PR - Southern California Edison (SCE) today announced completion of the first
of its proposed 150 solar photovoltaic installations on Southern
California commercial rooftops. The project could eventually cover two
square miles of existing commercial roofs with 250 million watts of peak
generating capacity – equivalent to building several utility-scale solar
power plants.
During recent months, the 600,000-square-foot Fontana, Calif.,
distribution warehouse roof selected as the first installation site has
been fitted with 33,700 advanced thin-film solar panels making it the
largest single rooftop solar photovoltaic array in California. The
facility now generates enough power during peak output conditions to
meet the needs of approximately 1,300 Inland Empire homes.
“Here in California, we are taking action to protect the environment by
passing laws and setting standards and our companies and entrepreneurs
are rising to the challenge,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “Edison’s
rooftop plan is the nation’s largest solar installation program by a
utility, and it is just one example of how private companies are helping
us reduce our emissions and meet our renewable energy goals. Projects
like this one show the world you can protect the environment and also
pump up the economy, and I am proud to say it is happening right here in
California.”
“This innovative solar rooftop initiative is a natural extension of our
industry leadership in renewable energy,” said Ted Craver, Edison
International chairman and CEO. “We are driving solar technology forward
and identifying creative new ways to integrate solar power into the
electricity grid. A program of this scale could transform solar
generation, helping bring costs down and providing us with another
important way to meet the environmental challenges of the future.”
SCE officials also announced today the choice of their next solar
installation site. The utility will begin construction soon atop a
458,000-square-foot industrial building in Chino, Calif., owned by the
Multi-Employer Property Trust, and advised by Kennedy Associates.
Additionally, the utility announced that the solar panel supplier for
the Fontana installation – First Solar of Tempe, Ariz. – is once again
the winning bidder for the utility’s second installation. Decisions have
not been made on other building sites.
SCE’s renewable energy project, being called a solar power game changer
because of its unprecedented scope and consumer price benefits, was
prompted by advances in solar technology that reduce the cost of
installed photovoltaic generation to approximately half that of current
similar installations. Additionally, the utility hopes to fill a gap it
has observed in current rooftop solar projects in the state – mid-range
one- to two-megawatt installations.
“SCE's is one of the nation’s leading utilities. We commend their
strategic decision to invest in utility retained generation; this pilot
program is sited in the high peak load areas and will provide
efficiencies to the grid while creating hundreds of jobs in California,”
said John Carrington, First Solar executive vice president of global
marketing and business development. “We are excited to have been awarded
the first and second pilots in SCE’s commercial solar rooftop
installation project and look forward to working together on future
opportunities.”
Numerous Potential Benefits Seen
SCE sees numerous benefits to customers, the region and the state from
its massive solar project. The program will provide a new generation
source to areas where customer demand is rising. The solar modules can
be connected directly and quickly to the nearest neighborhood circuit
while major new renewable energy transmission lines are being built.
Additionally, the output of solar panels generally matches peak customer
demand — lower in the morning and evening, higher in the afternoon.
SCE anticipates its solar power project will create new jobs in Southern
California in the solar industry. The International Brotherhood of
Electrical Workers, one of SCE’s project partners, is supporting the
project through the expansion of its solar installation apprentice
training program.
SCE’s solar project also is designed to supplement several California
environmental programs, especially the Go Solar California campaign,
which provides incentives to encourage Californians to install solar
projects by 2017. The SCE program supports the state’s Global Warming
Solutions Act, which requires the reduction of greenhouse gas
emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, as well as complementing California’s
renewable portfolio standard, the goal that 20 percent of state’s
electricity be generated with renewable energy.
The utility received its first regulatory response to the project on
Sept. 18, 2008, when the California Public Utilities Commission
authorized the recording of costs for the first three installations
while SCE awaits regulatory review and response to the entire $875
million project due in March 2009.
How It Works
Solar panels are made of materials that convert sunlight directly into
electricity through a chemical process.
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Thin semiconductor layers form an electric field, positive on one side
and negative on the other side.
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When sunlight strikes the semiconductor, electrons are knocked loose
from the atoms of the material creating the current.
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Wires are attached to the positive and negative sides to carry the
electricity from the cell to the device to be powered.
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