Solar panels. File photoSan Diego Gas & Electric‘s three new solar plants will deliver enough energy to power nearly 32,000 homes in San Diego and Imperial counties, the energy company announced Wednesday.
SDG&E’s Midway Solar III plant in Imperial Valley began producing solar energy last month. The plant is the first built to serve customers in the company’s EcoChoice energy program, which allows customers to receive their energy from renewable resources without having to install energy production materials like solar panels on their homes. National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimates found that about 49 percent of U.S. households don’t have the roof space needed to install solar panels.
Midway Solar III and two more solar plants in development in Imperial Valley and Campo will provide an estimated 42.4 megawatts of solar energy according to SDG&E, enough to power roughly 31,800 customers’ homes.
“SDG&E is committed to providing our customers with renewable, community-based energy choices,” SDG&E Vice President of Energy Supply Kendall Helm said. “These new solar plants will deliver sustainable energy options to customers regardless of their ability to access private solar systems and represent a growing investment in the regional economy.”
The California Public Utilities Commission approved the two solar plants still in development under the Green Tariff/Shared Renewables Program. Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation in 2013 that enacted the program, which allows energy companies in the state to expand customer access to energy from renewable sources. Customers of SDG&E, Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas & Electric can receive between 50 and 100 percent of their electricity from solar plants under the Green Tariff/Shared Renewables Program.
The new plants in Imperial Valley and Campo are expected to be activated in late 2019 and spring 2020, respectively.
–City News Service
