Receive six-month update on the implementation of the revised and updated Solar Energy Systems Ordinance, accept public comments, and advise staff as to any further direction. (No general fund impact) (Lindbo/Cormier) (Est. Time: 10 min)

Receive six-month update on the implementation of the revised and updated Solar Energy Systems Ordinance, accept public comments, and advise staff as to any further direction.

In November 2022, staff proposed a zoning ordinance update to, among other things, streamline the permit process for solar energy systems deemed to be accessory to the agricultural use of a property. At that time, the regulations for permitting a one megawatt solar energy system to offset energy demands for agricultural operations required a use permit, which can be a cumbersome, costly, and time-consuming process, particularly for a use considered ancillary to the primary use of the property. Accordingly, the Board of Supervisors adopted the revised and updated Solar Energy Systems Ordinance (Ordinance No. 681.236) to provide for expedited Planning reviews of accessory solar energy systems that generate electricity to serve agricultural uses, subject to specific performance requirements. Minute Order No. 22-121, included as Attachment A, requires a six-month staff update.

The relevant changes to the Solar Energy Systems Ordinance (Attachment B) were made to facilitate efficient reviews, clarify definitions and standards, and protect agricultural and habitat resources. In particular, the nomenclature used in the updated ordinance was modified to distinguish between accessory (or onsite) serving solar energy systems, and utility (offsite) serving solar energy systems, which are identified by the following four use types (see Attachment C: Solar Permitting Guide):

This update focuses on accessory, medium-sized, and large-scale solar energy system projects that are subject to Planning review, either by administrative Site Plan Review or discretionary Use Permit, but excludes small (less than 2.5 acres) solar energy systems that are allowed by-right. Since the adoption of the revised and updated Solar Energy Systems Ordinance, the County has permitted one accessory solar energy system, approximately 2.9 acres in size, for Chickahominy Lands (shown in Exhibit 1 of Attachment D). The project was reviewed under administrative Site Plan Review and was found to meet the requirements of the ordinance as an onsite serving/accessory solar use.

The only other Planning review that has been conducted since the ordinance went into effect, December 2022, was a Pre-Application for a medium-sized utility solar energy system, approximately 8 to 10 acres in size (2 megawatts), that proposes to locate on a 30-acre agricultural parcel consisting of prime farmland north of the City of Winters (called the Railroad Winters Clean Power Solar Project). A formal application for a Use Permit has not yet been received for the project and the applicant cites a potential economic feasibility issue related to the requirement for agricultural mitigation (the proposed site is shown in Exhibit 1 of Attachment D).

Other than the previously mentioned Site Plan Review and Pre-Application, no other solar use application submittals have been received under the revised ordinance at this time.  More recently, staff have been receiving inquiries regarding 'community solar' projects, with most inquiries falling under the medium-sized (utility serving) solar energy system use type. Generally, these systems produce no more than five megawatts and propose to locate within proximity to existing infrastructure with available capacity. The premise behind community solar is to increase access to renewable energy and diversify options by hosting shared solar on rooftops, parking structures, or land for those who cannot install panels onsite or are unable to install their own solar. Staff notes that most of these preliminary proposals are seeking locations on prime farmland. The aforementioned Pre-Application review for the Railroad Winters Clean Power Solar Project was submitted as a community solar project to serve a disadvantaged community.

Note: The Gibson Solar Farm Use Permit application, which is currently under review as a large-scale utility solar energy system, was submitted in December 2020, previous to the Solar Energy Systems Ordinance update in late 2022 and is not included for discussion herein. The project, which requires Board approval (even under the revised ordinance), will appear before the Planning Commission at the May 11th and June 8th Planning Commission meetings for a formal recommendation, prior to being placed on the Board's agenda for a public hearing. Staff expects the item to go before the Board sometime in July 2023.

Exhibit 1 in Attachment D identifies the ground-mounted solar energy systems that have been permitted under administrative Site Plan Review or discretionary Use Permit since 2011, which marks the adoption of the County's first set of solar energy regulations in September 2011. No large-scale solar use projects like the pending Gibson Solar Farm Project have been approved or permitted in the unincorporated area of the County.

Eight medium-sized, including two utility-scale, solar energy systems and one accessory solar energy system have been approved and permitted by the County since the 2011 adoption of solar energy system zoning regulations.

Of the nine permitted medium-sized and accessory solar energy systems approved over the last decade (Attachment D), only two are for utility purposes - the Putah Creek Solar I facility, permitted in 2013 as an approximately 15 to 18-acre solar field producing up to 2 megawatts, and Putah Creek Solar II facility, permitted in 2020 as an approximately 16 to 19-acre solar field producing up to 3 megawatts (includes battery storage).  Both solar energy systems feed directly to the Putah Creek PG&E Substation's distribution lines serving the Winters area.

The Putah Creek Solar II project was awarded one of two Purchase Power Agreements (PPA) with Valley Clean Energy (VCE) for producing local renewable energy. The other VCE PPA was awarded to the Gibson Solar Farm project, which is pending review and final decision. Utility serving projects subject to discretionary Use Permit are required to mitigate for the permanent loss of agricultural land at a 3:1 ratio for prime farmland and 2:1 for nonprime farmland, unless the mitigation is placed in designated high-priority areas, in which case the ratios can be reduced to 1:1 or 2:1 for prime farmland.

The remaining seven onsite serving solar energy systems, which vary in size between 3 and 11 acres, likely represent a cross-section of what can be expected to be permitted over the next decade, in terms of size. Given a majority of these systems have been permitted in the last three years, the number of accessory and medium-sized onsite serving systems will likely increase. Staff also expects to see an increase in proposed 'community solar' systems if incentive programs are available. 

Agricultural Commissioner
The Agricultural Commissioner’s Office provides comments on all administrative Site Plan Reviews and discretionary Use Permits for solar use projects located on or adjacent to agricultural lands. Comments from the Agricultural Commissioner for solar use projects vary depending on size of the array, site design considerations, impacts to adjacent agricultural operations, and removal of prime soils.  Additionally, the Ag Commissioner takes into consideration whether the solar energy system will benefit the agricultural operations by offsetting onsite energy demands or if the system will be utility serving and remove the land’s capacity for producing high value crops. Some features, such as adding apiary uses, may also present a concern with respect to neighboring orchards whose application of pesticides may be constrained. Generally, the Ag Commissioner wants to preserve agricultural production and protect farmland from development. However, the totality of the project is considered and the Ag Commissioner supports projects that have overall community benefit to the County beyond those that support agricultural production only.

Most utility-serving systems are generally located near PG&E substations to feed into the grid. Attachment E includes an exhibit showing the locations of PG&E substations in relation to prime farmland, Williamson Act contracts, and permitted solar energy facilities. As shown, all substations located in the unincorporated area of the County are on and/or surrounded by prime farmland and generally within the vicinity of land under Williamson Act contract. These conditions present significant constraints for locating utility solar energy facilities in the unincorporated area of the County, especially given the County's protections for preserving prime farmland. While staff does not foresee a significant increase in solar energy developers seeking to locate large utility-scale solar farms in the County, the policy considerations are nonetheless key for highlighting the County's priorities to protect prime farmland for the production of food and fiber while ensuring climate adaptation, resiliency, and sustainability commitments are met.

The future of solar energy in Yolo County and the role it plays in providing a pathway for sustainable renewable energy solutions may hinge on the emergence of 'agrivoltaics' and its ability to satisfy equal parts agricultural preservation to equal parts climate sustainability. In other words, optimizing sunlight for sustainable food-energy co-generation through a new generation of agrivoltaics. 

Agrivoltaics can be described as the use of land for both agriculture and solar photovoltaic energy generation (also called 'agrisolar, 'dual use solar', or 'low impact solar'). The most common form of agrivoltaics is 'solar grazing' where livestock (typically sheep) graze in and around solar panels, allowing the working lands to stay in agricultural use, while photovoltaics help diversify income and reduce carbon footprint. While this presents a symbiotic opportunity, solar grazing on prime farmland reduces the productive capacity of the land once reserved for high value crop production. To put this in perspective, most grazing land in Yolo County is not within desired solar development locations, i.e., proximity to PG&E infrastructure, so there is generally little to no interest in solar development in areas where solar grazing would keep the agricultural working landscape intact. 

Growing pollinator habitat or native grasses and forbs under and between solar panels is also described as agrivoltaics. The updated Solar Energy Systems Ordinance requires native or pollinator plantings beneath and between solar panel arrays to maintain healthy habitat for raptors and other predators who forage on agricultural lands. Native plantings and pollinator habitat also serve to stabilize or replenish the soils and cool the ground underneath the panels, but do not necessarily maintain active crop production for food supply. More recent solar energy applications have included pollinator-friendly solar and apiary use as a form of agrivoltaics in an effort to offset the potential loss of agricultural use of the property. However, despite the benefits (improving soil health, retaining water and moisture levels), it is staff's interpretation that pollinator-friendly solar and apiary uses located on prime farmland, where crops have historically been grown for food production, do not offset the loss of productive agricultural use of the land and therefore may still require mitigation.

Agrivoltaic use in conjunction with higher-value crops is still in the early stages. Agrivoltaics could theoretically include many different uses that maintain a meaningful agricultural use of the land, and alternative configurations are being studied to see how modified designs might provide extra space for light and animals, but also for farm equipment to move under and between the arrays. Although research is still being conducted and new technologies are emerging, combining crop production alongside renewable energy production, i.e., growing crops or maintaining crop production between and underneath panels, is still emerging. Still in its infancy, agrivoltaics research that pairs solar-occupied land with crop production (think 'solar gardens') shows promising results on a small scale. Research suggests that growing agricultural crops under the shade of solar panels uses water much more efficiently while shielding plants from the worst midday heat. However, this type of agrivoltaics may not prove feasible for large-scale, single-crop farms that rely on heavy machinery, which are more characteristic of Yolo County's prime farmland fields.

The County Board of Supervisors approved a Climate Emergency Declaration (Resolution No. 20-114) in September 2020.  The Resolution set a goal for the County to achieve a carbon negative footprint by 2030, while ensuring a just transition to an inclusive, equitable, sustainable, and resilient local economy. Looking to the future, the development and use of renewable energy sources such as solar will be critical to meeting the County's climate action and emission reduction goals. Likewise, agrivoltaics may become an integral part of both climate mitigation and adaptation strategies, providing opportunities to reduce emissions, as well as provide localized energy sources that reduce energy transmission losses and increase system resilience. Likewise, growing native grasses or pollinator habitat in conjunction with solar has carbon sequestration benefits in addition to the habitat and soil health benefits noted above. Since most solar projects in the County seek to locate on agricultural lands typically set aside for high value crop production, therein lies the challenge: balancing food supply with increasing renewable energy production needs. In Yolo County, this may involve a bit of a 'give and take' and slight shift in policy perspective for offering opportunities to explore growing food while producing clean energy on the same piece of land. Inviting solar development as a compatible use on agricultural lands may require some flexibility with respect to site design, accommodation, and compromise to bring a set of competing goals into synchronicity.

County Administrator's Office
Agricultural Commissioner
Sustainability Manager
County Counsel
Industry experts (Valley Clean Energy, SMUD)