The utility had already contracted to purchase 130 megawatts of clean power from the facility, which is awaiting construction. Centinela, located near Calexico, California, is slated for completion in 2014.
The contract, SDG&E vice president Matt Burkhart said, "reaffirms SDG&E's ongoing commitment to securing renewable resources for our customers in the San Diego region."
The project is being developed by a subsidiary of LS Power. John King, the company's executive vice president, said SDG&E's latest purchase "will not only create jobs during these tough economic times but [also provide] clean energy to [its] customers."
SDG&E, like all utilities operating in California, will have to buy a third of its power from renewable sources by 2020. Utilities across the state are scrambling to meet that requirement - and it's likely that more utility-scale solar projects like Centinela will spring up in California, Arizona and Nevada in the coming years. This week, in fact, the California Energy Commission recommended that hundreds of megawatts of solar projects be approved.
