SCE is supporting 500MW of rooftop solar installations - enough to provide power for around 325,000 homes

Power utility Southern California Edison has awarded 36 contracts to buy nearly 60 megawatts of power from independent solar power installations.

The move comes as part of the company’s bid to comply with California’s renewable energy targets and Million Solar Roofs goal.

Panels will be installed on 31 unused rooftops and five ground-mount sites in the utility’s service territory.

Nine of the contracts went to Maryland-based SunEdison to develop projects ranging from 810 kilowatts to 1.54MW in size before the end of January 2012.

Photon LLC, of Fremont, California, took 15 of the contracts, planning on developing projects ranging from 560kW up to 2.51MW in output by April 2011.

Also among the contracts was a 10MW project planned by Cascade Solar, of San Juan Capistrano, California. The facility is to be installed in Joshua Tree for completion in December 2011.

And, California firm Solar Power, Inc., will be installing a 4.96MW facility in Palm Springs by December 2011.

SCE is developing 250MW of its own solar generating capacity, with 250MW additional capacity to be sourced from independents power producers.

The company said it is expecting the project to create about 1,200 jobs for Southern Californians.

“Significant strides”

Marc Ulrich, SCE vice president, Renewable and Alternative Power, said: “These contracts make significant strides toward distributed renewable generation for one of the most innovative solar programs in the country.”

SCE, which serves 4.9 million customers in Central, Southern and Coastal California, is already delivering more than 17% of its electricity supplies from renewable sources, providing 13.6 billion kilowatt hours of clean energy in 2009.

When complete, SCE’s solar rooftop project is set to cover four square miles of roofspace, on about 250 buildings, producing enough power to supply 325,000 homes with electricity.

The company believes the program should help to drive down installation costs for photovoltaic systems more generally.

Mr Ulrich said: “We’re working to help California meet its Million Solar Roofs goal and supply even more renewable energy to our customers where and when it’s most needed, without the added time and expense to construct major new transmission facilities.”