SCE to use SunPower's solar technology

www.tradingmarkets.com
Sat, 13 Mar 2010

Southern California Edison's solar-powered vision is moving forward. San Jose-based SunPower Corp. has won a contract to provide SCE with the technology that will generate most of the power needed for the utility's massive solar rooftop network. Over the next five years, Edison plans to install, own and operate 250 MWs of solar-generating capacity, most of it on unused warehouse rooftops in the Inland Empire.

SunPower's T5 Solar Roof Tiles will generate up to 200 MWs, or 80%, of the power capacity needed. They'll also help SCE reduce installation time and costs because each unit includes its own solar panel, frame and roof-mounting system. "They are specialized and highly efficient panels," said Mark Nelson, SCE's director of generation planning and strategy. "They take up very little space and they have an integrated racking system hooked right onto the panels, so you just sort of snap them together."

The California Public Utilities has also approved SCE's plan for another 250 MWs of photovoltaic generation. The utility would gain that through purchase-power agreements with independent power producers - - bringing the project's total solar capacity to 500 MWs. "We'll have a competitive solicitation for that contract," SCE spokesman Gil Alexander said. "Then we'll sort through them and pick what's best for our customers."

Howard Wenger, president of SunPower's utilities and power plant business group, said SCE's solar program "reflects the growing value of advanced solar panel technology as a reliable, cost-effective energy resource," one that can be installed quickly, anywhere and at any scale. "SunPower applauds SCE's commitment to rooftop solar development, which is unprecedented in the utility industry," Wenger said in a statement.

In addition to generating clean power, Edison expects its solar power project will also create as many as 800 green jobs in Southern California's solar industry. Nelson said SCE is working with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union, one of the utility's project partners. "They know it will take a lot of workers to do this," he said. "We've been working with them to expand their current apprentice program." Nelson said the Inland Empire is a prime area for SCE's solar array because there is plenty of sun, lots of available warehouse rooftops and a growing demand for more power in that region.