SunPower, the San Jose, Calif., solar panel maker, scored a big contract yesterday to supply up to 200 megawatts of solar panels to be installed on rooftops of commercial buildings across the service area of power utility, Southern California Edison (SCE).
SunPower panels will generate nearly half of the power of the project’s 500 megawatts total capacity — see here for the full press release.
SCE will own, install, operate, and maintain half of the expected PV capacity — or about 250 megawatts — and solicit bids from independent developers to develop the remaining 250 megawatts. The selected independent power producers will sell power to SEC under long-term power purchase agreements.
SunPower did not provide financial details on the size of the contract but it’s estimated that just the first half of the project will cost about $875 million to develop.
SCE’s selection proved GER wrong. When the California Public Utilities Commission initially approved the project, we had predicted that thin-film PV maker First Solar would be a lead contender for the contract because of its ongoing work with the California utility.
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