Opening Doors for Energy Projects on Protected Agricultural Lands

By 2020, California must generate 33% of its energy from renewable resources. As a result, more solar and wind projects are looking to agricultural lands as potential sites, and many of those sites are covered by Williamson Act contracts. Historically, state and local agencies have determined that energy projects were not "compatible uses" under the Williamson Act, but Allen Matkins has successfully argued that an energy project was a compatible use, thereby avoiding the costly cancellation process. The Williamson Act was adopted to protect agricultural lands from premature development, thus keeping the land under contract while providing the state with new energy projects is a "win-win" for the energy and agricultural communities.