PG&E signs contract for 48MW of solar power from Sempra Generation

28 July 2009

US energy utility Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is to purchase 48MW of photovoltaic solar power produced at the Copper Mountain Solar facility, from El Dorado Energy, a subsidiary of Sempra Generation.

This is the utility’s second contract for renewable energy from Sempra Generation.

Sempra Generation is a subsidiary of energy services holding company Sempra Energy, and operates and maintains a fleet of natural gas fueled and solar power plants serving the US market and is in the process of developing renewable power projects in the Pacific Southwest.

Sempra Generation’s new Copper Mountain Solar facility will produce an average of 100 GWh of electricity each year, the company said. Construction of the new solar project is slated to begin later this year and will be completed in 2011.

‘PG&E is pleased to collaborate again with Sempra Generation as we work to meet our customers’ long-term energy needs with environmentally friendly power,’ said Fong Wan, senior vice president of energy procurement for PG&E. ‘Solar projects, like the Copper Mountain Solar facility, are ideally suited to help meet our customers’ peak energy loads.’

Today’s agreement, combined with a contract PG&E signed in late 2008 to purchase the entire 10MW output of Sempra Generation’s existing El Dorado Energy Solar power plant, provides PG&E with all 58MW generated by the Boulder City, Nevada solar projects.

‘This agreement represents a major step forward for Sempra Generation in the development of the largest operational photovoltaic solar power installation in North America,’ said Michael W. Allman, president and chief executive officer of Sempra Generation.

‘It also demonstrates how we leverage our existing investments in land and electric infrastructure to deliver low-cost, large-scale solar power projects. The nearly one million solar panels installed at our two Nevada solar facilities will bring a new source of clean energy to the West and help reduce carbon emissions in the region,’ Allman added.

Since 2002, PG&E has entered into contracts for more than 20 percent of its future electric power deliveries from renewable sources.

PG&E earlier this month commissioned the SOLON Corporation in Arizona to build a solar photovoltaic power plant.

Copyright © 2009 NewNet

Tags: solar, utility

This story was published on Tuesday, July 28th, 2009 at 1:55 pm and is filed under North America, companies, solar. You can follow any responses to article entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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