The first project, filed under use permit PA-2500396 by RPCA Solar 22, LLC of San Francisco, would cover 12.67 acres off West Kingdon Road, near North Thornton and North Royal roads, and produce up to 2.0 megawatts. It would use about 5,670 solar modules on single-axis trackers anchored with driven steel piers, connect to PG&E's distribution line on West Kingdon Road and sell the power to PG&E under a long-term contract. The county lists the site's present use as a single-family home and an inactive orchard, zoned for general agriculture with a 40-acre minimum.
The second, PA-2500420 by RPCA Solar 25, LLC, would cover about 18.5 acres of a roughly 20-acre parcel on North Locust Tree Road, southeast of East Kettleman Lane, built over three years and producing up to 4 megawatts for sale to PG&E. The site is classified as prime farmland. According to the project description in the county's filings, the panels would sit on driven steel piers rather than slab foundations, which the description says avoids soil compaction and would allow full restoration of agricultural use when the project ends, with a drought-tolerant, pollinator-friendly seed mix planted under and between the rows.
In an Oct. 12 letter on the 4-megawatt project, the state Department of Conservation said it was not taking a position on the project. It noted the site is mapped as prime farmland and said the conversion of agricultural land represents a permanent reduction of California's agricultural resources. The department advised that the county's environmental review discuss the type and amount of farmland converted, effects on nearby farming, cumulative impacts from past, current and likely future projects, and mitigation. It named agricultural conservation easements, bought outright or funded through fees, as one possible way to mitigate the loss, while urging consideration of other feasible measures.
San Joaquin County, not the city of Lodi, is the lead agency for both projects, each of which needs a county use permit, and the county proposes to adopt mitigated negative declarations rather than prepare environmental impact reports. For the Kingdon Road project, the county's referral asks that comments reach its Community Development Department by Nov. 3, through planner Francisco Prado at fprado@sjgov.org or (209) 468-8359, and warns that later comments may not be considered in staff's analysis or recommendation; the state's CEQAnet listing shows public review running through Nov. 4 and state agency review through Nov. 9. The county's comment deadline for the Locust Tree Road project was Oct. 22. The Kingdon Road referral tells neighboring property owners that the project will be scheduled for a San Joaquin County Planning Commission hearing, with notice of the date, time and place to come later.