The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved a power purchase agreement between Solar Millennium, Berkeley and Southern California Edison (SCE) for two 242MW solar power plants planned in California. The agreement regulates SCE’s purchase of electricity produced by the facilities for 20 years from the start of operations. Construction is expected to conclude, for one power plant, at the end of this year with initial operation starting for the plants in 2013 and 2014, respectively.
Josef Eichhammer, president of Solar Trust of America and CEO of Solar Millennium: “We have reached another important milestone on the path towards realizing our first US power plant with the approval of the power purchase agreement by the CPUC. We also believe we will obtain the permit for construction of at least one power plant in Blythe in autumn and finalize the financing. The site is located near to Los Angeles. This area receives more than 2,700 kilowatt hours per square meter of direct normal irradiation every year, a figure more than 30 percent higher than in southern Spain.”
Both power plants will be built at the Blythe project location, where a total of up to four 242MW power plants can be installed. The four plants would supply California with 2,200GW hours annually.
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