Co-sponsored by Farella Braun + Martel LLP and the Berkeley Law Center for Law, Energy & the Environment
California will continue to see a significant deployment of solar photovoltaic (PV) to meet its goal of generating 50 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030. A significant amount will likely occur in the San Joaquin Valley, with attendant controversies related to the loss of agricultural and biologically sensitive lands, among other conflicts. How can stakeholders and policy makers ensure that future solar PV deployment occurs only in "least-conflict" (land on which solar development is least likely to engender objections and possibly litigation) lands in the San Joaquin Valley region and beyond? Panelists discussed some of the findings from last year's influential Berkeley Law report "A Path Forward: Identifying Least-Conflict Solar PV Development in California’s San Joaquin Valley."
Speakers:
Erica Brand, Director, California Energy Program, The Nature Conservancy
Ethan Elkind, Director, Climate Program Center for Law, Energy & the Environment, UC Berkeley Law
Renee Robin, Senior Counsel, Allen Matkins
Diane Ross-Leach, Director, Environmental Policy, PG&E Company