SDG&E bolsters renewable portfolio with more solar and wind energy from California

SAN DIEGO, USA: San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) has signed and submitted for approval a second 20-year power-purchase agreement with an LS Power subsidiary to procure up to 45 megawatts (MW) of solar energy from the proposed Centinela Solar Energy facility, to be located 90 miles east of San Diego in California's Imperial Valley.

The new contract, combined with a 20-year agreement SDG&E signed in May for up to 130 MW of power from the Centinela project, will provide for a combined total of up to 175 MW of clean, renewable energy, or enough electricity for more than 60,000 homes.

"This contract reaffirms SDG&E's ongoing commitment to securing renewable resources for our customers in the San Diego region," said Matt Burkhart, vice president of electric and fuel procurement for SDG&E. "This will also help bring us a step closer to our goal of bringing in 33 percent of renewable energy by 2020."

Upon completion in 2014, the Centinela Solar Energy facility will send solar power to SDG&E's service territory across the Sunrise Powerlink, a 120-mile, 500-kilovolt electric transmission line which was designed to increase power reliability in the region and tap into the vast renewable resources of the Imperial Valley. When completed in 2012, the new power line is expected to carry up to 1,000 MW of electricity.

"This is an exciting time in the renewable energy market, and we are looking forward to continuing our work with SDG&E on this project," said John King, executive vice president of LS Power. "This expansion will not only create jobs during these tough economic times, but it also provides clean energy to SDG&E customers."

Under the new contract, which runs through 2034, the Centinela Solar Energy facility will employ photovoltaic technology on a 1,350-acre site near Calexico, Calif. At peak, the entire project will generate as much as 175 MW of electricity.

Last month, SDG&E signed an additional renewable contract securing 7.5 MW of wind energy from Coram Energy, LLC of Tehachapi, Calif. An application was filed with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) on July 30, 2010. The Coram Energy facility is located in the Tehachapi Pass in Kern County, Calif. and began generating wind energy in June 2005.

These two new contracts combined add another 52.5 MW of renewable energy generated in California to SDG&E's portfolio. Both contracts require CPUC approval.