UNITED STATES

Wildflower solar

Renewable energy for one of the largest publicly owned utility companies in the US

KEY NUMBERS

16.5MWᴅᴄ

/13MWᴀᴄ capacity

21,850

metric tons of CO2 saved per year

4,640

fuel-burning cars taken off road (equivalent)

2,600

homes powered per year

75

local jobs created during construction

Current status

Site selection & preliminary design

Stakeholder outreach

Permitting & environmental studies

Land management & biodiversity planning

Final engineering, financing & construction

Operation & maintenance

Decommissioning & recycling

In November 2018, Lightsource bp signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the Sacramento Municipal Utilities Division (SMUD), one of the largest publicly owned utility companies in the United States. Under the agreement, Lightsource bp will finance, build, and operate a 16.5 megawatt solar farm within SMUD’s service territory in Sacramento County, California. SMUD will purchase all the electricity under the 25-year PPA.

The solar farm, called Wildflower Solar, supports SMUD’s renewable energy and carbon reduction goals. It will generate enough affordable, clean energy to cover the equivalent annual electricity needs of 2,624 homes in northern California. The project also supports SMUD’s Neighborhood SolarShares community solar program, meeting growing consumer demand for clean energy and locally sited solar power.

Lightsource bp creates customized long-term land and environmental management plans for solar farms that aim to maintain, as well as develop, plant and wildlife habitats to provide a net gain for local biodiversity. The plan for Wildflower Solar will be to create a pollinator friendly solar farm, designed in collaboration with ecology experts to restore and conserve pollinator habitat. The project went online at the end of 2020.

Information and resources

We’ve put together a collection of resources for anyone who’d like to know more about our Wildflower Solar project:

Solar farm FAQs

We’ve put together a list of the most commonly asked questions, and their answers.

Stories

Find out more about our Responsible Solar approach

Get in touch

If you’d like to find out more about this project, email USCommunityRelations@lightsourcebp.com, or fill out this form. We aim to get back to you within five working days.

USCommunityRelations@lightsourcebp.com

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