A Benton County, Wash., farmer said Sept. 25 he will be better off leasing land for solar panels than farming in a dry valley with a declining water table.

A well that once gave up to 4,000 gallons a minute now pumps 1,400 to 1,500 gallons, said Robin Robert, whose family has raised crops and livestock for more than 100 years northeast of Sunnyside in Central Washington.

Robert told the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council he would keep his cattle, but would reduce his irrigated acreage if Innergex Renewable Development gets permission to build the Wautoma solar installation.

“If you have the water, you can raise pretty good crops, but if you don’t have the water, you don’t get much,” he testified. “What we’re really hoping for is Innergex solar. That’s the main thing for us right now.”

EFSEC held a formal daylong hearing that focused on one issue: Whether the state should override Benton County’s objection and let Innergex fence off 2,978 acres of farmland for solar panels. The project would have a peak generation capacity of 400 megawatts.

The county, as is it did with the massive Horse Heaven wind and solar project, argues an industrial-sized energy plant doesn’t belong on land zoned for agriculture. EFSEC went ahead and recommended Gov. Jay Inslee permit Horse Heaven. The recommendation is on the governor’s desk.

EFSEC has other applications for renewable energy projects in Benton County. U.S. and international companies, such as Quebec-based Innergex, are drawn to flat open spaces in Eastern Washington by the state’s clean-energy laws.

Several counties, including Benton County, have passed moratoriums on new wind and solar projects. State law allows EFSEC to preempt county land-use laws.

EFSEC could prevent an open-ended taking of farmland, Benton County chief civil deputy prosecutor Leeann Holt said.

“Lack of limitation could open the floodgates for private industries to consume bite by bite Washington agricultural lands with no upper limit,” she said.

“The decision the council makes on this issue will have lasting effects on all counties’ abilities to protect their interests.”

Innergex argued the Wautoma solar project would use less water, easing pressure on the aquifer, and would be compatible with surrounding agriculture, though it would take irrigated land out of production.

Robert said he would maintain 150 head of cattle, but cut his irrigated acreage from about 750 acres to 50 to 60 acres. Robert agreed to lease his land in 2020, a year before county commissioners passed the moratorium.

“We knew it was probably going to take out quite a bit of the irrigated (land) and some of the dryland ground,” he said. “We knew we already had trouble with the irrigated.”

Robert said a 58-year-old employee is the young guy on the ranch. No one in the family is willing to take over, he said. “We talked to nieces and nephews, but they’re not interested.”

Innergex plans to lease from one other family, which has a 60-acre vineyard. The family’s investment manager, Wally Jossart, said lease payments would help the family expand the vineyard by 25 acres.

No lease terms were disclosed during the hearing. A consultant for the state Commerce Department reported in June that farmers who lease land for renewable energy projects get a notable financial boost.