BUTTONWILLOW, Calif. — Faced with water shortages, some California farmers are turning to solar energy as a sustainable way to use fallow land.
- A new bill, AB 1156, could let farmers lease land for solar panels.
- SGMA regulations are forcing many growers to leave land fallow.
- Energy demand in California is expected to rise 80% by 2045.
- Some Central Valley farmers see solar as the next best option to farming.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Landowners who are facing water scarcity could put solar panels like these on their land. 23ABC spoke with a landowner who is considering this.
California is grappling with two pressing issues: a shrinking water supply and the growing demand for clean, dependable energy.
SGMA requires local agencies to balance groundwater use by 2040. Meanwhile, statewide power demand is expected to rise 80% by 2045.
In response, AB 1156 would allow landowners to lease their farmland for solar panel installation.
"This land is fallow this year. Obviously, as you can see in the background, we don’t have anything growing there — and that’s because of the SGMA regulations, along with quite a bit of other land that we have." Mike Frey said.
Mike Frey is a fifth-generation farmer in Buttonwillow. His family has been farming in Kern County since 1962, growing almonds, pistachios, cotton, wheat, corn, potatoes, and carrots. Now, he’s working to turn that fallow land into a solar farm.
He’s getting help from Alliance Ag Services — a full-service brokerage based in Bakersfield that supports growers across California. Michael Ming, is the Owner & Operator, for Alliance Ag Services and he says, "The farming families we are dealing with in the industry have looked at it and said, what is an alternative use for our farmland that will have little to no water left to farm? And solar is that alternative that makes sense."
The project in Buttonwillow is called the Button Bush Project — spanning 15,000 acres.
Ming says they’re also working on similar projects across the Central Valley, totaling around 80,000 acres. They hope to begin installing solar panels on this land within the next 12 months.
"If there is an opportunity to generate revenue with solar, then that seems like the next best thing to farming." Frey said.
For Frey and other farmers, solar offers a chance to keep their land viable — even as water becomes scarce.
As of May 1, 2025, the bill has passed through the Assembly Agriculture and Utilities and Energy Committees.
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