The companies overseeing a massive solar project in Panoche Valley came to terms on a 20-year “power purchase agreement” with a utility in Southern California, according to an announcement from that utility, Southern California Edison.
Southern California Edison this month announced power purchase agreements totaling 1,500 megawatts of energy from solar and geothermal sources. The agreement with the Panoche Valley project is for 247 megawatts over 20 years, with an expectation to be online by 2019, according to the utility. As recent as late 2013, it was planned as a 339-megawatt solar project.
Solargen Energy first proposed the Panoche Valley project in 2009, but when the company ran into financial problems in 2011, PV2 bought the assets for the project. Duke Energy Renewables, part of the largest utility company in the country, formed a partnership with PV2 to oversee the project.
Gaining a power purchase agreement is one of the most crucial steps for a major solar project in moving toward breaking ground. PV2 executives have said they expected to be held up for most of 2014 to comply with state and federal environmental regulations.
The announcement from Southern California Edison notes that the Panoche Valley project is for 247 megawatts over 20 years with a “commercial online date” of 2019.
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For the full announcement, go here.
