According to San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), it has signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with a subsidiary of LS Power that will involve as much as 130 megawatts of solar energy. The power would come from the proposed Centinela facility in the Imperial Valley.
"We are accessing large amounts of environmentally-friendly power and developing infrastructure and smart technology to bring it to our communities. These advances provide tangible benefits for our customers," said Jessie J. Knight Jr., CEO of SDG&E.
Electricity generated by the photovoltaic array would be transported by way of the Sunrise Powerlink, which is a 120-mile transmission line aimed at boosting development of the region's renewable energy resources. The power line is expected to be completed in 2012, with the capability to carry up to 1,000 megawatts of electricity.
Other parts of the country have also been moving to upgrade their own electrical transmission capabilities with more and more renewable energy arrays expected to come online in the coming years.
