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

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


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


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


Water and SunshineFresno Is Well-Suited for Solar PV


Gate’s front door— directly across the street from WSF solar plant

Project Proximity


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


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


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%


• 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


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


Appendix


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


Electric GridExceptional Interconnectivity

Gates supports key Fresno substations

GreggGregg

HerndonHerndon

McCallMcCallPanochePanoche


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


TERRAIN IDEAL FOR BEST MANGEMENTPRACTICES CONSTRUCTION


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


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


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

Documents

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