Edison International Unit Signs 175 MW Of Renewable-Energy Contracts

Mar 29, 2010 - Cassandra Sweet - Dow Jones

Edison International's (EIX) Southern California utility asked state regulators Monday for permission to execute contracts for 175 megawatts of renewable energy from 13 different facilities.

Southern California Edison said the power purchases, from proposed California solar and wind farms and two existing small biomass generators, will help the utility meet its state renewable energy requirements.

The largest contracts are for the output from six 20-megawatt solar farms and two 20-megawatt wind farms, including two solar farms being developed by Lightsource Renewables and one by Sustainable Energy Capital Partners. Terms weren't disclosed, but Edison said the contracts are priced according to benchmark prices set by the California Public Utilities Commission. The benchmark price starts between 10 cents a kilowatt-hour and nearly 16 cents a kilowatt-hour, depending on the length of the contract and the date the project begins operating, and includes additional payments for power delivered during peak-demand periods.

Southern California Edison said the contracts are part of an effort to tap renewable energy from smaller projects by offering developers a standard contract that avoids the need for lengthy contract negotiations.

Edison and other California utilities are required to use renewable sources for one-fifth of the power they sell by the end of this year, with the mandate set to expand to one-third renewables by 2020.

-By Cassandra Sweet, Dow Jones Newswires; 415-439-6468; cassandra.sweet@ dowjones.com