42.6 megawatts of rooftop projects signed to support local solar electric production

ROSEMEAD, Calif.--Southern California Edison (SCE) continues to encourage and support the development and interconnection of solar projects within its service territory.

SCE has about 125,000 rooftop solar systems installed in its territory, totaling more than 1,000 megawatts. Those systems include residential and non-residential installations, as well as some utility-owned projects. Nearly 600 megawatts are from residential projects.

Adding to those totals, SCE recently announced that the California Public Utilities Commission has approved 22 projects totaling 42.6 megawatts of direct current power from the utilitys fourth solicitation to obtain electricity from independent power producers as part of its Solar Photovoltaic Program (SPVP).

This Request for Offers is the fourth of five planned solicitations since the program began in 2010. The solar program is just one of a set of programs used by the utility to procure power from renewable energy generation projects. It is designed to encourage energy production from rooftop-mounted solar photovoltaic facilities sized between 1-2 megawatts, but allows for projects between 0.5-10 megawatts.

The rooftop projects selected are distributed throughout SCE's service territory and were proposed by two different developers, Borrego and Sun Edison. The power-purchase agreements have been reviewed and approved by the utilities commission. One megawatt of solar in California can power 216 homes, according to calculations from the Solar Energy Industries Association.

As part of the procurement effort, SCE also sought projects to serve the Orange County area that could enhance the reliability of the local grid. One of the projects approved by the commission is a 1.63-megawatt direct current rooftop project in Orange County, where renewable generation in the densely populated area is currently less than 3 percent.

"SCE is committed to delivering clean energy to its customers. We intend to acquire enough preferred resources, such as solar, to offset the more than 300-megawatt expected increase in electricity use by 2022 and potentially minimize the need for gas-fired generation in the region," said Caroline McAndrews, director of SCEs Preferred Resources Pilot. SCE is currently seeking additional renewable generation for this region in its PRP RFO.

SCE is on track to meet Californias Renewables Portfolio Standard goal of delivering 33 percent renewable energy by 2020. Last year, about 23.5 percent of the energy it provided came from renewable sources.

About Southern California Edison
An Edison International (NYSE:EIX) company, Southern California Edison is one of the nations largest electric utilities, serving a population of nearly 14 million via 5 million customer accounts in a 50,000-square-mile service area within Central, Coastal and Southern California.