SF GATE: One of the world's largest solar projects is headed for California's Central Valley

A large array of solar panels along Highway 41 in the southern Central Valley is viewed on April 13, 2023, near Stratford, Calif.

George Rose/Getty Images

published on January 28, 2026
Written by Tessa McLean

Solar energy has been popping up across California for decades, from neighborhood rooftops to panels arching over canals to grids floating in a retention pond. Now, a massive new project could blanket 136,000 acres of farmland in the Central Valley with solar, transforming a traditionally agricultural region into a major energy producer over the next few decades.

The Westlands Water District, the utility company that provides water to a huge swath of Fresno and Kings counties, approved the plan recently, which, when completed, could become one of the largest solar installations in the world. The panels would span an area roughly four times as large as the city of San Francisco. The Valley Clean Infrastructure Plan would also create energy storage and electric transmission facilities, allowing the electricity to reach far beyond the center of the state. Meanwhile, local landowners can supplement their farms with another revenue stream, offset water needs and prevent further subsidence. 

“We just don’t have the water available to us,” Jeff Fortune, a 45-year farmer, told SFGATE. “So this will allow you to get paid for growing electricity. But in turn, that will filter down so that the grower has a better chance of staying in existence.”

Fortune grows mainly almonds and pistachios, some of the most water-intensive California crops, meaning he has fallow — unseeded, unproductive — fields every year that haven’t been generating any revenue due to the lack of water. Also a board member of the Westlands Water District, which provides water to around 700 California farms, Fortune said the new project is a win-win for everyone. Even the growers who don’t participate in the program will benefit, he said, because if the district makes more money, it can potentially charge its growers less. Furthermore, with more electricity generated, that utility could become cheaper, too. Plus, the tax base for Fresno County will increase from these projects. 

Most importantly, farmers get to stay in business. “The farm economy’s tough right now. Business is tough. And this will allow you another revenue source besides your crop income,” Fortune said.

For full article, click here: https://www.sfgate.com/centralcalifornia/article/solar-project-central-california-21316687.php