Planning commission OKs new solar project for SE Kern County
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. KGET – The Kern County Planning and Natural Resources Department has greenlit a new solar energy project, sending the energy facility proposal to the desks of the Kern County Board of Supervisors.
The Ontario-based energy company TerraGen Solar is seeking approval from the county to build a new solar energy project that would generate about 1,400 megawatts of renewable electrical energy in an unincorporated part of southeastern Kern County.
The proposed project – which TerraGen is calling the “Discovery Solar PV and Storage Project” – will also include up to eight gigawatt hours of energy storage.
Sam Sours, TerraGen’s vice president of solar development told the county planning commission Thursday that the project site would span across about 7,700 acres of land that is currently “highly underutilized, that have very little services and that can support alternate opportunities.”
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If approved, TerraGen said they expect the solar farm to be operational by “mid to late 2029,” after about two and a half years of construction.
“The project would extend Kern County’s renewable energy leadership in the state of California and help in achieving their goals,” Sours told the commission during a meeting Thursday evening.
Sours said the project would create about 660 temporary construction jobs at its peak and once built, the solar field would require six permanent employees. He said those jobs would be filled by workers in local labor unions, through a union labor agreement. Sours said that agreement has already been signed.
TerraGen’s proposal to build the Discovery Solar project comes as the company has previously built other solar farms – along with wind energy and battery storage facilities – in Kern County.
The energy company currently has three other solar facilities operational in Kern County, two in development including the Discovery Solar Storage project and one facility under construction.
Planning Department Director Craig Murphy said the company’s current proposal would run through the California High Speed Rail Authority’s location for the proposed high speed rail line that is expected to run through California and through Kern County.
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But as of now, Murphy said the Planning Department is not recommending changes to TerraGen’s application for the project.
Sours said the solar project would likely have a lifespan of about 35 years.
With California’s solar tax exclusion ending on Jan. 1, 2027, Sours said if built, the project would generate an estimated $44 million worth of property taxes from the first year of its operation. He said that number would jump to $200 million in taxes by the project’s fifth year.
Of the $200 million in taxes over the five years, Sours said 59% – about $122,400,000 – of that would be funneled into Kern County Schools. $22.8 million would go toward the Kern County Fire Department, and over $37.3 million would go into the county’s general fund.
The proposal was approved by the Planning and Natural Resources Department unanimously and will be presented at the Kern County Board of Supervisors meeting for final consideration on June 16.
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