Second Rooftop in Southern California Edison's Massive Solar Panel Installation Program Now Generating Power in Chino

Oct 20, 2009 - Business Wire

ROSEMEAD, Calif. - The roof of a 458,000-square-foot industrial building in Chino, Calif. is now providing as much as one million watts of solar power to Southern California's Inland Empire. This is the second installation in Southern California Edison's (SCE's) plan to place advanced solar panels on hundreds of otherwise unused commercial rooftops across Southern California. The Chino site is owned by the Multi-Employer Property Trust (MEPT) whose exclusive investment advisor is Kennedy Associates.

"The solar rooftop project is part of Southern California Edison's 25-year commitment to developing cleaner renewable and alternative energy sources for our customers," said SCE President John R. Fielder. "In addition to generating more clean power, this project will strengthen local grid reliability and produce hundreds of new green jobs to support Southern California's economic recovery."

During the next five years, SCE will install, own and operate 250 megawatts of solar generating capacity. The utility also will conduct competitive solicitations offering long-term power contracts to independent solar power providers who will install an additional 250 megawatts, bringing to 500 megawatts the total generating capacity of the project -- the largest photovoltaic program ever undertaken.

"Promoting the use and generation of renewable energy is important to both MEPT and Kennedy Associates. Leasing unused roof space to SCE to generate renewable energy, while also creating 'green collar' union jobs, reinforces our commitment to responsible property investing," said Preston Sargent, executive vice president and portfolio manager for MEPT.

Project Benefits

-- New generation sources to areas where customer demand is rising.

-- Renewable generation that can be connected quickly to neighborhood circuits while major new renewable energy transmission lines are being built such as SCE's 4,500 megawatt Tehachapi Renewable Transmission Project.

-- The output of solar panels generally matches peak customer demand -- lower in the morning and evening, higher in the afternoon.

-- The commercial rooftop solar project will allow SCE grid engineers to study the electrical effects of a high penetration of photovoltaics on distribution circuits. The information gained will be shared with the power industry.

-- SCE anticipates its solar power project will create as many as 800 new green jobs in Southern California in the solar industry. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, one of SCE's project partners, is supporting the project through the expansion of its solar installation apprentice training program.

About Kennedy Associates

Kennedy Associates is a full-service investment advisor with entrepreneurial real estate investment expertise to public, corporate, and retirement systems as well as major university endowments. A 2009 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year, Kennedy has approximately $8 billion in real estate assets under management and is a leader in Responsible Property Investing which considers environmental and social ramifications as well as fiduciary responsibilities in managing real estate investments. Kennedy has over $1.0 billion in certified buildings from the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program. www.kennedyusa.com

About Multi-Employer Property Trust

Multi-Employer Property Trust (MEPT) is a $4.6 billion, open-end commingled real estate equity fund that invests in a diversified portfolio of institutional-quality real estate assets in the United States. MEPT is the largest commingled real estate fund in the US that is signatory to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment. MEPT maintains a Responsible Contractor Policy that requires that all contractors working on its portfolio properties be signatory to collective bargaining agreements with legitimate trade unions. www.mept.com

About Southern California Edison

An Edison International (NYSE:EIX) company, Southern California Edison is one of the nation's largest electric utilities, serving a population of nearly 14 million via 4.9 million customer accounts in a 50,000-square-mile service area within Central, Coastal and Southern California.

SOURCE: Southern California Edison