Regulators Approve 400 Megawatts of New California Solar Capacity
Friday, August 13th 2010 4:44 PM
By GetSolar Staff.
The California Public Utilities Commission gave key approvals to projects which will boost California's total solar power capacity by 400 megawatts, the commission said in a press release Thursday. The solar installations will deliver energy to two of the most important utility companies in California: Pacific Gas and Electric and Edison International.
PG&E won approval to purchase power from NextEra Energy's proposed 250-megawatt Riverside County, California solar installation. Now that the power purchase agreement has been given the green light, it's almost certain to go ahead.
Meanwhile, Southern California Edison got the go-ahead to buy 117 megawatts from BrightSource Energy's Ivanpah solar installation, which is being built in the Mojave Desert. That facility has a total capacity of 392 megawatts. PG&E already entered into a PPA for 275 megawatts from the concentrating solar installation, which relies on mirrors and steam turbines rather than photovoltaic panels.
A third vote - which had one dissenter, Commissioner John Bohn, according to Bloomberg News - gave PG&E permission to buy 48 megawatts from three Fresno, California solar installations, which should come online in 2011.
By adding 400 megawatts of clean, solar energy to California's utility grid, these approvals should help the state work towards its goal of getting 20 percent of all its utility power from renewable sources by the end of the current year.
Jonathan Marsh joined Microsoft in 1997, in the years that the company developed from a major player to the dominant force in home computing. Working with a company like Microsoft, ...
Sacramento solar installers could be busy in coming months, as the University of California Davis starts its new housing development. The school has joined with local business part ...
California has consistently led the nation over the past decade in its adoption of clean energy technologies. The Golden State ranked first in 2010 amongst all states in solar pane ...
With Governor Schwarzenegger's term coming to an end in California, its newly-elected governor, Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown Jr. was sworn in this week. In his inaugural a ...
Subscribe
The California Public Utilities Commission gave key 
