San Joaquin Valley Landscape-scale Planning for Solar Energy and Conservation UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SANTA BARBARA BREN SCHOOL OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND MANAGEMENT DEFENDER OF WILDLIFE

Background  Acknowledgement of the DRECP effort in the desert  RE development pressures in the San Joaquin Valley with no similar landscape level planning  Large conflicts from solar development in or near natural areas or when sited on prime farmland  Similar planning assessment had been undertaken by TNC in the Western San Joaquin Valley  This analysis broadened the scope to include the entire SJV floor and the TNC assessment area

Objectives  Develop a geographic information system spatial analysis model that:  Identifies areas of conservation value  Identifies compatible areas for utility scale solar development  Focus on endangered and threatened species  Compatible areas based upon valuation of agriculture and conservation value for high level planning units

Data  3 Categories that fed into the model  Conservation Value (environmental value)  Agricultural Value (ranching and farmland)  Solar Suitability (proximity to transmission, slope, solar insolation)

Data - Statewide  Most Datasets were available statewide  California Rangeland Conservation Coalition – Priority Conservation Areas  NatureServe habitat condition model  Theobald Landscape permeability model  Wetlands - National Hydrography Dataset USGS  Important Bird Areas – Audubon  USGS National Gap Analysis Project – Habitat Diversity and Rare Habitat  ACE II Data from CNDDB – Native Species Richness and Species Occurences

Data – Regional to San Joaquin Valley  Some datasets were only available in the SJV  Species Distribution Modeling  17 Species of Concern within region  Highlighted areas of likely occurrence and habitat usage by the species and highlighted areas that are assumed to be climate refugia based on 3 climate projections

Data for RETI 2.0  Data used depend on the question being asked – data needed to inform renewable energy planning  Newer datasets frequently become available – need for vetting by agencies and stakeholders  Data that is available statewide:  Land use data (urban, farmland, general vegetation, wetlands, etc.)  Species occurrence data – California Natural Diversity Database  Climate Data