The Department of General Services (DGS) worked with the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) to provide state buildings with solar power.
The agreement applies to state buildings within SMUD’s service area and will provide more than 50 percent of their needs under a 20-year commercial SolarShare agreement.
It was one of several agreements SMUD made with state, regional and city leaders to provide 203 gigawatt-hours of solar electricity, or enough to power about 22,000 homes every year. Los Rios Community College District, San Juan Unified School District and Sacramento County's Department of General Services are among other jurisdictions that have entered similar agreements.
The SolarShare program is the largest community solar project in the nation and shares solar generating facilities among users.
“This partnership is an important next step in achieving Governor Brown’s ambitious climate change goals,” said DGS Director Daniel Kim.
Using solar energy will help DGS reach the zero net energy goals of many state buildings in Sacramento County. The buildings housing the state Energy Commission, Employment Development Department and Personnel Board are among those that will benefit from the program.
The program could save $22 million over the life of the project.