SunPower has signed a power purchase agreement with Southern California Edison (SCE) to build and operate three plants with a total capacity of 711MW in California. The 325MW and 276MW facilities in Rosamond and 110MW Los Banos plant will all use SunPower’s 425-watt panels, T0 Tracker and Oasis power block.
“This is an important turning point for solar photovoltaic power,” said Marc Ulrich, SCE's vice president of renewable and alternative power. “The advances in photovoltaic technology, coupled with economies of scale, enable SCE to provide Californians with a large-scale power plant's worth of emission-free energy at a competitive price.”
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“This historic 711MW commitment by SCE 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. “SunPower's world-leading high-efficiency technology and history of reliable performance will maximize the solar energy delivered to SCE's customers.”
The Los Banos and Rosamon sites, scheduled for completion in Q4 2014 and 2016 respectively, will generate power for around 460,000 households in the state.