Pacific Gas and Electric Company (NYSE: PCG) today announced it has entered into two utility-scale, photovoltaic solar power contracts for a total of 800 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy–roughly equivalent to the supply of a coal-fired power plant.
The footprints of the two installations will cover a combined 12.5 square miles of California real estate.
This significant commitment to photovoltaic technology will deliver cumulatively 1.65 billion kilowatt-hours of renewable energy annually. This would be equivalent to the amount of energy needed to serve approximately 239,000 residential homes each year.
PG&E entered into an agreement with Topaz Solar Farms LLC, a subsidiary of OptiSolar Inc., for 550 MW of thin-film PV solar power. The utility also signed a contract with High Plains Ranch II, LLC, a subsidiary of SunPower Corporation (Nasdaq: SPWR), for 250 MW of high-efficiency PV solar power.
"These landmark agreements signal the arrival of utility-scale PV solar power that may be cost-competitive with solar thermal and wind energy," said Jack Keenan, chief operating officer and senior vice president for PG&E.
Utility-scale PV solar projects feature photovoltaic solar modules, which convert sunlight directly into electricity and produce the greatest amounts of power during the afternoons, when electricity demand is high. Both projects are contingent upon the extension of the federal investment tax credit for renewable energy and processes to expedite transmission needs.
Over the past six years, PG&E has entered into contracts for more than 3,600 MW of renewable power, including solar contracts that total more than 2,500 MW. PG&E now has contractual commitments for more than 24% of its future power deliveries from renewables, including wind, biomass and geothermal.
The 550 MW Topaz Solar Farm project would utilize relatively low-cost, thin-film PV panels designed and manufactured by OptiSolar in Hayward and Sacramento. Located in San Luis Obispo County, California, the project would deliver approximately 1,100,000 megawatt-hours annually of renewable electricity. The project is expected to begin power delivery in 2011 and be fully operational by 2013.
SunPower’s planned 250 MW solar ranch, would be located in San Luis Obispo County’s California Valley and will deliver an average of 550,000 megawatt-hours of clean electricity annually. The project is expected to begin power delivery in 2010 and be fully operational in 2012.
The ranch would employ SunPower’s proprietary crystalline PV solar cells and its solar tracking systems, which tilt toward the sun as it moves across the sky, increasing energy capture by up to 30% over fixed systems, while reducing land-use requirements.
"Today, high-efficiency photovoltaic technology is a competitively-priced component of utility-scale peak power generation," Tom Werner, CEO of SunPower, said.
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