As part of an effort to meet California's energy needs, Southern California Edison Co. plans to build the largest energy installation in the United States — an array of solar collector cells covering two square miles of rooftops that could power about 162,000 homes.
The project, which was submitted to state regulators for approval, is an effort to meet the state's mandate that 20 percent of California's electricity be generated from renewable sources by 2010.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger attended the announcement, praising the 875 million U.S. dollar project. "If commercial buildings statewide partnered with utilities to put this solar technology on their rooftops, it would set off a huge wave of renewable energy growth," Schwarzenegger said.
Edison hopes to mount the first cells immediately on buildings in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, with some sites operational as soon as August.
"These new solar stations, which we will be installing at a rate of one megawatt a week, will provide a new source of clean energy, directly in the fast-growing regions where we need it most," said John Bryson, chairman and chief executive of Edison International, the utility's parent company.
A one-megawatt power plant running continuously at full capacity can power 778 households a year, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
The array of solar cells placed atop commercial building rooftops across Southern California would generate 250 megawatts of electricity — about half as much power as a new coal or natural gas-fired power plant would generate.
So far, companies behind the largest solar projects have favored solar thermal technology, in which parabolic mirrors are used to concentrate sunlight to heat a liquid that drives a power-generating turbine. Photovoltaic technology converts sunlight directly into electricity inside the solar cells.
SCE, which provides power to 13 million people, said its new photovoltaic project was possible because recent advances had cut in half the traditional cost of installed solar generation in California.
Source:Xinhua/Agencies
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