Aug 14 - San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Southern California Edison has long been a leader among utilities for its use of alternative power sources.

But the company's plan to create a massive rooftop solar-energy generating complex in the Inland Empire has come under fire from solar companies, industry trade groups and others who argue it would give Edison too much of a monopoly on California's solar market.

The move, they say, would inhibit competition from others who can't compete with Edison's ratepayer-financed project.

In documents filed with the California Public Utilities Commission, several groups have expressed concerns.

Arno Harris, CEO of Recurrent Energy, applauds SCE for recognizing that added incentives are needed to tap the vast solar potential of rooftop locations for such a complex.

But he said it would be "bad policy to put that resource in the hands of one utility under a monopoly structure."

"Recurrent Energy believes ratepayers, property owners, California residents, the solar industry and its employees are best served by an open, competitive marketplace for the development of distributed solar-generating projects," Harris said.

Similar concerns were collectively voiced by the Solar Alliance, California Solar Energy Industries Association and The Vote Solar Initiative.

SCE plans to install photovoltaic solar panels on 150 commercial rooftops over the next five years, creating the world's largest solar-generating operation of its kind.

The $875 million project is designed to utilize 65 million square feet of unused space to build a complex that would create 250 megawatts of solar-generating capacity - enough to serve about 162,000 Southland homes.

SCE spokesman Gil Alexander said the concerns are all part of the process.

"We view this as a normal and healthy part of the regulatory process," he said. "It gives associations, consumer groups and people with an opinion the chance to voice their opinions on something that's about to be done by a regulated utility."

In a written response, SCE said it is looking to expand demand for solar panels, thereby stimulating the market.

"We hope the positive impact of this largest project ever attempted will produce a breakthrough in distributed solar generation," the company said.

Over the summer, Southern California Edison workers have been installing metal support rails on the roof of a 600,000-square-foot ProLogis building in Fontana, the first phase of its massive project.

"Tomorrow the crews will begin attaching the first of the thin- film solar panels," Alexander said Wednesday. "We'll be putting 33,000 panels on that one roof. The whole scale of this is unprecedented."

SCE said the program will provide a new energy generation source to areas where customer demand is rising.

And the solar modules will be connected directly to the nearest neighborhood circuit, eliminating the need - and time - for building costly transmission lines to deliver the power, the utility said.

SCE also notes that the project will create new jobs in the solar industry in addition to supporting several California environmental programs, particularly the the Million Solar Roofs program.

That program provides incentives to encourage Californians to install solar projects by 2017.

In moving forward with the first phase, SCE is demonstrating its resolve that the project will benefit California, according to Alexander.

"By beginning construction, our company has put shareholder dollars at risk, which is not a common step," he said. "We began long before we would learn from the (Public Utilities) Commission if they believe this is prudent. But that's how strongly we view the various benefits of this project."

If the CPUC approves the project, the $875 million cost eventually will be included in customer rates - amounting to less than 1percent of current rates, SCE said.

kevin.smith@sgvn.com

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