Forbes: Turning Idle California Farmland Into A Clean Energy Powerhouse

published on March 9, 2026
Written by Alan Ohnsman

California’s Central Valley is the heart of the state’s ag industry and top U.S. source of fresh produce and nuts. But tighter water supplies are expected to render hundreds of thousands of acres useless in the years ahead. Already, 70,000 acres of former farmland in the San Joaquin Valley west of Fresno have been idled by the local water agency. Yet like the adage about turning lemons into lemonade, a private developer is working with that water agency and farmers to turn underused acreage (some of which probably once grew lemons) into the nation’s biggest solar power project.

Golden State Clean Energy, partnering with Westlands Water District, has an ambitious plan to get up to 21 gigawatts of solar panels and 21 gigawatts of battery storage installed across 136,000 acres of the Central Valley. Completion of the “Valley Clean Infrastructure Plan” will take a decade and its costs may top $50 billion. But it would be the biggest new supply of carbon-free energy by the late 2030s–enough to power more than 10 million homes. Rather than trying to build the entire system itself, Golden State is the project’s architect and developer, acquiring the land and getting state and local approvals. It intends to lease property to multiple companies that will build and operate the future solar farms and energy storage facilities, spread over 212 square miles.

For full article, click here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/current-climate/2026/03/09/growing-a-clean-energy-powerhouse-on-idle-california-farmland/