Largest Solar Deal in the World

[greenmachine]

In what is touted to be the largest solar deal in the world, Pacific Gas & Electric announced yesterday that it has expanded a series of solar-power contracts with Oakland's BrightSource Energy for a total of 1,310 megawatts of electricity — enough to power 530,000 California homes during peak hours. Does anyone have any further information about this deal?

[baglady]

The power purchase agreements which will now include seven power plants, add to a previous contract the two companies struck last April for up to 900 megawatts of solar thermal power.
The deal with PG&E means BrightSource now has 2,610 megawatts under contract, which the company said is more than any other solar thermal company in the world and represents more than 40 percent of all large-scale solar thermal contracts in the United States.

[baglady]

Since 2002, PG&E has entered into contracts for more than 20 percent of its future electric power deliveries from renewable sources. On average, half of the electricity PG&E delivers to its customers comes from carbon-free generating sources, making the company's energy among the cleanest in the nation.

Publicly owned California utilities such as PG&E must get 20 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2010, but they can meet the requirement with contracts if the projects go online by 2013. PG&E already has contracts in hand that exceed that 20 percent goal, said spokeswoman Jennifer Zerwer. She said PG&E gets 12 percent of its energy from renewable sources now, and expects that to increase to 14 percent by the end of the year.