Bigger solar farms could make their way into Yakima County. County commissioners are considering updates that would allow solar panels on specific agricultural land.
The technology is called argivoltaics, which includes raised solar panels that make it possible to still use farmland underneath. That includes things like grazing sheep or growing tomatoes.
A report coauthored by researchers at Washington State University found this approach could work on roughly 87,000 acres across the state – but it would be expensive upfront. The technology has worked in parts of Europe and Japan, but large-scale projects have yet to be installed in Washington, according to the report.
In 2022, Yakima County Commissioners approved a two-year ban on moderate- to large-scale solar farms in unincorporated areas. Since then, they’ve extended the moratorium so the county could adopt new solar development guidelines. Solar developers can still get project approval through Washington’s Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council.
Now, the commissioners are mulling over new solar development. More than a dozen people spoke today in support of agrivoltaics at a Yakima County Commissioners meeting.
That includes Yakima County resident Jean Mendoza. The state faces a lot of energy challenges, she said, and agrivoltaics could help. People just have to try it first.
”If we keep the door open on this process, there's an opportunity to do a lot of innovation,” Mendoza said. “Whenever we start looking at something new, there's a trial and error period. And a few brave people are willing to take the risk and look at new and possibly better ways of doing things.”
One property owner who’d like to experiment is Jacob Jones.
Jones owns land in Yakima that he said won’t grow crops — he’s tried for decades. But his land could graze sheep and generate solar power, he said at the public hearing.
“This means the land can remain in agricultural production. The soil health is improved through natural grazing, and we avoid the use of heavy machinery or chemical herbicides for vegetation management,” Jones said.
In addition to keeping the land in agriculture, Jones said, the solar panels could help lower energy costs for lower-income residents, through what’s called community solar.
“This project is about energy equity,” he said. “This allows low-income Yakima residents and renters who cannot afford their own solar panels to receive a direct credit on their utility bills.”
Jones is proposing a 2-megawatt agrivoltaics project on land that’s in an irrigation district. Right now, that’s a sticking point because the current rules would allow for development if the property is in an unincorporated part of town, outside an irrigation district.
However, Commissioner LaDon Linde suggested an exemption for specific land in an irrigation district. Land would have to be unfarmable for at least 10 years.
“ I don't want this to be something where it’s an incentive, where you say, ‘Gee, we've had a bad year, so I'm going to put in solar panels,’” Linde said at the meeting.
Commissioners voted to run the proposed rule changes by attorneys. They said their main goal is to protect prime agricultural land.
“It's been a long time coming,” Linde said. “It's a difficult situation, and we're trying to thread this needle in a proper way.”
