PG&E Corp. (PCG) said Friday it has signed a 60-megawatt
solar-power purchase agreement with a joint venture owned by
Renewable Energy Corp. ASA (REC.OS) and privately held Summit Power
Group Inc.
PG&E unit Pacific Gas & Electric Co. has asked state
regulators for permission to execute the contract and recover the
costs from customers.
The solar farm will be built by North Star Solar, owned by
solar-panel maker REC, of Norway, and renewable energy developer
Summit Power, of Bainbridge, Wash. The facility is planned for
Mendota, Calif., about 40 miles west of Fresno, and will use solar
panels made by REC, according to documents PG&E filed with the
California Public Utilities Commission. PG&E said it expects
the plant to be operational by late June 2013.
While prices for such contracts are kept confidential, PG&E
said the power price in the contract exceeds the CPUC's benchmark
price of 10.2 cents a kilowatt-hour, plus additional fees for power
generated during high-demand daytime hours.
State rules require PG&E and other California utilities to
use solar, wind or other renewable sources to generate one-third of
the power they sell by 2020. The rules are part of the state's 2006
plan to combat climate change.
-By Cassandra Sweet, Dow Jones Newswires; 415-439-6468;
cassandra.sweet@dowjones.com