www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews/articleid/4808125
(Source: The Modesto Bee)trackingBy John Holland, The Modesto Bee, Calif.
Jan. 13--SANTA NELLA -- The largest solar plant in the Northern San Joaquin Valley could rise on about 1,000 acres near San Luis Reservoir.
Southern California Edison this week agreed to buy the electricity from the plant, assuming it gets a permit from Merced County.
The 110-megawatt plant, capable of meeting the demand from about 71,000 homes, would be built by SunPower Corp. of San Jose.
The same company has proposed a 25-megawatt plant on north McHenry Avenue to supply the Modesto Irrigation District. Both projects would use arrays of photovoltaic cells to turn sunlight into electricity.
The Santa Nella purchase agreement was one of seven solar deals announced Monday by SCE, which serves about 4.9 million customers in the south state and several other areas.
The projects, totaling 831 megawatts, also are in Kern and Los Angeles counties. Together, they are among the biggest investments in solar by any utility to date.
"This is an unprecedented time for solar photovoltaic," Marc Ulrich, SCE's vice president for renewable and alternative power, said in a news release. "We're seeing growth in technological advances and manufacturing efficiencies that result in competitive prices for green, emission-free energy for our customers."
The construction cost and the price per kilowatt-hour for the Santa Nella project were not disclosed. SunPower spokeswoman Ingrid Ekstrom did say the cost is "competitive" with other renewable sources and with plants fueled by natural gas, the main conventional source.
The plant would be built on ranch land straddling the California Aqueduct just upstream of where it feeds into the San Luis Reservoir. The site is owned by River East Holdings of Sacramento, according to county records.
SunPower aims to get a permit this year and complete the project in 2014. It also is planning a pair of Kern County plants for SCE, totaling 601 megawatts.
This week's announcement "reflects the growing value of solar photovoltaic technology as a reliable, cost-effective energy resource delivered across rooftops or as a central-station power plant," said Howard Wenger, president of SunPower's utility and power plants business group, in a news release.
The McHenry project still needs a permit from Stanislaus County. SunPower is close to releasing a draft environmental impact report for public comment and aims to complete the system in 2012.
The MID has agreed to pay 17 cents per kilowatt-hour for the power, about twice what it pays on average for all sources. The solar array would meet just 2 percent of annual demand but could be useful on summer afternoons and evenings, when demand peaks and outside power is costly.
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