The Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) Board of Directors has approved a 20-year
power purchase agreement with Buena Vista Biomass Power, LLC for the purchase of renewable energy
from a 16-megawatt power plant that generates electricity from woody biomass.
Under the agreement, SMUD receives all the energy, capacity attributes and green attributes
from the project for an expected average payment of $15 million annually. The plant, located in Ione,
California, will utilize woody biomass fuel from forest thinnings, agricultural wastes, and urban wood
waste and is expected to begin deliveries to SMUD in the third quarter of 2010.
“This regional project is attractive to SMUD as it brings the utility closer to its renewable goal
while providing enough electricity to power 14,000 homes,” said SMUD Assistant General Manager of
Energy Supply Jim Shetler.
The plant is expected to produce up to 123-gigawatt hours per year of baseload renewable
energy. This energy will account for over 5 percent of SMUD’s renewable procurement goals in 2011 in
addition to bringing it closer to its overarching goal of having renewable energy account for 33 percent
of its power supply by 2020. Currently, renewable energy accounts for approximately 20 percent of
SMUD’s power supply.
For more information, visit smud.org.