San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) says it has signed two new contracts – one with a subsidiary of San Diego-based enXco and the other with Arlington Valley Solar Energy II LLC (a subsidiary of LS Power Development LLC) – for a combined total capacity of up to 237 MW of solar energy.
The Catalina Solar project, to be developed by enXco, will have the capacity to generate up to 110 MW, starting with delivery of 50 MW by the end of next year and the remaining 60 MW by June 2013. The 25-year contract with Catalina Solar LLC calls for a ground-mounted photovoltaic system to be built in Kern County on property in California's Rosamond/Tehachapi area.
The project is expected to connect to the statewide power grid via Southern California Edison's Tehachapi Renewable Transmission Project (TRTP). The TRTP, like SDG&E's Sunrise Powerlink, is a California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)-approved transmission upgrade built specifically to deliver green energy to the state's power grid from remote areas where the energy is produced, SDG&E says.
The agreement with Arlington Valley Solar Energy II calls for up to 127 MW to be generated by ground-mounted PV panels at a solar farm to be built in Maricopa County, Ariz., with delivery of at least 25 MW by the end of the first quarter of 2013, and another 25 MW delivered every two months until the project is built out.Â
SDG&E will receive both the power and the renewable energy credits from this project, which will connect at the same substation in Arizona where SDG&E's Southwest Powerlink begins. The green energy produced will be scheduled into the California Independent System Operator's statewide grid.
Both contracts will require approval by the CPUC.
