SDG&E Adds 40 Megawatts of Geothermal Energy

San Diego Gas & Electric has signed a power-purchase agreement with Esmeralda Truckhaven to supply 40 megawatts (MW) of geothermal energy to the region's electric system. The agreement will boost SDG&E's total geothermal energy supply to 60 MW produced from Esmeralda facilities located in Imperial County, California.

Just to get an idea about how much electricty we're talking abot, a megawatt is the equivalent energy needed to power 650 homes.

A quote to celebrate the deal: "The Imperial County is a renewable mecca for our region's future energy supply," said Debra L. Reed, president and chief executive officer of SDG&E. "As we continue to aggressively seek out renewable sources of energy to meet the state's 20-percent-by-2010 mandate, we will look to renewable developers such as Esmeralda to help us expand our renewable energy footprint throughout the county."

In addition to the Esmeralda contract, SDG&E also received approval of its Envirepel agreement from the California Public Utilities Commission. The Envirepel agreement is for 1.5 MW of biomass energy to be produced at a facility being developed in Vista, California.

Around five percent of SDG&E's energy-resource mix comes from renewable resources such as wind, solar, biomass and geothermal. SDG&E has continuously pursued renewable energy with market solicitations every year since 2002. In the most recent solicitation, developers bid more than 5,000 MW of renewable energy for a majority of projects that would be built in the Imperial Valley.