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Southern California Edison Buys More Solar Power by Staff GetSolar, November 28, 2010

Southern California Edison (SCE), one of California's three major utility service companies, is already a leading supplier of solar power out of any utility company in the country. And last week, in an effort to both cushion its distance between itself and the rest of the nation's utilities and help meet California's goal of 33 percent of its energy coming from renewable sources by 2020, SCE added 245 megawatts (MW) of solar capacity to its grid.

The power is coming via 21 separate power purchasing agreements (PPAs) signed mostly with San Francisco, California-based Silverado Power, a manufacturer of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. According to the San Francisco Business Times, 20 of the deals were made to purchase solar power. One of the deals was made to insert 19.5 MW of wind generating capacity to SCE's grid.

SCE appears to be well on its way toward meeting California's clean energy standard -- by far the most ambitious of its kind in the country. Last year, SCE fed its customers 13.6 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of renewable energy. By the end of the 2010, the utility hopes to have anywhere from 19 to 20 percent of its energy come from clean, renewable sources.

SCE also signed a contract with Martifer Solarto build solar PV projects in Los Angeles County near two of the utility's major electricity lines. All of the projects are scheduled to be complete by 2012, ahead of the 2020 renewable energy standard deadline for the state. That leaves time for SCE, along with the state's other major utilities -- like Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) -- to work on other projects if needed.

Related Pages:
California's Farm Belt Using Solar to Turn Brown into Green by John Lindt, Sunpluggers.com, 9/2/10
One Block Off the Grid -- Group discounts help you buy solar panels for your home.