PG&E to Buy 800 MW of Solar From Two Massive PV Farms
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Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) announced it has contracted with OptiSolar and SunPower Corporation to build two PV farms that together will generate more than 12 times as much electricity as the largest such plant today. The plants, which will cover 12.5 square miles of San Luis Obispo County, will generate about 800 megawatts (MW) of power - equivalent to a large coal-burning power plant. The largest PV farm in the U.S. today is the 14-MW installation at Nellis Air Force Base, in Nevada. For perspective, consider that as of 2007 473 MW of grid-connected solar existed in the U.S., according to the Solar Electric Power Association. Under the deals, OptiSolar, which makes less-efficient but cheaper to manufacture thin-film panels, will install 550 MW of solar power, while SunPower will install 250 MW of its more traditional crystalline panels. PG&E says it expects the new plants to be competitive with other renewable energy sources, including wind turbines and solar thermal plants. The utility and the solar companies also say they expect the massive plants will achieve unprecedented economies of scale in the cost of design, installation and connection to the electric grid.