The agreement of Southern California Edison (SCE) with Alta Windpower Development LLC, a subsidiary of Allco Financial Group Inc. of Australia, a global financial-services business, is the largest wind energy contract ever signed by a US utility.
It secures for SCE customers 1,500MW or more of power generated by new projects to be built in the Tehachapi area of California. The contract, which more than doubles SCE's wind energy portfolio, envisions more than 50 square miles of wind parks in the Tehachapi region. Oak Creek Energy Systems Inc.is a partner with Allco in the development, construction, and operations of the projects. SCE will submit the procurement contracts to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), which will decide whether they are reasonable commitments to make on behalf of SCE's customers. The success of the large wind project announced depends on SCE receiving authorisation from the CPUC and other regulatory agencies to construct a series of new and upgraded high-voltage transmission lines that would deliver electricity from potential new wind farms in the Tehachapi area. Several of such wind projects are in varying stages of planning and development. When completed, this renewable transmission project would be capable of delivering 4,500MW of electricity.
