In another big boost for the economic viability of large-scale solar power plants, California utility PG&E said today it will buy an additional 1,000 megawatts of solar thermal power over the next five years. Thats on top of the gigawatt the utility already has committed to purchase.
"PG&E (PCG) has identified solar thermal technology as a reliable energy source that can provide millions of American electric customers with some of the cleanest and most cost-effective renewable energy,"
said PG&E CEO Peter Darbee in a statement. A 1,000 megawatts of solar electricity would power about 750,000 homes, according to PG&E.
One likely beneficiary PG&E’s pledge is Silicon Valley solar startup Ausra. The company, backed by green investor Vinod Khosla and venture capital firm Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers, has been negotiating with PG&E to build solar power plants for the utility. Ausra executive vice president John ODonnell declined to comment on the status of those negotiations.
So far PG&E has signed a deal for a 553-megawatt plant with Israeli solar company Solel and is continuing to negotiate a 500-megawatt deal with BrightSource Energy, the Oakland, California-based company founded by solar pioneer Arnold Goldman. Todays commitment, made at the Clinton Global Initiative summit in New York City, would make PG&E the nations largest solar utility, putting it ahead of California utilities Southern California Edison (EIX) and San Diego Gas & Electric (SRE). The announcement comes as Florida utility FPL (FPL) said it will spend $1.5 billion over the next seven years to build solar thermal power plants, including a 300-megawatt power station using Ausras technology.
Green Wombat 
It is nice to see so many projects getting closer to getting started. I guess one of my major concerns is that I dont know of any of them, in California at least, that have announced exactly where they are going to build. I am hoping this is because they are keeping it secret for business reasons but I have my doubts. Acquiring land and right of way rights for transmission is a huge obstacle. My gut tells me this is what happened to the Sterling Dish project that was supposed to be built near Victorville California. They got everyone fired up and the local papers excited but never would say where they were going to build it. Seems to me if I were going to spend the hundreds of millions that it was going to cost that would be one of the first things I would have worked out.
I have just seen so many projects get announced and then never built I guess I am a little pessimistic about the whole thing. I have no doubt that PG&E would love to build all these projects that have been announced but in the mean time it is a win-win situation for them. If they get to build the plants they win but if they fall through three or four years down the line they can still say they tried and look at all the good PR they getting now. I really hope I am wrong but my gut tells me that all these projects are not going to happen anytime soon. I do feel there will be one or two projects started in the next couple of years but we are a long ways from covering the desert with them.
Hi Steve,
Yes let’s hope you’re gut feeling about them making “feel good” PR isn’t correct. I believe that Ausra’s project is slated for the Mojave Desert, where they are applying for a right of land use permit from the state. “The company is expected to file a development application for a 175-megawatt solar power plant next week, a spokesperson for the California Energy Commission told Green Wombat.” 19 Sept
Nice article on PG&E – I’ve referenced it on my website today. It’s refreshing to see a company ride the green wave, instead of wasting time and energy fighting the inevitable.
Let’s hope other companies (and not just utilities) take a page out of the PG&E playbook
When they are complete, perhaps they can afford to pay off their debts with Canadian power utilities.