Sunset over a golden wheat field with a clear sky and distant trees and hills.

VALLEY CLEAN INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN

  • "The Valley Clean Infrastructure Plan is the most important thing to happen to the Westside of the San Joaquin Valley since the building of the Aqueduct."

    — Jeff Fortune, Fortune Farms & President of the Westlands Water District

  • "The Valley Clean Infrastructure Plan (VCIP) within the Westlands Water District would enable up to 20 GW of in-state solar and storage in the Fresno area while addressing critical transmission bottlenecks. This approach delivers far greater benefits for California while keeping renewable investment in-state and producing a stronger, multi-benefit outcome for jobs, rates, and reliability. ."

    — Bob Dean, Coalition of California Utility Employees

  • "In addition to generating much-needed electricity, VCIP could boost Fresno County’s property tax revenues as well as groundwater supplies.”

    — Jose Gutierrez, Westlands Assistant GM

  • “VCIP demonstrates how clean energy development can be done thoughtfully and at scale. Siting solar and transmission infrastructure on fallowed ag land while accounting for local habitat and environmental considerations is a responsible approach that delivers climate, water, and economic benefits. California should prioritize projects like this to ensure we meet our climate targets on time.”

    — Erica Brand, Decarbonization Strategy Lead, The Nature Conservancy.

  • “This will be not only the largest project in California, or the largest project in the United States. This will be the largest project in the world. You’re making the district more sustainable, and that just helps the grower, it helps the communities, it helps the farmworkers — everybody.”

    — Jeff Fortune, Fortune Farms & President of the Westlands Water District

  • “VCIP represents exactly the kind of investment California needs. This project will create thousands of skilled construction and energy jobs, the majority filled locally, while helping California meet its clean energy goals. We appreciate the Westlands Water District and Golden State Clean Energy’s commitment to labor and to building long-term economic opportunity in the Valley.”

    — Bob Dean, Coalition of California Utility Employees

Project Overview

Valley Clean Infrastructure Plan (VCIP) is a development program proposed by Golden State Clean Energy, working with Westlands Water District, to repurpose up to 136,000 acres of drainage-impaired and other agricultural lands for solar generation, energy storage, and electric transmission facilities in western Fresno County. 

Strategically located in the Central Valley, the Valley Clean Infrastructure Plan will include new renewable energy generation and new transmission infrastructure that will enable flexible and efficient distribution of electricity across California's grid.

The Valley Clean Infrastructure Plan will bring 20,000+ MW of solar and 20,000+ MW of energy storage on an accelerated schedule to meet California’s renewable energy requirements.

At full build-out, the Valley Clean Infrastructure Plan could provide up to one-sixth of California’s electricity requirements in 2035 and up to one-tenth of its requirements in 2050.

  • The project includes a 500 kV transmission system that will carry the clean energy onto the existing California grid. 

  • There will be approximately 50 project companies within Valley Clean Infrastructure Plan, ranging from 100 MW to 1,000+ MW, that will be auctioned off to renewable energy developers.

VCIP Benefits
Fact Sheet

Valley Clean Infrastructure Plan Highlights

Economic Growth

Embracing both agriculture and solar industries will strengthen and diversify the local economy in Fresno County.

Job Creation

Creating approximately 6,000 jobs for construction and 1,200 jobs for long-term operations and maintenance.

Environmental Benefits

Powering an equivalent of approximately nine million homes with clean, renewable power without developing on undisturbed, pristine lands.

Increased Water Efficiency

Concentrating available water supplies on other productive farmland.

Preservation for Family Farms

Providing an opportunity for generational family farms to lease lands for long-term temporary solar and energy storage.