The proposed Manzana Wind Project, with a power capacity of up to 246MW, would be the first wind project owned by PG&E. It follows a proposal by the utility in February, 2009, to develop and own 250MW of solar photovoltaic power.
The Manzana project would be located on about 7,000 acres in the Tehachapi region of Eastern Kern County, a site with favorable wind resources. If approved by the California Public Utilities Commission, the project would begin producing power by December 2011.
Fong Wan, senior vice president of energy procurement at PG&E, said: “This agreement supports PG&E’s comprehensive strategy to meet our customers’ future power needs with clean energy solutions.”
Total capital cost of the Manzana project will be over $900m, which includes payments to Iberdrola Renewables to develop and build the facility, along with other costs that PG&E will incur.
Rates for customers who receive electric generation, transmission and distribution services from the utility would increase 1.1% in 2012 compared to 2009. The average residential customer, who consumes 550kWh per month, would pay $0.25 more per month – from $74.13 to $74.38.
