PG&E Buys Additional Geothermal Power From Calpine
October 30 2009 - 10:42AM
PR Newswire (US)
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pacific Gas and
Electric Company (PG&E) today announced an agreement with
Geysers Power Company, LLC, a subsidiary of Calpine Corporation, to
increase and extend the utility's purchases of renewable geothermal
power. PG&E currently has two power purchase agreements with
Geysers totaling about 375 megawatts (MW) per year, with enough
renewable energy to meet the needs of more than 450,000 average
homes. Those agreements expire between the end of 2012 and the end
of 2014. The new deal, if approved by the California Public
Utilities Commission, would extend the term for Geysers energy
through 2021. Total capacity is expected to increase about 50 MW to
a total of 425 MW from 2010 through 2017, dropping to a total of
about 250 MW from 2018 through 2021. Geothermal power is a
particularly valuable renewable resource because it is highly
dependable. Available around the clock, it is less affected by
weather, seasons or other factors that create technical challenges
for managing some other kinds of renewable power. "PG&E has
been a leader in the use of clean geothermal power for half a
century," said Fong Wan, senior vice president for energy
procurement at PG&E. "As our new contract indicates, we are
committed to making this climate-friendly resource an important
part of our growing renewables portfolio for many years to come."
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E
Corporation (NYSE: PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas
and electric utilities in the United States. Based in San
Francisco, with 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the
nation's cleanest energy to 15 million people in Northern and
Central California. For more information, visit
http://www.pge.com/about/. DATASOURCE: Pacific Gas and Electric
Company CONTACT: PG&E Media Relations, +1-415-973-5930 Web
Site: http://www.pge.com/
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