Since January 1, 2011, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) has added more than 1,200 megawatts (MW) of clean, green energy to its renewable portfolio. Today, the utility announced it has signed two more contracts: a 25-year power purchase agreement for 150 megawatts (MW) of solar power with Solar Gen 2 LLC and a one-year contract for 40 MW of geothermal power with Silicon Valley Power.
Solar Gen 2 LLC is a private solar development company based in Greenwich, Conn., with offices inFolsom, California. The 150-MW solar project will be built in three, 50-MW phases at separate sites on fallowed land in the Imperial Valley, California. Delivery of power from the first phase is expected by next summer.
"We continue to add more diversity to the mix of green energy in our renewable portfolio," said James P. Avery, SDG&E's senior vice president of power supply. "This latest solar project will be transmitted across the Imperial Irrigation District (IID) transmission network to SDG&E and will get delivered to our customers and the Southern California region using the capacity of the Sunrise Powerlink and the help of the IID. With this agreement, we are broadening our partnership with the IID and helping to benefit the overall economy of the Imperial Valley — a true win-win all around."
The project will use solar photovoltaic panels with single-axis tracking and is expected to generate about 361 gigawatt-hours per year on average over the length of the contract, which represents nearly 2 percent of SDG&E's renewable portfolio over a full year.
"With SDG&E's development of the Sunrise line, we and other renewable developers can take advantage of the Imperial Valley's vast solar resource to benefit all of California," said Steve Zaminski, chief executive officer of Solar Gen 2. "We are pleased and grateful for the confidence placed in us by both SDG&E and the IID. This project would not be possible without the leadership and vision of SDG&E's and IID's board and management."
