Southern California Edison (SCE) today began installing solar panels at the first of
approximately 150 Southern California commercial rooftops that eventually will make up SCE’s two square mile solar generation
project — the largest solar panel installation in the world.
During the next 45 days, SCE will attach 33,000 solar panels to a 600,000-square-foot
commercial roof in Fontana, Calif., leased from ProLogis. When completed, this first installation will be capable of generating
2 million watts of power, enough electricity to supply approximately 1,300 average Southern California households at a point
in time. This new, clean power supply will be fed directly into the nearest neighborhood distribution circuit, strengthening
grid reliability in the nation’s fastest growing urban area, the Inland Empire region of Riverside and San Bernardino
counties. SCE expects to connect the first panels to its grid in early September, which will help meet peak summer power needs.
First Solar, developer of an advanced thin-film photovoltaic technology, has been selected
as the winning bidder in a competitive solicitation to supply the PV system for this first installation.
"First Solar’s successful bid validated our cost forecast to regulators —
SCE’s solar energy project will significantly reduce the cost of installed photovoltaic generation in California," said
SCE President John R. Fielder.
"We are pleased to work with Edison on a project we believe will demonstrate the solar
PV system business model needed to dramatically reduce distributive solar electricity costs," said Michael J. Ahearn, CEO
of First Solar. "Edison’s project confirms the important role of PV solar power plants in delivering clean, affordable
electricity to the nation’s fastest growing urban areas."
Subject to regulatory approval, during the next five years SCE plans to install 3.5 million
of the most advanced photovoltaic panels or 250 megawatts of solar generating capacity— enough capacity to serve approximately
162,000 Southern California homes. Decisions have not yet been made on other building sites or panel suppliers.
SCE asked the California Public Utilities Commission on March 27 for approval to commit
a total of $875 million to the utility’s solar project, informing regulators the expected capacity cost per installed
watt would be approximately $3.50, half the average current capacity cost of other photovoltaic installations. Subsequently,
on May 8, SCE provided additional cost projections to regulators, telling them the utility forecasts an energy cost of approximately
20 cents per kilowatt-hour after adjusting for time of delivery.
SCE sees numerous benefits to customers, the region and the state from its solar project.
The program will provide a new generation source to areas where customer demand is rising. The solar modules will be connected
directly to the nearest neighborhood circuit, eliminating the costly, time-consuming step of building new transmission lines
to bring power to customers. The output of solar panels closely matches peak customer demand — lower in the morning
and evening, higher in the afternoon.
SCE anticipates the project will create new jobs in Southern California in the solar
industry. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, one of SCE’s project partners, is supporting the project
though the expansion of its solar apprentice training program.
SCE’s massive solar project also is designed to supplement several California environmental
programs, especially the Million Solar Roofs program that provides incentives to encourage Californians to install solar projects
by 2017. The solar program supports the state’s Global Warming Solutions Act, which requires the reduction of greenhouse
gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, as well as complementing California’s renewable portfolio standard, the goal that
20 percent of state’s electricity be generated with renewable energy.
Solar panels are made of materials that convert sunlight directly into electricity through a chemical
process. Thin semiconductor layers form an electric field, positive on one side and negative on the other side. When sunlight
strikes the semiconductor, electrons are knocked loose from the atoms of the material creating the current. Wires are attached
to the positive and negative sides to carry the electricity from the cell to the device to be powered.
