San Diego gets more solar power

- San Diego Gas & Electric, working to catch up with CaliforniaÂ’s rising renewableenergy requirements, has won approval of two powerpurchase agreements that will give it a boost.

The stateÂ’s Public Utilities Commission said yes to the utilityÂ’s 20-year deals with Centinela Solar Energy under which it will buy around 297 gigawatt-hours GWh of energy annually from a 140-megawatt MW solar power plant.

CaliforniaÂ’s renewable portfolio standard required that utilities source 20 percent of their power from renewables by the end of 2010. SDG&E was lagging, at just 10.5 percent, according to the most recent state figures available.

According to the California Center for Sustainable Energy, excess procurements by the utility in previous years allowed it to bank renewable credits for use in 2010 in order to technically comply with state rules. Still, by 2020, the requirement will rise to 33 percent, so the pressure is intense to find more renewable energy.

The Centinela photovoltaic solar plant, in the Imperial Valley east of San Diego County, is expected to begin producing power by the end of 2013. The electricity is slated to travel to the populated coastal region of California on a 117-mile high voltage line the utility has been trying to build for several years. The line has been opposed by a variety of factions for a variety of reasons, but it finally broke ground just last month.