In order to cope with drought repercussions, farmers in the San Joaquin Valley have resorted to using solar energy to supplement their revenue. Because the California Sustainable Groundwater Management Act is restricting the amount of groundwater farmers can pull from their basins, many areas within the valley will deplete, leaving open acre land readily available for solar panel use. These new panels would not only power four corners of the California power grid but also help reach the renewable energy goals of sixty percent of energy in California coming from renewable sources. However, the only downside to adding solar panels in this area is the economic decline it would cause, as solar farms have little to no job opportunities once built. Despite this, the need to designate more land to solar panels holds strong, as many argue that trying to renew the dried valley area for farmland would only cause poor air quality and dust problems that contribute to asthma regardless. Thus, such open land could greatly benefit the state, if used as an open renewable energy source. 

This article relates to environmental science as developers and farmers discuss what to do with such open land. Rather that try to sell housing on dry, dusty land that would cause harm to individuals’ lungs, the proposal of installing solar panels is far more efficient. The area within the San Joaquin Valley is wide open and key for renewable energy sites. Thus, by discussing the need for an increase in renewable energy locations to power not only the power grid but also neighboring farms, encourages the public to stand behind this ideal as well. The drought is limiting farmer’s water usage in this area anyways, and if the groundwater is essentially near depletion to begin with then the most logical solution is to turn the previously used farm land into a new solar farm.