The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the Sacramento Municipal Utility District’s (SMUD’s) controversial Coyote Creek solar project at a packed Tuesday meeting.
Over 150 people showed up to share concerns or support over the course of hours. The solar project involves developing over a thousand acres in southeastern Sacramento County. The site lies near Rancho Murrieta and the Prairie City State Vehicle Recreation Area.
Those against the project said it would decimate sensitive habitats and kill thousands of irreplaceable oak trees. But advocates said the 200 megawatt project could offer job opportunities and help SMUD reach its clean energy goals.
Jaime Torres, a business representative with the labor union Laborers Local 185, said he supported the project.
“It’s a source of income for our members,” Torres said. He added that the project overall is “a wonderful resource for our environment… it’s a renewable source.”
Jessie Dickson, a local botanist who runs popular TikTok and Instagram accounts under the name @sacramentofoodforest, used social media to rally other locals in opposition to the project.
“I wanted to puke, to be honest,” he said of his initial reaction to learning about the project. “I just don’t get how this is clean energy. They’re destroying so much habitat.”
Dickson posted videos on his accounts — which are generally focused on native plant conservation — and offered more information about the sensitive habitats and native oaks at the project site. He also encouraged others to give a comment at the meeting, which he attended himself.
“There’s nothing environmentally friendly about cutting almost 4,000 oak trees, the most ecologically valuable native tree in all of North America,” he said. “Over 2,000 species depend on them. Cutting that tree affects 2,000 species.”
Luz Lim, a policy analyst for the nonprofit Environmental Council of Sacramento, also spoke against the project.
“We think it is necessary to have solar development to reach our climate goals, but we also need to be strategic,” Lim said. “It doesn’t make sense that we are going to, in the name of green energy, kill thousands of blue oak trees, native trees, that have been here for a really long time.”
Members of the board described the decision as difficult. District 3 Supervisor Rich Desmond described the decision as “agonizing,” and empathized with the concerns voiced by opponents of the project. But he said he eventually decided to support the project since he sees it as integral to SMUD meeting its clean energy goals.
District 2 Supervisor Patrick Kennedy similarly described the decision as difficult. But he said he voted in support because of the project’s importance in reducing carbon emissions and the greater need for drastic action in response to climate change.
“We have to take actions that go beyond nibbling around the edges, while weighing sacrifices,” he said.
