Farmers and environmentalists are building renewable energy plants on polluted or contaminated farmland.

• Although environmentalists previously objected to many plans for solar energy plants, they are willing to accept them when built on already-contaminated or out-of-use farmland.
• This arrangement benefits farmers because they often don’t have enough water to irrigate all the land they own.
• If this arrangement proves successful, the government plans to adopt it on a more widespread level.

Facts & Figures

• This project, called the Westlands Solar Park, involves building solar panels on 9,000 acres of leased farmland. This area will generate a projected 600-1,000 megawatts of electricity.
• The current transmission capacity in the Westlands is up to 600 megawatts; building the plant to 5,000 megawatts, as is planned, would require major construction on transmission lines that could take over a decade.
• If the Westlands project is successful, the federal government wants Westlands to take over another 100,000 acres of contaminated farmland.

Best Quote

“It’s about as perfect a place as you’re going to find in the state of California for a solar project like this. There’s virtually zero wildlife impact here because the land has been farmed continuously for such a long time and you have proximity to transmission, infrastructure and markets.” –Carl Zichella, former Western Renewable Programs Director, Sierra Club