Solar Energy

AB 982 (Skinner), Chapter 485, Statutes of 2011, requires the Commission to enter into a Memorandum of Agreement with the Department of the Interior (via the Bureau of Land Management) to facilitate land exchanges that consolidate parcels into contiguous holdings for large renewable energy development. In 2015, the Commission and the Bureau of Land Management signed a Memorandum of Intent to exchange school lands in federal wilderness and other conservation areas for federal lands with the potential for renewable energy development. That exchange is stalled.

Existing law requires the Commission to proactively manage and enhance school lands to provide an economic base that supports retired teachers and requires the Commission to take all action necessary to fully develop school lands, indemnity interests, and attendant mineral interests into a permanent and productive resource base. In 2008, the Commission adopted a Resolution supporting the environmentally responsible development of school lands for renewable energy projects.

Solar projects, as part of the state’s overall energy portfolio, contribute to achieving the state’s ambitious greenhouse gas emission reduction target of 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 and renewable energy procurement target of 60 percent by 2030 and 100 percent by 2045.

The Commission expects more interest in the leasing of school lands for renewable energy projects in the coming years.