SunPower Corp. (Nasdaq: SPWRA; SPWRB) won a contract to provide up to 200 megawatts (MW), or 80%, of the solar power capacity needed for Southern California Edison’s (SCE) large solar photovoltaic installation program.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
During the next five years, SCE plans to install, own and operate 250 MW of solar generating capacity, most of it on otherwise unused large warehouse rooftops. The large 1-2 million-watt solar installations will be connected to neighborhood distribution circuits where the leased rooftops are located.
SCE is purchasing SunPower’s T5 Solar Roof Tile product, which integrates into a single unit a solar panel, frame and roof mounting system. SCE said the system cuts down on installation time and cost and allows greater power production.
In a related development, on January 21, 2010, the California Public Utilities Commission approved the process to be used for a second track of solar installations that will double the size of SCE’s photovoltaic program. Regulators previously directed SCE to conduct a competitive solicitation offering long-term power contracts to independent solar power providers willing to install an additional 250 MW of photovoltaic generation. SCE hopes to launch the solicitation later this month.
Eventually, the two installation tracks will add a total of 500 megawatts to the solar generating capacity of Southern California’s power resources.
SCE anticipates its solar power project will create as many as 800 new green jobs in Southern California in the solar industry. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, one of SCE’s project partners, is supporting the project through the expansion of its solar installation apprentice training program.
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