SMUD cancels proposed solar farm project

A controversial project that would have had the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) buy electricity from a proposed solar farm project is not moving forward after all. SMUD announced Monday afternoon in a press release it has opted out of the Coyote Creek Agrivoltaic Ranch project. In 2021, SMUD signed a power purchase agreement with D.E. Shar Renewable Investments which intended to take solar power from the Coyote Creek Agrivoltaic Ranch project, but the utility company has decided to back out of the purchase plan. The solar farm project is in the area 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. The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors put their stamp of approval on the project in November 2024. SMUD CEO and General Manager Paul Lau said there were several reasons why they decided against moving forward with the purchase, including 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 Lau. "We'd like to thank Sacramento County for all their work throughout the process and our SMUD Board of Directors for their leadership. We remain committed to following a flexible pathway to eliminate all carbon from our power supply by 2030." Supporters said the Coyote Creek project expanded renewable energy and is a productive use of an agricultural area, but opponents feared the environmental impact would be detrimental to the ecology of the area. Despite this decision, SMUD said it still has a goal of removing all carbon in its electricity production by 2030. The company claims its power supply was about 62-percent carbon free in 2024.SMUC