For lands used to produce crops, CEC developed a suitability\nmodel to simultaneously evaluate several factors that impact an area\u2019s relative\nimplication for croplands. In\nthe CEC land use screens, implication is defined as a possible\nsignificance or a likely consequence of an action. For example, planning for\nenergy infrastructure development in areas with more factors that support\nhigh-value croplands has implications for opportunities to preserve\nagricultural land. The variables\nused in the CEC Cropland Index Model contain information on soil quality (CA\nRevised Storie Index, Electrical Conductivity, and Sodium Adsorption Ratio),\nfarmland designations (Prime Farmland, Unique Farmland and Farmland of\nStatewide Importance), and current existence of crops (as indicated by the\nCalifornia Statewide Crop Mapping). The\nCEC Cropland Index Model does not include statewide information for\ngrazing lands or rangelands, and it is only applied to solar technology.
\n\nEach input data layer is transformed onto a common scale\nand weighted according to each dataset\u2019s relative importance. The result is a\nsummation of the input data layers into a single-gridded map. This final model\noutput provides a numerically weighted index of importance for croplands\nat a given location. The classified version of the model output, given in\nthis dataset, partitions the CEC Cropland Index Model at the mean into areas of\nhigh and low implication. The high implication area is used as an exclusion in\nthe CEC Land Use Screens for solar technology. These regions have a relatively\nhigher implication for cropland than the lower implication region.
\n\nThe table below provides data sources that the CEC\nCropland Index Model relies on. For a complete description of the model and its\nuse in the 2023 CEC Land-Use Screens, please\nrefer to the\u00a0Land Use Screens Staff Report in the CEC Energy Planning Library.
\n\n| \n Dataset Name \n | \n \n Source \n | \n \n Usage \n | \n
| \n Gridded Soil Survey Geographic (gSSURGO) Database \n | \n \n Soil Survey Staff. 2020. "The Gridded Soil Survey Geographic (gSSURGO) Database for California." United States Department of Agriculture, Natural\n Resources Conservation Service. https://gdg.sc.egov.usda.gov/ \n | \n \n Provides CA Revised Storie Index, Electrical\n Conductivity, and Sodium Adsorption Ratio for the CEC Cropland Index Model\n for the Core and SB 100 Terrestrial Climate Resilience Screens for solar\n resource potential \n | \n
| \n California Important Farmland \n | \n \n 2022. "2018 California Important Farmland.\u201d Farmland Mapping and Monitoring Program."\n California Department of Conservation. https://www.conservation.ca.gov/dlrp/fmmp \n | \n \n Prime Farmland, Unique Farmland, and Farmland of\n Statewide Importance is used in the CEC Cropland Index Model for the Core and\n SB 100 Terrestrial Climate Resilience Screens for solar resource potential \n | \n
| \n California Statewide Crop Mapping (2019) \n | \n \n 2022. "2019 California\n Statewide Crop Mapping."\n California Department of Water Resources. https://data.cnra.ca.gov/dataset/statewide-crop-mapping \n | \n \n The footprint is used as part of the mask for the CEC Cropland\n Index Model\u2019s domain of analysis for the Core and SB 100 Terrestrial Climate\n Resilience Screens for solar resource potential \n | \n