SMUD Paused the Solar Farm East of Herald. The Grid Connection That Drew It There Hasn't Moved.
October 1, 2026
October 1, 2026
"No final decisions have been made." That line is from the FAQ SMUD posted for the Twin Cities Solar and Battery Energy Storage System Project. It explains the rural land east of Herald in 2026 better than any headline about the project being shelved.
In early July 2026, SMUD announced it would not move forward with the project for now. It also said it won't propose any new utility-scale solar until it finishes its Integrated Resource Plan in early 2027. The land is still where it was, and so is the transmission capacity that made SMUD choose it. If you're comparing acreage along Twin Cities Road or Clay East Road, you're buying land where the key decision has been scheduled, not made. It's due in early 2027.
The project called for up to 275 megawatts of solar and 275 megawatts of battery storage. SMUD says that's enough to power more than 70,000 homes. The Revised Notice of Preparation, dated June 25, 2026, describes a site of about 1,697 acres next to the north and west boundaries of the decommissioned Rancho Seco Nuclear Generating Station. The site has two parts that sit close together without touching. The northern area covers about 982 acres and is bordered by Twin Cities Road on the south. The western area covers about 715 acres and is bordered by Clay East Road on the south and Twin Cities Road on the northwest.
The notice lists six parcels by Assessor's Parcel Number: 140-0030-009, 140-0030-023, 140-0050-025, 140-0050-026, part of 138-0060-034, and 138-0060-035. Among the effects SMUD expects the EIR to study are changes to scenic views and visual character "as viewed by motorists on Twin Cities Road and East Clay Road," plus possible glare.
SMUD has already said how the project would change if it returns. The section along Clay East Road would come out, and construction would start no earlier than 2030. The Twin Cities Road portion stays in the plan.
SMUD's own FAQ gives the answer. The Rancho Seco area came out on top "for a practical reason": the existing transmission infrastructure can already take in up to 275 megawatts of new power, and connecting there needs less than a mile of new transmission line. SMUD says building somewhere else could mean whole new transmission corridors over much longer distances, which would raise costs and permitting timelines enough to affect rates.
That is why the pause matters less than it sounds. Power projects come to Herald because the plug is already there, and none of the July announcement changes that. The IRP will decide whether SMUD needs another 275 megawatts. It won't decide whether the land next to the Rancho Seco Switchyard is the cheapest place to connect them.
The site already has plenty of energy infrastructure:
| Facility | What it is | Status in SMUD and state records |
|---|---|---|
| Rancho Seco Solar II | 160 MW photovoltaic plant next to the former nuclear plant | Operating since February 2021 |
| Rancho Seco Solar I | Solar plant east of the proposed Dry Creek site | Existing; no capacity listed in the sources reviewed |
| Dry Creek Energy Storage | 160 MW / 640 MWh battery inside the fenced plant site, developed with DESRI | SMUD projected a June 2026 construction start and a 12 to 18 month build; commercial operation scheduled for Sept. 30, 2027 |
| Twin Cities Solar + BESS | Up to 275 MW solar and 275 MW battery on about 1,697 acres | On hold pending the IRP in early 2027 |
Dry Creek shows how the pattern works. It plugs into the Rancho Seco Solar II substation through the existing point of interconnection, so it needs no new transmission corridor. The only new wiring SMUD describes is about half a mile of collection and communication lines running from the batteries to that substation. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife filed a Notice of Determination for the project's incidental-take permit on April 14, 2026. As of late September, SMUD's project page still gives June 2026 as the planned start. We found no public record confirming that crews have actually begun.
For a buyer, the biggest point in SMUD's FAQ is about timing. SMUD says it's standard practice to sign an option to buy or lease a site before any public announcement. The option gives SMUD legal access and holds the site while feasibility work goes on.
"It is not, however, a decision to build."
SMUD also lists "land availability from willing sellers" as one reason the site worked, along with limited biological resources and existing road access. By the time a Notice of Preparation comes out, the land deals are already in place. State law only requires SMUD to notify owners next to a project site, though SMUD says it tries to reach further than that.
Two things are still unknown. SMUD's public materials don't say whether its options on the Twin Cities parcels stayed in effect after the July pause. And no one outside SMUD can know which other parcels near a transmission node have options on them today. What we do know is where SMUD can't build. It says the land it owns east of Rancho Seco is under a conservation easement and isn't available for development. That leaves the north and west sides, where the Twin Cities parcels are.
Much of the farmland around Herald is under Williamson Act contracts. Buyers are used to treating those contracts as long-term limits on what can happen to a parcel next door. The Twin Cities notice describes something else. It expects the contracts on all six project parcels to be nullified through findings by the SMUD Board of Directors under California Government Code Section 51292.
A private landowner who wants out of a contract goes through the cancellation process, which our earlier Wilton land post walked through. A public agency acquiring land for its own project has its own route. So a Williamson Act contract on a neighboring parcel near Rancho Seco doesn't guarantee what that parcel will look like in ten years. What the contract means in your specific case is a question for a land-use attorney. The notice itself is public, and you can read the text.
SMUD has also described what the site would look like if built. It would use matte, non-glossy finishes and plant grazing and pollinator-friendly vegetation after construction, and it plans sheep grazing to keep the land's farm character. The notice says that at decommissioning, the land would go back to farming or to habitat that matches the surrounding property.
Herald doesn't have enough sales to produce a clean median. The Sacramento Association of REALTORS Herald-area snapshot attached to its July 2026 statistics, timestamped Sept. 2, 2026, shows 3 closed sales averaging $721,333 and 56 days on market. It leaves the median blank. For comparison, the California Association of REALTORS reported a Sacramento County median of $549,000 for existing single-family homes in August 2026, with a median of 25 days on market.
Three sales can't tell you a trend. They do tell you there are very few comparable sales in Herald, and every appraisal and every offer leans on that short list. When so few properties change hands, you can't average a pending land-use question away across hundreds of sales. It sits with the handful of buyers and sellers dealing in land near the switchyard during the months before SMUD finishes its IRP.
These are the dates on the record:
Before you write an offer on land in this part of Herald:
If you're weighing acreage near Rancho Seco and want to know how a parcel's location, road frontage, and the 2027 timeline fit your plans, talk with Becky Roenspie. Our team works Herald land deals every season, and we'll go through the parcel map with you before you make an offer. Contact us for a local market consultation.
We pride ourselves in providing personalized solutions that bring our clients closer to their dream properties and enhance their long-term wealth.