Fallowed farmland in western Fresno County will host the 15-square-mile Darden Clean Energy Project, combining solar panels and lithium-ion battery storage capable of powering about 850,000 homes for four hours. The project received approval from the California Energy Commission under a 2022 Opt-In Certification Program that allows large renewable projects to be reviewed without county or municipal sign-off. The fast-track process aims to avoid prolonged local opposition. Governor Gavin Newsom framed the approval as progress toward 100% clean energy by 2045. Many local, mostly Latino residents say they feel blindsided and question who will benefit versus who will be burdened. Local advocates point to a history of exploitation by corporate agriculture and express concern that similar dynamics could occur with rapid energy development.
The fallowed farmland - too dry, salty and barren to grow crops - stretches across a remote, sunbaked expanse crisscrossed by rutted dirt roads. Soon, roughly 15 square miles of these retired agricultural fields in western Fresno County will hold one of the world's largest solar and battery energy storage projects - a behemoth capable of powering some 850,000 homes for four hours. The Darden Clean Energy Project, approved by the California Energy Commission in June, is the first development to be fast-tracked under a 2022 state law that allows large renewable energy projects to be reviewed and permitted without sign-off from county and municipal governments.
But in rural western Fresno County - where energy firms have planned multiple large-scale battery and solar projects - many residents feel blindsided. They have raised serious questions about who benefits and who gets left behind when major projects are fast-tracked. Espi Sandoval, a board member for the nonprofit Rural Communities Rising, a western Fresno County advocacy group, said the impoverished, mostly Latino area has long been exploited by corporate agriculture and now is playing catch-up as it finds itself suddenly at the forefront of California's energy transition. "We're forgotten by the government. Now we've got this private sector coming in with these huge solar panel farms," said Sandoval, who has lived in western Fresno County since 1972. "I don't want to see the same exploitation of our people."
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