WOODLAND, Calif. (AP) -- A California county is drafting a solar power law designed to protect agriculture.

The Yolo County ordinance would require solar project applicants to prove there is no available non-prime farmland nearby and would require developers to set aside land for farming and wildlife.

The Sacramento Bee says a vote on the ordinance could come as early as September.

Big solar projects are blossoming in California because of a new state law requiring utilities to obtain 33 percent of their power from renewable sources. The deadline for hitting the 33 percent mark is 2020.

Plans for a solar law come as developers Angelo Tsakopoulos and Phil Angelides propose rows of metal and concrete solar panels on 688 acres of rice-growing land in Yolo County near Interstate 80 and the Yolo Causeway.

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Information from: The Sacramento Bee, http://www.sacbee.com

Copyright 2011 The AP.