Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) today announced the company has
taken a major step to roll out a new Community Solar Choice program to
its customers.
Approximately half of U.S. households and businesses are unable to
install rooftop solar due to space limitations or insufficient sun
exposure.1 The new Community Solar Choice program will expand
solar access to PG&E residential and business customers regardless of
their location or ability to physically install rooftop solar.
The program will offer customers the option to purchase up to 100
percent of their electricity from solar sourced from new small- to
mid-sized solar projects that will be built in PG&E’s service area.
PG&E is seeking proposals from local solar developers across Northern
and Central California to build small- and mid-sized solar projects
ranging from 0.5 to 20 megawatts. These local solar sites will supply
the solar power for customers enrolled in the program. Available to
customers in early 2016, Community Solar Choice is part of the company’s
ongoing commitment to support the growth of solar and enable customers
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from their electricity usage.
“At PG&E, we know that solar power is vital for a brighter future here
in California. Community Solar Choice gives everyone an option to be a
part of that future. Our customers will now have the choice to adopt up
to 100 percent renewable energy without the commitment or infrastructure
required to install rooftop solar panels. This is a win for our
customers and for California,” said PG&E Senior Vice President and Chief
Customer Officer Laurie Giammona.
This first program milestone offered solar developers the chance to
submit proposals starting July 7 through noon Pacific Time on August 21.
Developers are expected to be chosen by the end of 2015. This request
for proposals from solar developers calls for a development target of 50
megawatts of solar resources to provide solar energy to enrolled
customers. That’s enough to power an estimated 7,000 households and
businesses.
PG&E has already connected more than 180,000 solar customers to the grid
and anticipates that through its community solar programs, it will
extend access to solar to approximately 40,000 additional homes and
businesses in its service area.
Community Solar Choice will be available to PG&E customers in early
2016. Customers can visit pge.com/solarchoice
to learn more.
About PG&E
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 more than 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the
nation’s cleanest energy to nearly 16 million people in Northern and
Central California. For more information, visit www.pge.com/
and www.pge.com/en/about/newsroom/index.page.
1 National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Shared Solar: Current
Landscape, Market Potential, and the Impact of Federal Securities
Regulation, April 2015, http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy15osti/63892.pdf.
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