California's three large investor-owned utility companies have been signing contracts for renewable energy at an unprecedented rate, according to a report from the state Public Utilities Commission.
In the first quarter of 2010, the utility companies submitted 37 renewable-energy contracts to the commission for approval, far more than the commission typically approves in a full year. For the past five years, the commission has approved an average of 23 renewable-energy contracts annually.
The majority of the contracts submitted in the first quarter are long-term agreements with solar photovoltaic and wind facilities, the commission said in a news release. Fifteen of the contracts are for solar PV projects sized at or below 20 megawatts. Previously, the solar PV projects submitted by the utility companies were mostly for large projects sized at hundreds of megawatts.
The utility companies – Pacific Gas and Electric, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas and Electric — are requesting approval of more than 50 contracts before the end of the year. More than a dozen of these projects are seeking funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
In 2009, according to the commission, the state’s investor-owned utilities collectively provided 15.4 percent of their electricity from renewable energy, up from 13 percent in 2008. Factors responsible for the increase included newly installed renewable capacity; small hydroelectric facilities generating more power; more contracts with existing facilities; and customers using less electricity in 2009 than in 2008, so the utilities’ renewable procurement accounted for a greater percentage of retail sales.
Based on the contracts signed thus far, the three private utilities are expected to provide about 18 percent of their electricity from renewable sources in 2010 and 21 percent in 2011.
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. delivered 14.4 percent of its 2009 energy output with renewable energy, Southern California Edison Co. 17.4 percent, and San Diego Gas and Electric Co. 10.5 percent.
Together, the three utility companies provide about 68 percent of the state’s electricity.
The state's renewable portfolio standard, under a law established in 2002 and modified in 2006, calls for utilities, energy service providers and community choice aggregators operating in California to obtain 20 percent of their retail sales from renewable energy sources by 2010.
The three large utility companies as a group, based on contracts signed, won't meet the 20 percent goal in 2010 but are expected to meet it in 2011.
In 2008, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed an executive order calling for 33 percent of retail sales of electricity to be derived from renewable sources by 2020. All three of the investor-owned utilities have plans to significantly increase solar and other renewable energy supplies in the coming years.
