SAN DIEGO, April 18, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) has filed a request with the California Public Utilities Commission to place solar panels on its roofs and other property to bolster the use of renewable energy resources in the San Diego region.
If the request is approved, SDG&E will ask for bids to place the panels on its buildings and will use the energy to power both its facilities and its customers' homes and businesses. SDG&E is estimating that the solar displays will generate 1 megawatt to 3 megawatts, enough to supply 1,000 to 3,000 homes with electricity. Three megawatts of solar energy would represent an increase of almost 40% over today's use of solar energy within San Diego County.
"For several years, SDG&E has been aggressively purchasing renewable energy for use by its customers," said Terry Farrelly, vice president of procurement at SDG&E. "We are committed to supplying 20 percent of our customers' total energy needs from renewable resources like wind and solar by 2010."
SDG&E submitted its request as part of its 2005 short-term resource plan, along with an updated long-term renewable resource plan through 2014. The updated renewable plan included draft Requests For Offers for both solar panels and wind resources.
In the filing, SDG&E also said it wants to issue a second Request for Offers for more renewable resources within San Diego County. If approved, SDG&E expects to issue the two requests in the third quarter of 2005.
The request to purchase more renewable energy resources is part of SDG&E's long-term energy resource plan. The plan proposes to meet growing customer needs by advocating more energy efficiency and demand-response, purchasing more renewable resources, expanding electric transmission lines and building or buying more energy from fossil-fuel power plants.
SDG&E is a regulated public utility that provides safe and reliable energy service to 3.3 million consumers through 1.3 million electric meters and more than 800,000 natural gas meters in San Diego and southern Orange counties. The utility's area spans 4,100 square miles. Exceptional customer service is a priority of SDG&E as it seeks to enhance the region's quality of life. SDG&E is a regulated subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE). Sempra Energy, based in San Diego, is a Fortune 500 energy services holding company. To learn more, go to www.sdge.com.