the merits of placing solar panels on land they say is
both agriculturally productive and environmentally sensitive.
Thousands of acres being sought for solar energy facility in Panoche Valley
One of the largest solar energy projects in the United States, encompassing up to 30,000 acres in San Benito and Fresno counties, is proposed for the rural Panoche Valley.
County planning officials are reviewing preliminary documents on Solargen Energy’s proposal, as some residents of the rural area are questioning the merits of placing solar panels on land they say is both agriculturally productive and environmentally sensitive.
“They’ve given us a draft application that we’re doing a cursory review on,” said Byron Turner, assistant planner for San Benito County. “As we understand it, they are proposing solar panels on a 1,000-megawatt solar farm and ancillary facilities in a phased development at a rate of 200 megawatts a year.”
In a July report, Solargen says that it has optioned “more than 13,000 acres of land and has letters of intent or is negotiating to acquire control of an additional 18,000 acres” between the two counties, in what it terms “a uniquely valuable area for solar energy development.”
Michael Peterson, chief executive officer of the three-year-old company, said the total amount of land that would be developed in San Benito County under the plan would be 5,000 to 6,000 acres, 40 percent of which would contain solar panels.
The company’s documents say the proposed solar plant site has 90 percent of the solar intensity of the Mojave Desert; direct access to the electric grid – as power lines cross the Panoche Valley; and is within 100 miles of large population centers of the Bay Area.
“The beauty of that valley is that engineers said it looks like God has created a solar farm there; plus PG&E lines run through it,” Peterson said, noting that construction on the solar farm would take place over six or seven years, building from the center.
“You would think that there’s a lot of sun in California, but in the Central Valley there’s a lot of fog and on the other side of the valley there’s coastal fog. The Panoche Valley has characteristics that are unique and good for solar.”
Mitigation measures
The company’s report notes that the land in question “is large, mostly flat, has lost most water rights, and is now grazing land.” Other land would be set aside as “mitigation land” to allow for continued growth of native grasses and to provide access to native animal species, according to Peterson.
“We have approached this on an environmentally-sensitive basis,” he said. “We’ve gone to the flat land of the valley and tried to acquire other land around the valley for mitigation. The land is farmed land that has been disturbed; it’s not in its natural state. We would take this previously farmed and grazed land and have land set aside forever to compensate for any species that may be displaced through the projects.”
Solargen has had talks with state fish and game and wildlife officials regarding potential mitigation measures to lessen the impact of the project on the environment and wild animals in the area. Peterson said the company will request that a mitigated negative declaration be approved by San Benito County, meaning a full environmental impact report (EIR) would not be required. Turner, however, said he expects that the project “meets the scope of an EIR,” which would mandate more intense study and public review of development plans.
Residents’ concerns
Maxine Davis, who owns land in the Panoche Valley, called the area “a unique area with little traffic or pollution.”
“It’s a place where one goes to escape the busy city life … The thought of our beautiful valley being covered by a sea of black solar panels is frightening and would turn this pristine grassland into a desert and change it from a pristine grass valley to an industry area.”
While she said she is a proponent of solar power and supports Solargen’s plan to build its solar farm near existing PG&E transmission lines that run through the valley, Davis wondered why the company could not build its plant closer to the lines near Interstate 5, which is east of the valley in Fresno County.
“I am in support of solar power yet I do not agree with ruining an agriculture and wilderness area to financially benefit a private company because the land is less expensive for them to build a solar farm on than other areas,” she said.
County Supervisor Reb Monaco, who has met with Solargen representatives, said that as is the case with nearly every development proposal that he has seen, “they all have some very positive aspects and some negative aspects.”
He said the solar farm is “promising from an economic standpoint, potentially” though “the rub will come with how you deal with endangered species in the area. Obviously, you’ll need an EIR. It has to be well planned out.”
Monaco noted that the county has begun writing policy to address the concept of renewable energy in its general plan, spurred in part by Solargen’s proposal.
Local financial impact
Peterson said the potential financial benefit to San Benito County is “absolutely huge. It may as much as double [the county’s] tax revenue.”
He said Solargen representatives have told county supervisors that “our goal is to generate a lot of employment that is local” perhaps working with regional job centers to commit to employing a certain amount of San Benito County residents.
“We’re committed to employing as many local people as possible,” Peterson said, adding that there would be construction jobs for six or seven years while the solar farm is built out in phases. He said up to 100 people would work on site, though final numbers have not been calculated.
There are no plans for Solargen to provide power directly to San Benito County residents, company officials said.
Environmental impact
Ronnie Douglas, a Panoche Valley rancher who has raised cattle, sheep and hogs in the area for 14 years, said she was contacted by Solargen a couple weeks ago by phone to discuss the project.
“They asked if we could get together and I haven’t decided if we’re going to do that or not,” she said.
“Our No. 1 concern and priority is the effect on endangered species as well as the quality of life we’d have out here,” she said. “What will happen to the serenity and the agricultural feel of this community when we’re looking at panels and fencing as far as we can see? We are really hoping that the planning department will require them to do full environmental reports.”
Ron Garthwaite, who has operated the Claravale Farms dairy in the Panoche Valley for two years, said he received a phone message from Solargen but has not talked with company representatives.
“Not even addressing whether solar power makes sense, it doesn’t make sense here,” he said. “It’s aesthetically beautiful and diverse and it’s more valuable as ag land than as a solar plant.
Peterson, Solargen’s CEO, said other solar energy companies are “getting into trouble because they’re thinking like a developer,” putting potential profit before environmental concerns. He said his company would have sheep graze between and under its solar panels to keep grasses down “so we never have to drive over it or mow it; keep it in its natural state.”
Kim Williams, Maxine Davis’s sister and operator of Your Family Farm on Panoche Road, said Solargen’s documents provided to residents say that 3.5 million solar panels will be put in the valley.
“It makes no sense to take ag land out of production when there is a ton of land available that is out of production and has no water in the Central Valley,” she said. “Solar energy is a great idea but big business is taking it over in the name of profit. It seems like sustainable, local farmers that are trying to do the right thing and take care of the land are getting pushed farther and farther out. It’s not the ‘not in my backyard’ philosophy; it just doesn’t make sense.”
Solar misconceptions
Peterson said the photovoltaic panels that his company plans to use to capture the sun’s energy and sell to utilities such as PG&E mean the project will be less intrusive than solar thermal plants, which uses solar energy to heat water and produce steam.
“Those plants have high towers, lights, mirrors, reflection,” he said. “We’re using thin-film solar that only uses DC current. We’ll have one connection to the power lines above, so that will be the only place where there will be any kind of voltage. There will be no reflection, no moving parts, no lights and no glow. We’ll have solar panels with sheep underneath them. It will look like a black, tilled field.”
Using the thin solar panels, which will be “a little higher than the sheep” and tilted toward the sun, “is not the most cost-effective method, but we’ve tried to find the most environmentally-friendly process. Solar thermal is the cheapest but it uses so much water. That’s taking one resource to collect another. It is also reflective and you have to gravel the whole site.”
A fence will be placed around the solar farm, though Solargen said it will work with wildlife officials to ensure that animals in the area “can move through the property as they do now,” Peterson said.
Company financing
Projected revenue figures in Solargen’s July report, which predicted $15 billion in revenue and $5 billion in pre-tax profit over 25 years “is outdated,” Peterson said. He said revenue estimates must wait until the company enters into “off-take agreements” with utilities to purchase the power generated by the plant.
“It could generate $8 or $9 billion in revenue,” he estimated, adding that it will take $4 billion worth of capital to finance the project.
Since the Panoche solar farm would be built in phases over nearly a decade, “it doesn’t have to be funded all at once,” Peterson said. Panel manufacturers and “strategic investment partners” will provide the initial financing and other construction money can be secured against future anticipated profits.
Next steps
Turner, the county planner, said his office has been getting “a lot of questions” about the project, but the application it has from the company is not official yet.
“Once it becomes official, anything that comes over our counter is a public document,” he said.
