Country Acres Solar Project

Country Acres Solar Project

The Country Acres Solar Project includes construction and operation of a PV solar power and battery storage facility and interconnection facilities, including a generation substation, switch station, and interconnection lines, that would provide new power production capacity of up to 344 MW delivered at the point of interconnection with the electrical grid managed by SMUD. The project site would generally be comprised of PV solar modules, foundation piles, racking, direct current (DC) collection, alternative current (AC) collection, fencing, roads, inverters, medium voltage transformers, an interconnection line between the generation substation and switch station, battery storage equipment, and interconnection lines to the existing SMUD transmission system. At the end of the project’s life (anticipated to be 30 to 35 years), the project and its assets would be decommissioned; however, SMUD may retain the substation, switching station, and battery storage facilities. Primary access to the project site during construction and operation would be provided by existing, or newly constructed, paved, graveled, or dirt roads and/or driveways extending to the project site from Baseline Road, South Brewer Road, and Phillip Road. Within the solar field and interconnection facility areas, limited grading may be used to prepare the site for post and PV modules installation. Grading would be minimized to the extent feasible within the solar array and would be consistent with the setback requirements. Grading will likely be required for the proposed battery energy storage system (BESS) yard, generation substation, and switching station. The duration of construction is anticipated to last between 18 months and 2 years. The construction workforce (with an expected average of 177 and a peak of 650 construction workers) is expected to arrive at the project site between approximately 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. and leave the site between approximately 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday for most of the project construction period. Materials would generally be delivered outside of the peak morning and afternoon traffic hours to the extent feasible and would be delivered to the designated receiving area. SMUD anticipates that the Board of Directors would consider the project at a hearing in February 2023 and that permit applications would be submitted to regulatory agencies to prepare for project construction in 2023. SMUD anticipates the project would become operational in 2024 or 2025.

Placer, Sacramento

Northern California

California Air Resources Board (ARB), California Department of Conservation (DOC), California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), California Department of Parks and Recreation, California Department of Transportation, District 3 (DOT), California Department of Water Resources (DWR), California Energy Commission, California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (OES), California Highway Patrol (CHP), California Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC), California Natural Resources Agency, California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Valley Sacramento Region 5 (RWQCB), Central Valley Flood Protection Board, Department of Toxic Substances Control, Office of Historic Preservation, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, North Central Region 2 (CDFW)

California Department of Fish and Wildlife, North Central Region 2 (CDFW)

Power:Solar (and Battery Storage)(Megawatts 344)

General Plan Amendment, Use Permit

Agriculture and Forestry Resources, Air Quality, Biological Resources, Cultural Resources, Flood Plain/Flooding, Geology/Soils, Hazards & Hazardous Materials, Hydrology/Water Quality, Mandatory Findings of Significance, Noise, Transportation, Tribal Cultural Resources