Twelve businesses have signed a pledge expressing interest in what California Forever says will bring jobs to to Solano County if its East Solano Plan is approved by voters in November.
The company also plans to construct 2000 megawatts of solar panel capacity and 5000 megawatts of Battery Energy Storage Systems, according to an economic impact report from The Blue Sky Consulting Group.
“The key findings are that the project would create 1,383 full-time jobs which would persist for the duration of the phased construction period, estimated at 10 years, and generate $281 million annually over that time period spent on Solano County firms and workers,” the impact report reads. “This would make the solar project the largest private employer in Solano County, with the exception of healthcare and Six Flags.”
Once constructed, 295 full-time employees in Solano County would be needed to operate the solar facility. Officials say 131 jobs would be created by the project elsewhere in the state. Battery Energy Storage Systems remains under development moratoriums in both Solano County and the City of Vacaville.
The Companies
The following 12 companies have expressed intent, according to California Forever.
- Hadrian — A U.S.-based aerospace and defense manufacturing firm partially backed by California Forever investors Andreessen Horowitz.
- Living Carbon — A company developing plants which will better capture carbon emissions.
- Serve Robotics — A San Francisco-based robotics delivery company.
- Meter — An internet infrastructure provider.
- Build Casa — A firm helping Californian homeowners construct ADUs.
- Motive — A fleet trucking management software company.
- Cover — A company designing and manufacturing modern homes.
- Brex — An AI-driven online finance company.
- Instant Teams — Training for military spouses.
- Freethink — An online media organization.
- Plenty— An indoor vertical farming operation
- Zipline— A Drone delivery and logistics company
“If the new community is approved as proposed, this would give us the confidence that there’s plenty of room for our business to flourish over the next few decades, both in terms of office and industrial space, and in terms of homes for our employees,” the employer pledge released by California Forever reads. “As we enter the new post-pandemic era of work, we are all making decisions about where and how to grow our companies. If Solano County voters approve the project this November, we would be interested in bringing jobs to the new community and finding other opportunities to work together to expand the California Dream.”
The release indicates that this is only the first group of firms to express interest in the proposed development, and California Forever expects many more to join them in the coming weeks, months and years.
“These fast-growth businesses are drawn to Solano County because of the qualities that already make it special, combined with the ability to plan their growth based on the 40-year plan for East Solano,” the release reads. “Though we are still a few years away from breaking ground, some of these companies have already started negotiating terms for acquiring space to operate in the new community if the ballot measure passes.”
The companies, many of which share investors with California Forever, are fast-growing companies looking to invest in the California dream, according to the release.
“Hadrian is building a series of factories across America to enable Space & Defense manufacturers to get parts ten times faster and halve the cost of making rockets, satellites, jets & drones,” said Founder and CEO of Hadrian, Chris Power. “We are excited by the vision of amazing neighborhoods located next to a manufacturing zone designed to accelerate innovation in California. If the East Solano Plan was shovel-ready today, we would already be looking at acquiring space for a new factory there.”
Living Carbon announced it is “in active talks” with California Forever about building an indoor nursery with a capacity for 10 million seedlings in eastern Solano County.
“Living Carbon uses advanced biotech to grow plants that are more resilient to stress caused by climate change. We work with the inherent power of plants, informed by generations of scientific research, to develop photosynthesis-enhanced trees that grow faster, capture more carbon, and are resilient in high temperatures and drought conditions,” Co-founder and CEO of Living Carbon Maddie Hall said.
The company has been hard at work over the last several months to build trust with Solano County residents, Fortney said, and he hopes that this step will help solidify those gains with voters who may be undecided or opposed. Ultimately, he said, there are only two things that can help bolster voters’ trust in California Forever: Time and conversations.
“Since January we can only go up,” Fortney said. “So we feel like we’ve listed a lot and we’ve made the promises. We’re starting to deliver on those promises.”
With investment in sectors like aerospace, biotechnology and agriculture, the company is tapping into an existing network of economic development in the area, Fortney said, and they think a rising tide in these sectors will lift the boats of other area communities.
“We’re really going back to the heart of Solano County,” Fortney said.
The Impact Report
The report released with this information follows up California Forever’s previous study on the economic gap between Solano County and other Bay Area counties in terms of wages paid and jobs created.
But the construction jobs created by the solar and BESS development won’t count toward California Forever’s jobs guarantee, as they are only slated to last 10 years. Any temporary jobs created by the construction of the new community will also not count toward that number.
Fortney said BESS technology has advanced dramatically in the last five years in terms of safety, and while the company understands concerns from residents, they think their location is ideal for BESS growth. The site is already home to preexisting transmission lines, and governmental officials have already discussed areas in California Forever’s possession for this kind of development.
“It’s much less of a risk than it once was before,” he said.
This announcement illustrates that the investors behind these firms are not only excited about the development, Fortney said, but about the region as a whole moving forward. While they could have spent their money anywhere, he said, they have chosen to invest it here.
“There are investors that are not only bullish on our new community in Solano County,” Fortney said, “but they’re bullish on Solano County in general.”
Solano Reacts
Solano Together, a coalition opposed to California Forever’s East Solano Plan, has previously called into question the legal status of the voter guarantees.
“Without any mechanism to hold California Forever accountable, these “guarantees” are largely empty promises until a Development Agreement is in place,” the organization’s website reads. “Under California law, a ballot measure cannot legally obligate the County to agree to specific provisions in a Development Agreement, which must be negotiated independently between the developer and the local governing body.”
Duane Kromm, a member of Solano Together, cast doubt on the jobs guarantee specifically, calling it “the most hypocritical of all of their empty promises.”
Greenbelt Alliance’s Director of Planning and Research Sadie Wilson also had reservations about the announcement, doubting the potential impact of these companies.
“This new update seems aligned with their past efforts- devoid of substance and lacking transparency,” she said. “These potential employers are almost entirely start-ups, which is not an issue in and of itself, but I think there are certainly questions about if and how these budding companies and ventures will look in 10 years or so, if this project were to become a reality. Additionally, it appears there is still nothing binding, simply a show of interest. As November approaches, Solano county voters need real information, not hypothetical plans.”
Chris Rico, CEO of the Solano Economic Development Corporation, said his organization would look forward to helping California Forever should the voters approve the plan.
“These are the kinds of exciting, higher wage, fast growth, companies we are working to bring to Solano County. It supports our goal of aligning jobs with housing so that less of our folks need to commute long distances to earn higher wages,” Rico said. “Should the voters choose to move forward with California Forever’s audacious plan, we would be excited to work with them to deliver on their commitment to bring sustainable economic growth and well-paid jobs to the region.”
Vacaville Mayor John Carli said that his focus remains on immediate issues facing the city like water, transportation and energy, but he noted the impact that additional jobs could have in the area if they came about, particularly in the defense sector.
“It does shed some light,” he said of the announcement “expecially looking at Hadrian and some of the Department of Defense work they do”
(The online version of the story was updated at 5:00 p.m. on May 16 to include two additional businesses and additional comments.
