Monterey County Sheriff's Office Completes Solar and Battery System to Save $12 Million

New renewable energy project expected to reduce emissions and improve energy reliability.

Apr. 16, 2026 at 1:11am

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A photorealistic studio still life featuring a polished metal battery pack, a solar panel, and an electric vehicle charging station, symbolizing the renewable energy and cost-saving benefits of the Monterey County Sheriff's Office's new project.A new solar and battery system installed by the Monterey County Sheriff's Office is expected to save $12 million and reduce emissions over the next 25 years.Monterey Today

The Monterey County Sheriff's Office has installed a solar and battery system that is expected to save the department $12 million over the next 25 years. The project includes a solar carport system with panels installed over parking areas and a large battery storage system using Tesla batteries. Officials say the environmental impact is equivalent to taking about 200 cars off the road each year.

Why it matters

The project addresses concerns about battery safety that arose after the Moss Landing battery fire, with officials emphasizing that the newer lithium iron phosphate batteries used have a lower risk of overheating. The funding structure, which uses a power purchase agreement, also means there was no upfront cost to the county, providing taxpayer savings.

The details

The solar and battery system is expected to save the Monterey County Sheriff's Office $12 million over the next 25 years. The project includes a solar carport system with panels installed over parking areas and a large battery storage system using Tesla batteries. Officials say the environmental impact is equivalent to taking about 200 cars off the road each year. Concerns about battery safety arose after the Moss Landing battery fire, but officials emphasized that the newer lithium iron phosphate batteries used in this project have a lower risk of overheating.

  • The project had been in development for years and was completed around Christmas.

The players

Monterey County Sheriff's Office

The law enforcement agency that installed the new solar and battery system.

Tina Nieto

The Sheriff of Monterey County who spoke about the safety features of the new battery system.

Mynt Systems

The company that worked with the Sheriff's Office on the project.

Sunrock Distributed Generation

The company that worked with the Sheriff's Office on the project.

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What they’re saying

“There were a lot of concerns from the community about those batteries being safe. Well, this is the new generation batteries, and the type of batteries that burned up in the Moss Landing fire; although they were lithium batteries, they were an older lithium battery. These are the newer ones, so they don't have the same chemicals within the batteries, and they're also more resilient to have what they call the thermal runaway that we hear about so much now.”

— Tina Nieto, Sheriff, Monterey County

“It's a savings, and for the taxpayers, this is important because we had no upfront capital cost because of the partnership, and then we're going to save on our electricity bill, because we're going with the cleaner solar energy. It's very exciting.”

— Tina Nieto, Sheriff, Monterey County

The takeaway

This project demonstrates how law enforcement agencies can adopt renewable energy solutions to save taxpayer money, reduce emissions, and improve energy reliability, even in the wake of safety concerns around battery storage.