California’s largest agricultural water district wants to turn a growing water crisis into an economic pivot. The Valley Clean Infrastructure Plan aims to repurpose tens of thousands of acres of water‑starved farmland in California’s San Joaquin Valley into a massive solar‑and‑battery network, producing power for the state’s grid, lowering energy costs for farmers, and creating a new economic lifeline as groundwater rules force fields to fallow. … Under California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, aquifers in the San Joaquin Valley must reach sustainability by the early 2040s — sharply limiting how much water farmers can pump. District officials say that could force growers to fallow hundreds of thousands of acres.

Other groundwater news:

• The Business Journal (Fresno, Calif.): Fresno awards $5.2M contract to improve Leaky Acres groundwater recharge facility
• Camarillo Acorn (Calif.): City fights to prevent decades of water war ‘uncertainty’