Floating Solar on Sweetwater Reservoir Update - May 2025
- Guest
- May 30
- 3 min read
There should be no question that Sweetwater Authority views floating solar panels on
Sweetwater Reservoir as a future capital project. Presentation slide 12 from their May
21, 2025 Special Board Meeting [page 192 of the agenda packet] clearly states their
intent.
The Governing Board’s last formal action on their floating solar project was on
December 14, 2024. Their decision put the agency on a path to do an Environmental
Impact Report (EIR) in lieu of a Mitigated Negative Declaration to comply with the
California Environmental Quality Act.
I contacted Israel Marquez, their Land and Environmental Manager, to inquire about the
EIR status. He provided the following on May 5, 2025:
• EIR proposals from their on call environmental consultants were received.
[Sweetwater Authority’s on call environmental consultants are AECOM, Dudek,
and Tetra Tech.]
• Management has not reviewed the proposals yet.
• The timeline for the EIR is not well defined. Other projects are taking priority.
• The agency would likely want to coordinate the proposed EIR process with their
(yet to be hired) renewable energy management consultant.
• An EIR Scoping Meeting (or meetings) would be held.
• The EIR Notice of Preparation will describe the project and request comments
from the public.
• That scoping meeting (or meetings) would occur after the Notice of Preparation is
filed.
• The EIR process will only address the environmental impacts associated with the
proposed project.
• The EIR process will not address the economics or contract issues of floating
solar on Sweetwater Reservoir.
The economics of floating solar will be evaluated. Directors Ditas Yamane, Hector
Martinez, and Ron Morrison discussed the General Manager’s recommendation to
proceed with a Renewable Energy Manager solicitation at the May 19, 2025 Finance
and Administration Committee meeting. The proposed consultant scope of work
included:
• Assess the feasibility of cost-effective renewable energy technologies such as land
based solar panels, floating solar panels, in-pipe energy recovery, and any other
innovative options.
• Evaluate the feasibility of participating in Community Choice Aggregation.
The Governing Board heeded the General Manager’s recommendation at their May 28, 2025 Board Meeting. According to the General Manager Carlos Quintero, “the EIR for the floating solar is on hold.”
Vice Chair Yamane was responsible for the renewable energy consultant item coming to
the Board (via her committee.) She also serves on the San Diego Community Power
Board for the City of National City.
Renewable energy is a notable theme according to tasks embedded in the draft
FY2025-26 Strategic Plan Detailed Work Plan [May 21, 2025 Special Board Meeting
Financial Viability Objective FV6: Explore innovative opportunities for
leveraging Authority assets (e.g., reservoirs, property) to reduce financial burden
on Authority ratepayers [Page 160]
Task 2 Consider lease agreements (e.g. renewable energy projects)
and public/private partnerships to leverage Authority assets to generate
revenue; Completion: June 2026
Administrative Effectiveness Objective AE2: Conduct master planning of major
infrastructure operational activities to promote innovation, ensure sustainability,
and reliability and effectively plan and allocate Authority resources [Page 171]
Task 3 Complete renewable energy strategy - March 2026
Environmental Stewardship Objective ES2: Develop strategies to achieve
carbon neutrality [Page 173]
Task 1 Complete Notice of Preparation of Environmental Impact
Report for the potential installation of a floating photo-voltaic array at
Sweetwater Reservoir - June 2026
The draft FY2025-26 Budget and FY2025-26 Strategic Plan Detailed Work Plan will be
on the agenda for the June 11, 2025 Board Meeting for discussion and approval. The
work plan tasks (above) could be revised in response to the Board discussions. The Board Meeting agenda will become available on Friday June 6, 2025. Written public comments may be submitted via this web portal.
Refer to these CEQA Guidelines 2023 [Prepared For: Sweetwater Authority by Best
Best & Krieger LLP] for details about the EIR process:
7.02 Contracting for Preparation of EIRs
7.03 Notice of Preparation of Draft EIR
7.06 Preparation of Draft EIR
7.10 Consultation with Other Agencies and Persons
Still have questions? Send Sweetwater Authority an inquiry via this web portal or
email Israel directly: imarquez@sweetwater.org.
By Karen Henry, P.E. | May 21, 2025. Updated on May 28, 2025.
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