Pacific Gas and Electric Now Under Contract to Deliver 24 Percent of Energy from Renewables by 2013

In a landmark announcement today, Optisolar and the Sunpower Corporation said they plan to build 2 solar plants that will produce a total of 800 MW of power. During peak hours, the plants will produce as much energy as a small nuclear reactor or a large coal plant.

According to Sunpower chairman Thomas H. Werner, the Sunpower plant alone will have as much photovoltaic capacity as was installed worldwide during the past year.

The solar power created from the plants will provide enough energy for 239,000 homes annually.

With the addition of the two proposed plants , PG&E is now under contract to produce 24% of future power deliveries from renewable resources (wind, biomass, geothermal, solar). This will exceed the 20% renewable energy requirement imposed by California.

Hopefully the saying “As goes California, so goes the nation” applies here, as many other states get more than enough sunshine to match California.

Posts Related to Solar Energy on Green Options:

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• Oregon Launching First Solar Highway in the US

With SoCal Edison the hits just keep coming, as the utility has signed a new contract to receive up to 909 megawatts of wind power from DCE, an affiliate of Caithness Energy.

To be built between 2011 and 2012, the Caithness Shepherd’s Flat project in North-Central Oregon will involved 303 wind turbines across 30 square miles. This will make it one of the world’s largest fully permitted wind farms, but it won’t require any additional or upgraded transmission lines, speeding the time frame for operation.

The project is expected to generate 2 billion kilowatt-hours per year of renewable energy - more than 10% of SCE’s total renewable energy portfolio.

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With all of the sunshine that we get here in Southern California, we should have solar panels everywhere soaking up all of the free (and clean!) energy. Fortunately for us, SoCal Edison leads the nation in the purchase of renewable energy, a pursuit that helps to spur development projects to provide it.

Just this week, the utility announced that it had signed a new contract for an additional 245 megawatts of solar power with Pasadena-based eSolar. But this isn’t just another massive installation of photovoltaic panels - it’s the nation’s first commercial project to use “power tower solar thermal technology.”

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Known for building homes across the world for those in need, Habitat for Humanity now celebrates the occupancy of the program’s first LEED Silver certified homes in San Pedro, CA.

Begun during the 2007 Jimmy Carter Work Event over six days last year, 16 local families now enjoy the fruits of their labor - homes built alongside more than 5,000 volunteers. Not only are the homes LEED Silver, but they have another enviable feature: they include access to solar energy. Collectively, the families’ energy bills are expected to be reduced by $200,000 over time (keep an eye out for a related story about the innovative installation at CleanTechnica.)

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In 2005, Governor Schwarzenegger signed into law Executive Order S-3-05 which sets a long term greenhouse gas emission reduction target of 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. Reaching this ambitious target will require that California embark on a comprehensive strategy to make aggressive reductions in greenhouse gas emissions over the next four decades.

Nationwide, electricity generation is is the second largest contributor to greenhouse gases. It is incomprehensible how the 80% greenhouse gas reduction target could be reached without tremendous amounts of renewable energy and energy efficiency. I am not saying that greenhouse gas reductions and renewable energy are the same but they certainly are not apples and oranges. I’d say they are more like oranges and tangelos. If we want significant greenhouse gas emissions, we’re going to need to ramp up renewable energy and quick.
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Cities can develop their own renewable energy and energy efficiency finance programs suited to their residential and commercial needs. For instance, in November 2007, the Berkeley City Council authorized staff to develop a plan to pay for the installation of solar panels and solar hot water systems for any homeowner or commercial building owner. Property owners retain ownership of the solar systems, paying back the cost over 20 years through an assessment on the annual property tax bill. This program entails little risk on the part of the city or the building owner, and overcomes a common obstacle of a costly up-front investment which may take more years to recoup savings than the owner intends to keep the building.

Once accepted into the program, a property owner would schedule an appointment for a solar installer to determine the appropriate solar system for the property. The city would pay the homeowner for the system and its installation, minus any applicable state and federal rebates, and would add a special tax to the property owner’s tax bill to pay for the system.
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Here’s another reason (as if one needs a reason!) to enjoy California wines: Napa Valley wineries are adopting solar power faster than any other business sector in the state.

Among the wine-makers using solar power: Far Niente, Frog’s Leap, Fetzer, Domaine Carneros, Ridge and St. Francis, among others. According to one solar company executive, the region’s wineries are going solar 40-plus times faster than any other type of business in California.

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California plan facing ‘NIABY’ foes (Not In Anyone’s Back Yard)

[UPDATE: I have added a list of the environmental groups that oppose Superlink below] A project being developed by San Diego Gas & Electric Co. and Stirling Energy is facing opposition from some environmentalists because the plan also calls for a 150-mile, high-voltage transmission line that would pass through 23 miles of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, a spot known for its hiking trails, wildflowers, palm groves, cacti and spectacular mountain views.

The proposed Sunrise Powerlink would carry energy produced from several wind, solar, and geothermal installations from the California’s Imperial Valley to San Diego. The entire route would be about 150 miles long with 554 towers from end to end. (But with a cheery name like Sunrise Powerlink, how could anyone oppose it?)

While federal and state officials put the brakes on new coal-fired power plants and as investors back out of others, the demand for more renewable energy will only grow stronger. And as it turns out, the spots with the best renewable resources also have the harshest and often least habitable climates - dry, hot, windy, barren, etc. - so the electricity then needs to be transmitted to areas where people have settled (i.e. cities). And that is where some problems are surfacing. (more…)

Some environmentalists feel strongly that companies should reduce their impact on the environment because it’s the right thing to do - going green because it benefits the bottom line somehow doesn’t count. Personally (and paraphrasing Oleta Adams) I don’t care how you get there, just get there if you can.

Business events like the AeA soponsored, “How Does Going Green Affect the Bottom Line?” further the cause. Held on March 20th at UCLA, technology companies discussed their successes along the journey to sustainability, and shared lessons learned related to different areas of greening.

A few key takeaways for companies interested in going green: (more…)