Southern California Edison Begins Construction of World’s Largest Solar Panel Installation Project

First Solar Selected in Competitive Bidding Process for Initial Panels

ROSEMEAD, Calif.–(EMWNews)–Southern California Edison (SCE) today began installing solar panels at

the first of approximately 150 Southern California commercial rooftops

that eventually will make up SCE’s two square

mile solar generation project — the largest

solar panel installation in the world.

During the next 45 days, SCE will attach 33,000 solar panels to a

600,000-square-foot commercial roof in Fontana, Calif., leased from

ProLogis. When completed, this first installation will be capable of

generating 2 million watts of power, enough electricity to supply

approximately 1,300 average Southern California households at a point in

time. This new, clean power supply will be fed directly into the nearest

neighborhood distribution circuit, strengthening grid reliability in the

nation’s fastest growing urban area, the

Inland Empire region of Riverside and San Bernardino counties. SCE

expects to connect the first panels to its grid in early September,

which will help meet peak summer power needs.

First Solar, developer of an advanced thin-film photovoltaic technology,

has been selected as the winning bidder in a competitive solicitation to

supply the PV system for this first installation.

“First Solar’s

successful bid validated our cost forecast to regulators —

SCE’s solar energy project will significantly

reduce the cost of installed photovoltaic generation in California,”

said SCE President John R. Fielder.

“We are pleased to work with Edison on a

project we believe will demonstrate the solar PV system business model

needed to dramatically reduce distributive solar electricity costs,”

said Michael J. Ahearn, CEO of First Solar. “Edison’s

project confirms the important role of PV solar power plants in

delivering clean, affordable electricity to the nation’s

fastest growing urban areas.”

Subject to regulatory approval, during the next five years SCE plans to

install 3.5 million of the most advanced photovoltaic panels or 250

megawatts of solar generating capacity—enough

capacity to serve approximately 162,000 Southern California homes.

Decisions have not yet been made on other building sites or panel

suppliers.

SCE asked the California Public Utilities Commission on March 27 for

approval to commit a total of $875 million to the utility’s

solar project, informing regulators the expected capacity cost per

installed watt would be approximately $3.50, half the average current

capacity cost of other photovoltaic installations. Subsequently, on May

8, SCE provided additional cost projections to regulators, telling them

the utility forecasts an energy cost of approximately 20 cents per

kilowatt-hour after adjusting for time of delivery.

Numerous Potential Benefits Seen

SCE sees numerous benefits to customers, the region and the state from

its solar project. The program will provide a new generation source to

areas where customer demand is rising. The solar modules will be

connected directly to the nearest neighborhood circuit, eliminating the

costly, time-consuming step of building new transmission lines to bring

power to customers. The output of solar panels closely matches peak

customer demand — lower in the morning and

evening, higher in the afternoon.

SCE anticipates the project will create new jobs in Southern California

in the solar industry. The International Brotherhood of Electrical

Workers, one of SCE’s project partners, is

supporting the project though the expansion of its solar apprentice

training program.

SCE’s massive solar project also is designed

to supplement several California environmental programs, especially the

Million Solar Roofs program that provides incentives to encourage

Californians to install solar projects by 2017. The solar program

supports the state’s Global Warming Solutions

Act, which requires the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to 1990

levels by 2020, as well as complementing California’s

renewable portfolio standard, the goal that 20 percent of the state’s

electricity be generated with renewable energy.

How It Works

Solar panels are made of materials that convert sunlight directly into

electricity through a chemical process.

• Thin semiconductor layers form an electric field, positive on one side

  and negative on the other side.

• When sunlight strikes the semiconductor, electrons are knocked loose

  from the atoms of the material creating the current.

• Wires are attached to the positive and negative sides to carry the

  electricity from the cell to the device to be powered.

An Edison International (NYSE:EIX) company, Southern California

California.

(Note to Editors: Video and high-resolution photos are available at www.sce.com/solarevent.)

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