The project could eventually cover two square miles of existing commercial roofs with 250 million watts of peak generating capacity – equivalent to building several utility-scale solar power plants.
During recent months, the 600,000-square-foot Fontana, Calif., distribution warehouse roof selected as the first installation site has been fitted with 33,700 advanced thin-film solar panels making it the largest single rooftop solar photovoltaic array in California. The facility now generates enough power during peak output conditions to meet the needs of approximately 1,300 Inland Empire homes.
SCE officials also announced today the choice of their next solar installation site. The utility will begin construction soon atop a 458,000-square-foot industrial building in Chino, Calif., owned by the Multi-Employer Property Trust, and advised by Kennedy Associates.
Additionally, the utility announced that the solar panel supplier for the Fontana installation – First Solar of Tempe, Ariz. – is once again the winning bidder for the utility’s second installation. Decisions have not been made on other building sites.
SCE’s renewable energy project, being called a solar power game changer because of its unprecedented scope and consumer price benefits, was prompted by advances in solar technology that reduce the cost of installed photovoltaic generation to approximately half that of current similar installations.
Additionally, the utility hopes to fill a gap it has observed in current rooftop solar projects in the state – mid-range one- to two-megawatt installations.
SCE anticipates its solar power 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 through the expansion of its solar installation apprentice training program.
The utility received its first regulatory response to the project on Sept. 18, 2008, when the California Public Utilities Commission authorized the recording of costs for the first three installations while SCE awaits regulatory review and response to the entire $875 million project due in March 2009.
An Edison International (NYSE:EIX) company, Southern California Edison is the largest electric utility in California, serving a population of more than 13 million via 4.8 million customer accounts in a 50,000-square-mile service area within Central, Coastal and Southern California.
How it Works?
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. (Source: SCE)
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