Edison Plans Solar Power Rooftop for Southern California
Southern California Edison officials recently announced plans to build the nation's largest rooftop solar installation project ever proposed by a utility company. The project, which will be located on the rooftop of ProLogis in Fontana, Calif., will place 250 megawatts of advanced photovoltaic-generating technology on 65 million square feet of unused commercial building rooftops. That's enough clean power to serve 162,000 average Southern California homes.
"These are the kinds of big ideas we need to meet California's long-term energy and climate change goals," said California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. "I urge others to follow in their footsteps. If commercial buildings statewide partnered with utilities to put this solar technology on their rooftops, it would set off a huge wave of renewable energy growth."
The groundbreaking solar installation project, subject to approval by the California Public Utilities Commission, will help California meet its goal to achieve 20 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2010.
The advanced photovoltaic generating technology underscores the numerous energy efficient products and services being produced and used by California companies. According to Next10's "California Green Innovation Index," California patents account for 44 percent of all U.S. patents in solar and 37 percent in all U.S. patents in wind technologies.