California approves 9,500-acre solar farm — But locals warn of broken promises

Newman, California – After years of building out its solar energy capacity, California has reached a pivotal moment in its clean energy journey. On June 11, the California Energy Commission unanimously approved the Darden Clean Energy Project, a combined solar farm and battery storage facility proposed for a stretch of desolate farmland in western Fresno County. The project is the first to pass through the state’s newly accelerated permitting process — a streamlined review meant to fast-track essential energy infrastructure in the face of climate urgency.

The Darden project, developed by San Francisco-based Intersect Power, is designed to be among the most ambitious in the world. With more than 3 million solar panels and battery units large enough to power 850,000 homes for four hours, the facility would surpass the scale of a similar project in Kern County to become the world’s largest battery energy storage system. Construction is expected to begin by the end of this year and finish as soon as 2027.

The site, near Cantua Creek in the San Joaquin Valley, was once fertile ground for agriculture. But decades of irrigation and increasingly severe droughts left the 9,500-acre parcel barren and alkaline — a byproduct of both ecological strain and economic transition. Owned by the Westlands Water District, the land is being retired from agricultural use as part of broader water conservation efforts in the Central Valley. That history, paradoxically, made the site ideal for this new chapter.

Intersect Power’s environmental permitting lead, Marisa Mitchell, told the Energy Commission the location “lit up like a light” as a candidate for utility-scale solar. The area presents minimal risks to wildlife or productive farmland, allowing the state to pursue clean energy expansion without displacing existing industries.

The project has drawn broad support from the region’s elected officials, including Kerman Mayor Maria Pacheco, Mendota Mayor Victor Martinez, and state lawmakers Sen. Anna Caballero and Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria. Both lawmakers praised the clean energy investment but emphasized the need for equitable returns to rural communities. “Community voices, especially from rural and unincorporated areas, deserve to be heard,” Caballero wrote. “Clean energy must not only power the grid — it must uplift the communities who host.”

Energy Commission Chair David Hochschild described the $1.75 million permitting process as a signal that California can act quickly on climate without compromising public scrutiny. “Our state is sort of being attacked for not being able to get big things done,” he said during the meeting. “This is a really big thing.”