The Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) announced Monday that it will not purchase electricity from a proposed solar farm project.
SMUD in 2021 signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with D.E. Shaw Renewable Investments to take solar power from the Coyote Creek Agrivoltaic Ranch project. But the utility now listed multiple reasons against moving forward with the purchase. Those include “supply chain constraints, rising prices, tariffs, schedule delays, environmental impacts and pending litigation.”
“Over the years, SMUD and DESRI have delivered multiple important clean energy projects that benefit our community, and we look forward to continuing our partnership for years to come,” said Paul Lau, SMUD’s CEO and general manager, in a release. “We’d like to thank Sacramento County for all their work throughout the process and our SMUD Board of Directors for their leadership.
Hy Martin, chief development officer for DESRI, shared the following statement:
The proposed solar farm project would be located south of Highway 50, northwest of Rancho Murrieta, southeast of the Prairie City State Vehicle Recreation Area and south of White Rock Road in the Cosumnes community, county leaders previously stated.
Those in support of Coyote Creek believe the project fits with agricultural use, preserves land and expands renewable energy. Opponents argue that the project will cost the area rural land, threaten habitat, strain water resources and worsen air quality.
In November, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors moved the project forward.
“The County is aware that SMUD announced today that it has canceled its power purchase agreement to serve as an off-taker for solar power generated by the Coyote Creek Agrivoltaic Ranch project,” a spokesperson for Sacramento County shared in a statement to KCRA 3. “The project applicant may continue to explore additional off-take agreements consistent with existing approvals, so the County is still assessing the impact of SMUD’s decision.”
SMUD said it still aims to completely remove all carbon from its power supply by 2030. The utility claims its power supply was about 62% carbon-free in 2024.
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