Powering Communities: Farmland to Future
Rural Communities Rising is developing a first-of-its-kind innovative multi-farm worker-community nonprofit board and organization with the representation, decision-making power, and technical support capacities to engage and negotiate with energy developers and government agencies for achieving long-term community benefits.
There are 36 farm worker communities in Western Fresno County, whose local economy and jobs depend on the existing farmland. But over 200,000 acres of our farmland will soon be converted into utility-scale solar energy, battery storage, and green hydrogen production facilities. This proposed massive agricultural land use retirement will eliminate existing farm worker jobs, provide very few new clean energy jobs, and significantly impact the 100,000 residents who live in these communities. Within these 200,000 acres, 30 gigawatts of solar related projects are being planned, which translates to a construction development value of $30 billion in today’s dollars. Capturing a conservative estimate of 1% of the clean energy development value through Community Benefits Agreements for impacted communities would produce a cumulative $300 million over an anticipated 20 years of build-out.
What do we aim to achieve?
This initiative aims to empower impacted community members to negotiate and execute community benefit agreements so they can capture the economic value and redirect the dollars to the health and environmental needs of the community. This unique model provides these communities with technical training and capacity building to elevate and ensure these voices are heard, respected, prioritized, and self-determined. Rural Communities Rising is truly a grass-roots organization and our theory of change stems from a gap in intentionality. There is a fundamental need for rural capacity and technical training. Rural Communities Rising fills this gap with its platform, developed by local communities, and builds the needed capacity to improve community health and to create well-being for generations to come.
How?
To accomplish our goals with our nascent nonprofit organization, we are working to establish and launch a 21-member Board of Directors that is composed of and voted for by community residents.
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