Mercredi 7 novembre 2007
3
07
11
2007
02:42
Communiqué de presse Ausra :
PG&E and Ausra Announce 177 Megawatt
Solar Thermal Power Agreement
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.—Nov. 5, 2007—Pacific Gas and Electric Company today announced that it has entered into a 177 megawatt solar thermal power
purchasing agreement with Ausra Inc. The project, to be located in central California, is being developed by Ausra.
"Today's agreement between PG&E and Ausra highlights how clean energy will create jobs in California while delivering a reliable source of renewable
energy," said Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. "I'm pleased to see California companies rising to the challenge of AB 32, California's
historic initiative to reduce carbon emissions and combat climate change. Clearly, California continues to lead the nation in clean energy research, development and
generation." The plant, to be located in San Luis Obispo County, Calif., is expected to begin generating power in 2010. Ausra has filed its
Application for Certification for this plant with the California Energy Commission, which must grant approval before construction begins. "Solar
thermal technology provides our customers with a reliable source of clean renewable energy that is ideally suited to meet peak energy loads," said Fong Wan, vice president of energy
procurement, PG&E. "By partnering with Ausra, we are taking another significant step in providing our customers with some of the cleanest energy in the
nation." Ausra projects that the power plant will create over 350 skilled jobs on-site during construction, and an additional 100 permanent
jobs in the area. The plant will burn no fuel, use minimal water, and have no air or water emissions. At 177 megawatts of capacity, the project will use only one square
mile (640 acres) of land due to the exceptional area efficiency of Ausra's collector technology.
"This 177-megawatt plant is the first manifestation of Ausra and PG&E's shared vision of competitively priced, large-scale solar electric power," said
Glen Davis, executive vice president and chief commercial officer of Ausra. "We're excited to be partnering with PG&E to deliver clean power at hours of peak
demand." Ausra's new Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector (CLFR) solar technology utilizes the heat from the sun's rays to create steam. Solar
collectors boil water at high temperatures to power steam turbine generators, in much the same way as traditional fossil-fuel power plants, but without use of fuels or
emissions. At the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting in September, PG&E and Ausra announced separate
commitments to build and purchase 1,000 MW of solar thermal power over the next five years. The agreement filed
today with the California Public Utilities Commission is the latest example of PG&E's commitment to solar thermal technology. PG&E currently has 553 MW of solar thermal power under
contract and is seeking regulatory approval of these purchasing agreements. PG&E's solar thermal commitments are part of the company's broader
renewable energy portfolio. PG&E currently supplies 12 percent of its energy from qualifying renewable sources under California's Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) program. PG&E
continues to aggressively add renewable electric power resources to its supply and is on target to exceed 20 percent under contract or delivered by 2010. On average, more than 50
percent of the energy PG&E delivers to its customers comes from generating sources that emit no carbon dioxide, providing among the cleanest energy in the nation. California's RPS Program requires each utility to increase its procurement of eligible renewable generating resources by one percent of load per year to achieve a 20 percent
renewables goal by 2010. The RPS Program was passed by the Legislature and is managed by California's Public Utilities Commission and Energy Commission.
About Ausra
Ausra Inc. develops and deploys utility-scale solar thermal power technology to serve global electricity needs in a dependable, market-competitive, environmentally responsible manner. Located in
Palo Alto, Calif., Ausra is a privately held company funded by Khosla Ventures and Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers. To learn more about Ausra and solar thermal electric power, visit
www.ausra.com.
For more information about Pacific Gas and Electric Company, please visit the company's website at www.pge.com.
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