SMUD to Buy Power From Local Biomass Power Plant

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.

As the nation’s sixth largest publicly owned utility, SMUD has been providing low-cost, reliable electricity for more than 60 years to Sacramento County (and a small portion of Placer County). SMUD is a recognized industry leader and award winner for its innovative energy efficiency programs, renewable power technologies, and for its sustainable solutions for a healthier environment. The utility is on track to become the first large California utility to receive 20 percent of its energy from renewable resources. For more information, visit smud.org.

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Posted by Michelle Ventress on Nov 10 2009. Filed under News, Viewpoints. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.