DBL Investors News
DBL Investors News
February 9, 2009
Southern California Edison and BrightSource Energy Sign World’s Largest Solar Deal
Agreement for 1,300 Megawatts of Clean and Reliable Solar Thermal Power
ROSEMEAD, Calif., Feb. 11, 2009 — Southern California Edison (SCE) and
BrightSource Energy have reached agreement on a series of contracts for 1,300 megawatts of
clean solar thermal power, enough to serve nearly 845,000 homes.
“These contracts represent a significant addition to our renewable portfolio, which is
already the nation’s largest.” said Stuart Hemphill, SCE vice president, Renewable and
Alternative Power. “This innovative solar technology helps to further our position as the nation’s
largest purchaser of solar energy, as well.”
“This landmark agreement illustrates the increasing demand for solar thermal energy as a
reliable source of utility-scale renewable power,” said John Woolard, CEO of BrightSource
Energy. “We look forward to working with Southern California Edison to provide clean, reliable
and cost-competitive solar energy.”
The agreement, which now requires approval from the California Public Utilities
Commission, calls for a series of seven projects totaling 1,300 megawatts. The first of these solar
power plants, sized at 100 megawatts and located in Ivanpah, Calif., could be operating in early 2013
and is expected to produce 286,000 megawatt-hours of renewable electricity per year. BrightSource
will build and place in commercial operation each of its plants as quickly as permitting and
infrastructure allow. The full 1,300 megawatts of projects will produce 3.7 billion kilowatt-hours
of clean energy and avoid more than two million tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually – the
equivalent of removing more than 335,000 cars from the road.
BrightSource Energy’s technology
BrightSource Energy’s proprietary Luz Power Tower 550 (LPT 550) energy system is
built on proven “power tower” technology. The system uses thousands of small mirrors called
heliostats to reflect sunlight onto a boiler atop a tower to produce high temperature steam. The
steam is then piped to a conventional turbine which generates electricity. In order to conserve
precious desert water, the LPT 550 system uses air-cooling to convert the steam back into water.
The water is then returned to the boiler in an environmentally-friendly closed cycle. This fully
integrated energy system is designed to offer the highest operating efficiencies and lowest capital
costs in the industry.
For its technological leadership, BrightSource Energy was recently selected as a 2009
Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum. The only solar company to win this year’s
prestigious award, BrightSource Energy was recognized for helping global utility and industrial
customers reduce their dependence on fossil fuels by providing clean, low-cost and reliable solar
energy.
“The efficiency advancements found in the LPT 550 system reflect our technical team’s
nearly three decades of experience pioneering solar thermal technology,” said Tom Doyle, senior
vice president of project development for BrightSource Energy. “We have combined this
engineering experience with world-class development capabilities to help our customers reduce
their dependence on fossil fuels.”
SCE leads the nation in renewables
SCE is currently the nation’s leading purchaser of renewable energy and, in 2007, bought
more than 80 percent of the solar energy produced in the United States for its customers. Also in
2007, the utility purchased about 12.5 billion kilowatt-hours of renewable energy, which
comprises about 16 percent of SCE’s total energy portfolio. SCE currently has sufficient
contracts in place that, when delivering, will meet 20 percent or more of its customers’ energy
needs with renewable energy.
SCE also recently signed two wind-energy contracts. One agreement, with Puget Sound
Energy signed in January, calls for 2 billion kilowatt-hours over the next two years. The projects
are located in Columbia and Kittitas counties in Washington state. The other, with AES
Mountainview, calls for 66.6 megawatts from a wind farm in the San Gorgonio Pass near Palm
Springs. This 10-year contract was signed in November 2008.
In addition, SCE launched an expanded standard contract program, which is available for
all renewable technologies of 20 megawatts or less. This program is designed to help smaller
renewable generators contribute to reaching California’s aggressive renewable energy and
environmental goals. This program provides a faster, simpler way for renewable projects under
20 megawatts to sell their power to utility customers.
The current renewables portfolio includes:
· 1,137 megawatts from wind.
· 906 megawatts from geothermal.
· 356 megawatts from solar.
· 185 megawatts from biomass.
· 332 megawatts from small hydro.
For more about SCE’s renewable energy program, visit www.sce.com/renewables.
About Bright Source Energy
BrightSource Energy, Inc. provides clean, reliable and low cost solar energy for utility
and industrial companies worldwide. The BrightSource Energy team combines nearly three
decades of experience designing, building and operating the world’s largest solar energy plants
with world-class project development capabilities. The company now has contracted to sell up to
2,200 megawatts of power to be generated using its proprietary solar thermal technology.
BrightSource Energy’s solar plants lead the industry in environmental design and help customers
reduce their dependence on fossil fuels. Headquartered in Oakland, Calif., BrightSource Energy
is a privately held company with operations in the United States and Israel. To learn more about
BrightSource Energy and solar thermal energy, visit www.brightsourceenergy.com.
About Southern California Edison
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.