16,000 Acres of Utility-Scaled Panels Now Proposed
At Tuesday’s county board meeting, supervisors began seriously considering how to approach the installation of utility-scale solar systems. Supervisor Laura Capps told her fellow board members that other California counties were “far outpacing” Santa Barbara. Currently the county has only allowed 600 acres of panels to be built at an outpost in Cuyama Valley. 
In July, the board had first discussed allowing more large-scale solar projects, but had balked at the 16,000 acres proposed by the county planning commission, and instead suggested allowing the construction of only 10,000 acres. 
Capps, however, said that since that July meeting she had been learning just how far behind the county was in adopting the large-scale use of solar panels for general utility use. She urged accepting the 16,000-acre countywide cap on solar projects proposed by the Planning Commission. The 10,000-acre cap, she said, “just doesn’t cut it.” (For reference, 10,000 acres is only two percent of the county’s total agricultural land.)
However, supervisors Bob Nelson and Steve Lavagnino worried about being “solar-ed over” in their North County districts, where much of the proposed solar will likely go. 
The supervisors will have to decide where the solar panels will go and how much acreage should be allowed; whether that acreage could be split between North and South County — perhaps based on population, electric service areas, or available agricultural land; and where should the battery storage be located for all that newfound energy.
Santa Barbara County Fire Marshal Fred Tan assured the board that the installation of lithium-ion batteries could be safely contained. The fire department will use appropriate mitigation measures, he said, implementing new energy storage policies they had adopted earlier this year.
The board also discussed limiting solar on non-prime ag-land to 15 percent and allowing on-site solar for agricultural use up to 15 acres.
Ultimately, the board directed staff to confirm the agricultural allowance up to 15 acres, create a 16,000-acre countywide cap based on the Planning Commission’s recommendation, accept a 50-foot minimum setback for energy storage systems and not split the acreage between North and South County.
Final consideration for the utility-scale solar regulations is scheduled for September 22.
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