02/26/09
CENTRAL COAST - PG&E says a solar network designed to deliver enough power to run about 150,000 homes is planned for California and, while none of the solar sites are approved yet, the Central Coast is among its most desirable locations.
The utility says, if the entire project is up and running by 2015, the solar grid should be able to supply more than 1.3 percent of its annual demand for electricity.
Now, the scope of the project brings images of giant solar fields to mind but, instead, the company says the project would consist of many small to medium sized solar operations, combining to make one giant grid.
It would be a 50/50 collaboration of company owned sites and those run by independent producers.
PG&E's President and CEO Peter Darbee said the utility is in a unique position to help the alternative energy industry.
"We have challenges in the environment today," Darbee said. "There are challenges in the capital markets, where young, developmental firms are unable to get the capital they need to build out there projects."
By assuring the lenders that PG&E will be a solid power customer, the banks will be more willing to loan the start-up money.
In the end, the company says your average monthly electricity bill will see a series of small increases to pay for the project, ending with a total monthly increase to your bill of about 32-cents by the year 2015.
This is the first time in more than a decade that PG&E is investing in producing its own alternative energy.
The plan still needs approval from the California Public Utilities Commission, which the company says could take another year or so.
