A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
March 28, 2008
2. Supply -
Governor lauds new solar power project
San Bernardino
Josh Dulaney, Staff Writer
The governor on Thursday joined Southern California Edison officials and local politicians to announce the proposed installation of photovoltaic-
generating technology on 65 million square feet of commercial building rooftops in
That's a lot of solar panels. Enough to fill 1,100 football fields.
"It will harness
"I love when big ideas like this turn into great victories for the state of
The project is the largest solar installation in the
The governor said it will help achieve the state's goal of using 20 percent renewable energy by 2010. It will also help reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, under Assembly Bill 32.
The news conference was held on the roof of a 600,000-square-foot distribution warehouse owned by ProLogis, which manages and develops distribution facilities throughout the world.
The company will lease the rooftop to Rosemead-based SoCal Edison, to install and maintain two megawatts of solar power, enough to serve 1,426 households for one year. Schwarzenegger called it a launching pad for the rest of the project.
"This is a virtual solar plant at real scale," said John E. Bryson, chief executive officer of Edison International, parent of the Rosemead-based power utility.
Officials downplayed a recent report that claims solar energy remains woefully inefficient and that money spent on new panels would be better used for research and development.
Severin Borenstein, director of the UC Energy Institute, released a 37-page solar power market valuation report in January, in which he contradicts solar proponents' economic arguments in favor of alternative energy. Borenstein wrote that "actual installation of solar PV systems in
While acknowledging the merits of Borenstein's claims, and that solar costs are high, one official said the proposed project will eventually reduce solar costs for homes and businesses.
"It's (the report) not anywhere comparable to what's going here," said Michael Peevey, commissioner of the California Public Utilities Commission. "The scale of this (project) is so large - 50 megawatts a year for the next five years - the cost is going to come down so dramatically, that he could not make that kind of comment for this kind of project." #
http://www.sbsun.com/sanbernardino/ci_8724374
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