San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) announced two new contracts for a combined total capacity of up to 237 megawatts (MW) of solar energy.
Since January, SDG&E has signed 12 renewable energy contracts totalling 1035 MW.
One of the new contracts is with a subsidiary of San Diego-based enXco and the other is with Arlington Valley Solar Energy II LLC, a subsidiary of LS Power Development LLC.
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 California's Rosamond/Tehachapi area.
It will connect to the state's power grid via Southern California Edison's Tehachapi Renewable Transmission Project. Like SDG&E's Sunrise Powerlink, the Tehachapi transmission line is a California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)-approved transmission upgrade built specifically to deliver green energy to the state's 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 in Maricopa County, Arizona, with delivery of at least 25 MW by the end of Q1 2013, and another 25 MW delivered every two months until the project is built out.
SDG&E will receive both electricity and 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 require approval by the CPUC.
SDG&E is a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE).
