FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Docket #: Res E-4132 and Res E-4138
Media Contact: Terrie Prosper, 415.703.1366, news@cpuc.ca.gov
CPUC TAKES ANOTHER STEP TOWARD STATE'S RENEWABLE ENERGY GOAL WITH APPROVAL OF PG&E'S RENEWABLE CONTRACTS
SAN FRANCISCO, December 20, 2007 - The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) today approved four new renewable energy contracts for Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), three of which will contribute to the statewide target of 20 percent renewables by 2010.
The table below provides a brief explanation of the projects:
Generating Facility |
Type |
Term Years |
MW Capacity |
GWh Energy |
Online Date |
Location |
Western GeoPower |
Geothermal |
20 |
25.5 MW |
212 GWh |
4/1/2010 |
Sonoma County, CA |
GreenVolts |
Photovoltaic |
20 |
2 MW |
4.6 GWh |
9/1/2008 (phase 1) 9/1/2009 (phase 2) |
Byron, CA |
CalRENEW-1 |
Photovoltaic |
20 |
5 MW |
9 GWh |
4/30/2009 |
Mendota, CA |
Solel-MSP-1 |
Solar Thermal |
25 |
554 MW |
1,388 GWh |
1/1/2011 |
Mojave Desert, CA |
Through its agreement with Western GeoPower, PG&E will receive deliveries equal to approximately 212 gigawatt hours (GWh) of energy per year. The facility will be located at the Geysers geothermal resource area in Sonoma County.
PG&E's agreement with GreenVolts and CalRENEW-1 represent the first photovoltaic projects approved through California's Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) Program. Development of these projects, which will deliver all of their output to PG&E, will foster an increasing supply of renewable resources for the future.
Through its agreement with Solel, PG&E will receive deliveries equal to approximately 1,388 GWh of energy per year. Solel's concentrating solar power technology has been commercially proven at the SEGS facilities, which were built between 1984 and 1991 in the Mojave Desert, and recent repowering of FPL's SEGS facilities with Solel's patented technology, which increased efficiency by 30 precent. Total deliveries from these projects represent approximately 2 percent of PG&E's total retail sales.
The CPUC's RPS Program requires Investor Owned Utilities, Energy Service Providers, and Community Choice Aggregators operating in California to obtain 20 percent of their retail sales from renewable energy sources by 2010.
For more information on the CPUC, please visit www.cpuc.ca.gov.
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