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PG&E and BrightSource Sign Contracts for Over 1,300 MW of Solar Thermal

May 14, 2009 | 3 Comments

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California, United States [RenewableEnergyWorld.com] Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) announced yesterday that it has entered into a series of contracts with BrightSource Energy, Inc. for a record total of 1,310 megawatts (MW) of solar thermal power. These power purchase agreements, covering seven projects, supersede the agreements PG&E executed with BrightSource in April 2008 for up to 900 MW of solar thermal power.

All seven projects are expected to produce 3,666 gigawatt-hours of power each year, equal to the annual consumption of about 530,000 average homes.

BrightSource's projects utilitze fields full of mirrors that reflect solar radiation to a central tower to create steam and generate electricity.

The first of these solar power plants, sized at 110 MW and located in Ivanpah, California, is contracted to begin operation in 2012. BrightSource says it will build andl operatate each of its plants as quickly as permitting and infrastructure allow. All seven projects are expected to produce 3,666 gigawatt-hours of power each year, equal to the annual consumption of about 530,000 average homes.

Since 2002, PG&E has entered into contracts for more than 20 percent of its future electric power deliveries from renewable sources.

Solar Energy

3 Reader Comments

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1 of 3

ron-peterson-82973

May 15, 2009

It would be nice to see cost data. Would this project be less expensive than the $0.15-17 per KWH currently estimated of solar thermal?

Comment
2 of 3

paul-cobb-175313

May 15, 2009

By the time the projects go live, the costs should be noticeably below the figure you cite. Let's not forget CA residential electricity rates are typically above average anyway.

Also, when carbon costs get factored into the pricing (which they will) for fossil fuel based generation plant, the cost of solar thermal will be more attractive.

Cheers,
Paul Cobb

Comment
3 of 3

allan-sindelar-20506

May 15, 2009

The current issue of High Country News (www.hcn.org) has a cover feature about this project: "High Noon: As the climate warms, environmentalists square off over Big Solar's claim to the Mojave Desert". The journal is well respected for in-depth environmental reporting. The article challenges some of the solar-is-good assumptions and goes deeper about some of the politics and history of this and earlier thermal-trough projects.

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