SCE plans to buy electricity generated by solar panels

Southern California Edison is looking to buy electricity made from solar panels, a spokesman said Thursday.

“SCE is proud to offer a competitive solicitation for clean, green power, where and when our customers need it the most,” said Marc Ulrich, SCE’s vice president for renewable and alternative power. “This innovative approach seeks independently owned projects that require no new transmission and avoid any potential land-use issues due to their installation on commercial rooftops.”

SCE is working to meet its 2006 Million Solar Roofs goal.

The state Public Utilities Commission approved SCE’s plan to generate hundreds of megawatts of electricity from the rooftops of industrial buildings in SCE’s service territory. Under the plan, SCE will own and produce 250 megawatts, and another 250 megawatts will be bought from companies whose bids are accepted.

Potential sellers can find bid instructions and other materials at www.sce.com/spvp-ipp.

On April 1, SCE will host a “request for offer” conference. The deadline for submitting offers is April 19, and those on the short list will be advised of their status May 10.

Binding offers will be submitted July 19 and final agreements will be executed July 26, according to SCE.

In 2009, SCE delivered 13.6 billion kilowatt hours of renewable energy to its customers — about 17 percent of its total. In 2008, SCE bought 65 percent of all the solar power produced in the nation, a spokesman said.