Economic Assessment of Solar and BESS Resource Development under an Amended Williamson Act Solar Use Easement Statute

This study assesses the economic and fiscal impacts of solar development in California’s San Joaquin Valley (SJV) under an amended solar use easement statute that would be more permissive of solar development on prime soils while suspending Williamson Act (WA) status for the duration of solar and battery energy storage system resource projects. This legislation would allow for the development of fallowed agricultural land into solar energy generation without requiring the cancellation of WA contracts and is anticipated to lead to more agricultural producers voluntarily converting land impacted by water supply changes to solar energy production, leading to significant positive impacts for landowners impacted by the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) and more broadly, positive impacts in the regional economy.