By Chaewon Chung | October 30, 2025 | The Sacramento Bee
“‘When SMUD was first approached in 2021 about this project and asked to sign a power purchase agreement, they were told that this project was going to be built on bare, rocky ground … This is not bare rocky ground,'” – Sean Wirth, Co-chair of the ECOS Habitat Committee
On May 5, 2025, comments were submitted on behalf of 350 Sacramento, California Native Plant Society, California Wildlife Foundation, Central Valley Bird Club, Defenders of Wildlife, Habitat 2020, Sacramento Audubon Society, and Sierra Club on the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the proposed Coyote Creek Agrivoltaic Ranch Project.
Catrin Einhorn reported from the grasslands north of Flagstaff, Ariz. | New York Times | February 11, 2024
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On September 7, 2023, Habitat 2020 (the Habitat Committee of ECOS) and several other organizations submitted a comment letter on the Coyote Creek Agrivoltaic Ranch Project.
On February 17, 2022, the Environmental Council of Sacramento, Habitat 2020, the Sacramento Group of the Sierra Club, and Sacramento Audubon offered the comments with respect to the preparation of the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the Coyote Creek Agrivoltaic Ranch Project.
Below is an excerpt.
Our concern is that Blue Oak Woodland is an imperiled habitat in California, and it was recently highlighted as such in the draft “Pathways to 30 x 30” document. Such an important and imperiled habitat would not have necessarily been a top pick for constructing such a facility if the habitat values involved had been considered in the context of other potential locations in our region. We acknowledge that there are limited options for the placement of such a facility, but we are not aware of a comprehensive analysis and compendium of suitable locations for solar farms prepared by SMUD for the region, so there is no resource to compare and contrast the Coyote Creek project.
Click here to read the letter in full.
On February 21, 2022, the Environmental Council of Sacramento, Habitat 2020, the Sacramento Group of the Sierra Club, and Sacramento Audubon sent an addendum to our previously sent Coyote Creek Agrivoltaic Solar Project NOP comment letter.
Mailing address: PO Box 1526, Sacramento, CA 95812
Email: office [at] ecosacramento [dot] net
909 12th St., Suite 203, Sacramento, CA 95814