Navy renews plan for energy project on NAS Lemoore farmland | Around Kings County
It’s back and it could be big. The US Navy has dusted off plans that have been shelved for the past 10 years, offering to lease 11,000 acres of farmland surrounding the NAS Lemoore base for energy production.
In a release made public Feb. 12, the Navy says it is taking this first step in the process by issuing a “Request for Interest” (RFI) seeking information from interested parties on a potential long-term lease for commercial development and operation of critical energy resiliency infrastructure and/or water utility options on 11,000 +/- acres of underutilized, non-excess agriculture land.”
The Navy says they want to look at energy and/or water development opportunities that “will help mitigate threats posed by wildfires and other natural disasters, climate change, water supply shortages, bird air strikes, an unreliable electric grid, as well as cyber and kinetic attacks.”
What is the goal? Like all US military bases, the Navy wants to improve “Energy Security solutions that mitigate the effects of supply disruptions on mission essential functions.”
What’s the worry? Grid blackout caused by a slew of dangers from cyber attacks, strong storms, extreme heat or wildfire that can shut down power that the base depends on. Worries also surround water disruptions brought on by extreme weather — both drought and floods that could pose an actual national security issue that would be out of the military’s control.
The Navy says they do not want to pay a developer for power generated or water improvements but if a project is built, they want to receive “an uninterrupted supply of energy and water necessary” as a (IKC) in-kind-consideration — to carry on with base operations despite any crisis. The developer could offer the power for sale on the market as the incentive to make what will be a major investment.
If the base is potentially vulnerable, it also offers an opportunity to develop both on-base power and water improvements. The notice points out that the base is near critical California electric grid infrastructure and offers geographical features, flat land with sufficient sun and wind, that could support additional energy infrastructure and/or water utility development.
Industry Day Feb. 29
The government will be offering an Industry Day on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024 that will provide all interested entities an opportunity to participate in a site tour to view and walk portions of the proposed leased premises.
“NAS Lemoore is host to approximately 20,000 acres of federally-owned rural agricultural land. The secure operational and administrative areas are surrounded by 11,000 acres of prolific agriculture lands with more than 10,000 acres out-leased for agricultural production. The active cultivation of these farming operations have been critical in reducing bird air strikes, as the periodic discing and turning of soil reduces the bird population by frustrating the ground prey base. However, the farming operations are water intensive.”
Therefore, the notice says ”any development ideas in response to this RFI must support the installation’s mission activities and positively contribute to the energy and water goals.”
This is not the first time the US Navy has considered a solar project on their ag land here. A solar energy project at Naval Air Station Lemoore that was “first announced in 2015 is still moving forward,” according to NAVFAC Southwest Energy, it was reported last year. At that time the Navy was working with an Arizona utility affiliate to build a project. Now they have apparently opened the bidding to other developers.
Our past reporting noted “The idea is to ensure the base can operate even if faced with loss of power from the grid. Emergencies like wildfires in California have put portions of the state at risk of going dark with PG&E impacted.”
Notice that this time the Navy has added water resiliency as well as power projects. The base is surrounded by Westland Water District who just announced an expansion of solar projects on their land. They explain that California has set its sights on 100% clean energy. “By 2045, and the Central Valley will play a vital role in getting there. The same Mediterranean climate that make Westlands an ideal farming location, make it well-suited for solar. As water supplies have become more unreliable, farmers have turned to solar development as an alternative use for the land.”
The Navy request offers the possibility to use up to 11,000 acres – what could be a huge solar farm next to the base, possibly one of the largest in the US. Consider that nearby the Westland Solar Park that includes 12 large solar array facilities will, when built out, sprawl over 20,000 acres producing 2700 MW of power.
The Kings County Assessor says the value of big solar projects in the county as of June 2023 was $142.5 million. Even though this potential project would be on federal lands, the lease of the acreage would be taxed.