Southern California Edison (SCE) has signed seven new long-term contracts with independent renewable energy power generators for up to 324 MW of renewable power as part of a programme to supply a fifth of its demand from renewable sources under the state Renewables Portfolio Standards legislation.

The contracts cover nearly 20 MW of biomass, 68 MW of geothermal and a further 30 MW of wind capacity, delivering 119 MW in all initially. All of the projects are located in California.

The contracts arise from a 2005 competitive renewable solicitation while the 2006 solicitation is underway.

SCE currently serves between 16% and 17% of its demand with renewable energy from more than 2,700 MW of renewable capacity.

The news comes as fellow Californian utility Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has received approval from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to contract for renewable power from the Military Pass Road-Newberry geothermal plant in Newberry, Oregon.

The contract will deliver up to 120 MW under California’s Renewables Portfolio Standards (RPS) Program.

PG&E currently supplies 12% of its customer load from renewables.

The RPS Program requires utilities operating in California to obtain 20% of their retail sales from renewable energy sources by 2010.


Related Articles
US RPS to inject wind with enthusiam: report
RPS bill signed in California
Wind boost for LA LA land
Solar sells with Californian giant