The Davis City Council is looking at three proposals to build solar facilities on city-owned farmland. Councilman Stephen Souza says Davis has the opportunity to be on the forefront of a national trend.

"This is a direction we need to begin to lead. There's the age old question: if not us, who…if not here, where?"

But Yolo County Agricultural Commissioner John Young says building solar facilities on farmland could degrade the soil and make the land barren.

"If there's grading that's been done that's removed the flow and the cost is going to be very prohibitive to grade it back for irrigated agriculture, then you're probably going to impede the ability of that land to go back into agricultural production."

City staff will report back to the council early next year on financing and legal issues of turning farmland into solar farms.