First Solar, Southern California Edison sign contract for 250 MW of solar PV power

ROSEMEAD, USA: Southern California Edison (SCE) has signed a power purchase agreement with First Solar for 250 megawatts AC of electricity to be generated with solar photovoltaic panels. This emission-free power source is the equivalent, in greenhouse gas terms, of removing 30,000 cars from the road annually.

The solar panels will be ground-mounted on about 2,500 acres of public land near Primm, Nev. First Solar is developing the project, named Silver State South, which will interconnect with SCE’s proposed Eldorado-Ivanpah 220-kilovolt transmission line. The project is expected to begin producing electricity as early as 2014 and be fully operational by May 2017. It will create about 300 construction jobs, and the solar panels will be recycled after their useful lifespan.

“First Solar’s industry-leading technology makes solar PV an excellent option for clean, emission-free power we can deliver to our customers,” said Marc Ulrich, SCE vice president, Renewable and Alternative Power. “When we get projects of this magnitude, we make great progress toward our renewable energy goals.”

This contract is subject to California Public Utilities Commission approval.

“This agreement represents another important milestone toward our goal of grid parity,” said Frank De Rosa, First Solar senior vice president of North American Project Development. “First Solar applauds SCE’s commitment to renewable energy and looks forward to bringing this project to completion.”

Southern California Edison is the nation’s leading utility for renewables. In 2009, SCE delivered 13.6 billion kilowatt hours of renewable power to its customers, about 17 percent of its total power portfolio.