Industrial Solar Development

Alameda County is considering permitting and encouraging development of large-scale industrial solar energy facilities in rural eastern Alameda County, within habitat for numerous endangered species, important breeding and foraging areas for birds of prey and prime agricultural lands, including significant lands within the Alameda Creek watershed. The need for the policy is prompted by County approval and promotion of several industrial solar plants near Mountain House in eastern Alameda County with minimal environmental review or consideration of impacts on wildlife habitat and agricultural lands.

The Alameda Creek Alliance has concerns about the impacts of massive industrial energy facilities on habitat for endangered, threatened and rare species in eastern Alameda County, and the cumulative effects of large-scale solar development combined with ongoing severe impacts to raptors from wind turbines at Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area. We are advocating for a proper level of environmental review for proposed large-scale solar facilities and minimizing environmental damage these facilities will cause. We are also concerned that approved and proposed projects conflict with the East County Area Plan and Measure D. The Alameda Creek Alliance has signed on with the coalition SOLAR (Saving Our Lands Agriculture and Raptors). Read the SOLAR statement of principles.

February 2012 update: The County seems to be on a misguided path to allow massive scale industrial solar projects on wildlife habitat and productive farmland in rural Alameda County, without first looking at the potential for urban solar on rooftops or placing panels on existing paved and developed locations.

The Alameda County Board of Supervisors' Transportation/Planning Committee decided to postpone recommendation of the planning department's solar policy until the impacts of this policy are more closely considered. In response to the SOLAR coalition's statement of principles the supervisors did not feel comfortable bringing the policy before the full board yet. The supervisors agreed that much more needs to be done to understand the issues in order to craft a sound policy for solar development in the rural areas. The Planning Department has undertaken a review of existing county policies applicable to the development of Solar Energy Facilities, as well as consideration of new policies to facilitate and inform the review of proposed energy facilities. The committee directed staff to initiate a public process to amend the County General Plan for this purpose.

The Alameda County Planning Department invites you to attend a community meeting to discuss proposed amendments to the County General Plan pertaining to the development of Solar Energy Facilities in the East County:
Tuesday, February 28, 2012, 6:30 - 8:30 PM
Alameda County Public Works Building, 4825 Gleason Drive, in Dublin

See the Alameda County Planning Department's web page on the new solar development policies.

Read the Alameda Creek Alliance's September 13, 2011 letter to the Board of Supervisors encouraging development of rooftop solar rather than sacrificing open space for industrial energy facilities.

Read the report from a coalition of conservation groups, sportsmen, elected officials and energy companies in the west on Smart Solar calling for forward-thinking policies to focusing solar energy development on low-conflict zones to promote the west’s economy, protect wildlands, and build a clean energy future. See the Solar Done Right web site on how distributed generation such as rooftop solar is the faster, cheaper, cleaner and more effective way of meeting our energy needs in the next century, rather than poorly-sited facilities that cause habitat destruction.

As a conservation group, we strongly support the development of non-petroleum energy sources, as long as they are sensibly and appropriately sited. However, we are adamantly opposed to any energy development, solar or otherwise, that results in the unnecessary loss of open space and wildlife habitat.

The photograph below is of a recent rooftop solar installation at Crescent Park in Richmond, California, in adjacent Contra Costa County. This solar array is the largest affordable housing solar installation in the country and provides 900 kW of power, meeting approximately 20% of the City of Richmond's renewable energy goals.

This is an example of how to sustainably create green jobs and green energy on existing infrastructure, without destroying or degrading wildlife habitat and agricultural lands. Alameda County should promote and explore solar developments similar to Crescent Park before allowing or encouraging industrial energy facilities on rural land. Why would Alameda County promote the loss of open space and wildlife habitat for solar energy when there are so many rooftops and parking lots available for solar?