Pacific Gas & Electric to buy solar power from desert

By Paul Davidson, USA TODAY

Pacific Gas & Electric (PCG) said Wednesday that it will buy 553 megawatts of solar power to be produced by sprawling arrays of mirrors in the Mojave Desert.

The project would be one of the largest solar thermal plants in the world, a breakthrough for the fast-developing technology.

The Northern California utility will buy the power from Israel-based Solel Solar Systems, which plans to install 1.2 million mirrors on 9 square miles in the desert in southeast California. The $2 billion project, which will power the equivalent of 400,000 homes, is to be completed by 2011.

The deal, whose terms were not disclosed, will help PG&E meet a state quota for investor-owned utilities to draw 20% of electricity from renewable sources by 2010. PG&E derives 12% of its power from renewables and has another 4% of clean energy under contract. The Solel deal provides another 2%.

The system will supply electricity during 85% of daylight hours, when energy use is highest, says Solel President Avi Brenmiller. "It correlates well with our peak demand," says PG&E's Keely Wachs. More