fresno county bos – 08/31/2011 1 requested board actions 1.approve partial cancellation of...
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Fresno County BOS – 08/31/2011 1
Requested Board Actions
1. Approve Partial Cancellation of Contract No. 365 By Finding That Jobs and Renewable Energy Substantially Outweigh the Public Interest in Unreasonably Applying Williamson Act
2. Authorize Chairman to Sign Certificate of Tentative Cancellation Based Upon Valuation of Fresno County Assessor of August 19, 2011
3. Uniform Decommissioning and Reclamation Plan Obligations for All Solar Projects
Fresno County BOS – 08/31/2011 2
WSF is a partnership of local land owners:• Mike and John Dresick of Dresick Farms Inc.• Alan Boyce of Boyce Land Co. The project is supported by area farmers, businesses and cities•Borba Farms, Inc.•Woolf Farming Co.•Lyles Diversified, Inc.•City of Huron•City of Mendota Expertise: Land stewardship Job Creation Right-to-farm practices Integrated Pest Management Logistics Food safety
Westlands Solar FarmsIntroduction
Fresno County BOS – 08/31/2011 3
Westlands Solar FarmsSolar Project
Highlights:•Size: 18MW Solar PV•Substation:2,120-ft from Gates•Environmental issues: None
Milestones:•Contract:20-year PPA•Interconnection: CAISO agreement •Financing: Secured
Fresno County BOS – 08/31/2011 5
Gate’s front door— directly across the street from WSF solar plant
Project Proximity
Fresno County BOS – 08/31/2011 6
Electric GridReliability
WSF’s project supports local and statewide electric reliability• Gates supports power
flow from Diablo Canyon to Helms Pumped Storage
WSF’s project builds needed local electric reserves
Fresno has fast-rising summer peak load• WSF’s project helps
stabilize rates and system performance
Fresno County BOS – 08/31/2011 7
Public interest:• California has a commitment to solar energy development since 1978
Fresno County could become California’s PV generation center of excellence: • Operations, management, integrated solar plant management
Economic GrowthOverview
8
WSF’s founders:
• 37 years value-added farming track record in Fresno County
• Hold ourselves to the highest standards (i.e. AIB good agricultural practice)
• Will incorporate best practices into the construction and maintenance of this solar project
Not That!This
Best PracticesLand Stewardship
Fresno County BOS – 08/31/2011 9
Solar in Fresno CountyProjected Land Use
• 1.6 GW-AC of PV Solar in Fresno County would cover just 0.5% of the land.
• This represents over $6.0 billion of construction spending.
* Source: Farmland Mapping and Monitoring Program and WSF estimates
2,190,767
117,568
111,704 4,915
12,464
Land Use* (acres)Farm and Grazing: 89.9%
Urban and Built-up: 4.8%
Other: 4.6%
Water: 0.2%
Projected Solar: 0.5%
Fresno County BOS – 08/31/2011 10
• Construction Jobs: 470
• Indirect Jobs: 470
• Permanent Jobs: 928
• Multiplier Jobs: 2,824 during construction; 3,095 permanent
Solar in Fresno CountyJobs
-
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
7,000
8,000
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10
Sola
r Jo
bs
in F
resn
o Co
un
tySolar Jobs in Fresno over next 10 years
Permanent Solar Jobs Permanent Multiplier Jobs Direct Constr. Jobs
Indirect Jobs Multiplier Jobs During Constr.
11
Economic GrowthValue Creation for the Central Valley
~$4.9 billion construction value
More than 4,000 worker-years of construction
New sustaining business opportunities• Module mounting system manufacturing• Inverter power block integration• Integrated solar system stewardship• Aluminum extrusion• Conductor manufacturing• Security fencing
Fresno County BOS – 08/31/2011 12
Requested Board Actions
1. Approve Partial Cancellation of Contract No. 365 By Finding That Jobs and Renewable Energy Substantially Outweigh the Public Interest in Unreasonably Applying Williamson Act
2. Authorize Chairman to Sign Certificate of Tentative Cancellation Based Upon Valuation of Fresno County Assessor of August 19, 2011
3. Uniform Decommissioning and Reclamation Plan Obligations for All Solar Projects
Thank You
Fresno County BOS – 08/31/2011 14
Decommissioning and Restoration
• Decommission costs estimated to be $1.5M• Plant designed for ease of dismantling• Scrap value of aluminum projected to exceed decommissioning costs• WSF will cooperate with local requirements and urges and level
playing field for enforcement
Fresno County BOS – 08/31/2011 15
Electric GridExceptional Interconnectivity
Gates supports key Fresno substations
GreggGregg
HerndonHerndon
McCallMcCallPanochePanoche
Fresno County BOS – 08/31/2011 16
Williamson Act Facts
Government Code §51282 (a)(2) permits cancellation when the other issues of public concern substantially outweigh the objectives of the Williamson Act•Creating Jobs and Improving the Economy•Generating Renewable Forms of Electric Energy•Improving state and local electrical infrastructurevs. •Preserving every acre of farmland regardless of its proximity to strategic electrical infrastructure and inconsistent supplies of water
Government Code §51282 (a)(1) also permits cancellation when the cancellation is consistent with the purposes of the Williamson Act.•to maintain the agricultural economy•to assure an adequate and healthful food supply•to preserve an agricultural work force •to discourage premature, unnecessary, and discontiguous development
Approving this application will do more to promote these purposes than will denying this application since PG&E will develop solar facilities around Gate Substation anyway.
Williamson Act does not require any “emergency” for cancellation
Fresno County BOS – 08/31/2011 18
FRESNO COUNTY FARMING –A PRODUCTIVE TRADITION
0.60
0.80
1.00
1.20
1.40
1.60
1.80
2.00
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
harvest value
land harvested
CPI
PPI
All values are indexed, CY 2000 = 1.00
Fresno County BOS – 08/31/2011 19
Land idling was particularly noteworthy in the southernSan Joaquin Valley: five of the region’ s eight counties sawat least 10,000 acres idled. More than 56,000 acres wereidled in Fresno County alone. “Most of that was related to water – either to droughtconditions or to high salinity,” said Molly Penberth, managerof the FMMP. “Because irrigation ceased, most of that landwas reclassified to, for example, grazing land. At the same time,we noted a 29-percent decrease in the amount of landbeing converted to urban uses, which is easily explainableby the economic slowdown.”
Farming Not Impaired
- from press release introducing 2006-2008 California Farmland Conversion Report, April 2011
Productivity gains outpacing both CPI and PPI
Biggest issue is lack of consistent water supply
Fresno County BOS – 08/31/2011 20
SOLAR RESOURCE DATA J F M A M J J A S O N D TOTAL
Lemoore NAS - annual insolation 68 95 154 191 234 247 249 223 178 136 84 61 1917
Blythe, CA - annual insolation 99 115 162 194 218 232 209 191 171 136 100 89 1913
Lemoore seasonal insolation 247 249 223 178 897
Blythe seasonal insolation 232 209 191 171 803
Takeaways:•Blythe has traditionally been considered the best solar resource in CA•Fresno receives about the same amount of sunshine as Blythe•Fresno actually receives more sun when it is needed most, e.g., summer A/C demand
Units: kilowatt-hours per m2 per year.Translation: How much sunshine hits the ground in a year
Economic GrowthFresno is the Best Solar Resource in the State