Release Date: September 27, 2007
Contact: PG&E News Department (415) 973-5930

PG&E Commits to Double Its Solar Thermal Power Purchases During Clinton Global Initiative

New York, NY – Participating today in the Clinton Global Initiative – an annual meeting of world leaders designed to examine today's most pressing global challenges - Pacific Gas and Electric Company announced plans to double its existing commitments to buy renewable solar thermal electric power, adding 1,000 megawatts (MW) of new supply to its portfolio over the next five years. This new commitment builds on the company’s previously announced plans with Solel and BrightSource to purchase more than 1,000 MW of solar thermal power. The additional solar thermal energy will be enough to power more than 750,000 homes with clean renewable power.

"PG&E has identified solar thermal technology as a reliable energy source that can provide millions of American electric customers with some of the cleanest and most cost-effective renewable energy," said PG&E Corp. President and CEO Peter Darbee. "As one of the cleanest energy providers in the United States, PG&E is delighted to be making this commitment as part of the Clinton Global Initiative today."

PG&E is currently in discussions with several vendors to identify the projects that will enable the company to achieve its solar thermal goals. Solar thermal power generates electricity by converting solar energy to heat, which heats fluid to create steam that powers a turbine. The movement of the turbine then creates electricity, which is delivered to a utility’s electric grid.

The announcement today during the Clinton Global Initiative is part of PG&E's broader commitment to providing its customers with clean renewable energy. PG&E currently supplies 12 percent of its energy from qualifying renewable sources under California’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) program. On average, more than 50 percent of the energy PG&E delivers to its customers comes from generating sources that emit no carbon dioxide, providing PG&E's customers with among the cleanest energy in the nation.

PG&E is aggressively adding renewable electric power resources to its supply and is on target to exceed 20 percent under contract or delivered by 2010. PG&E now has contracts to provide 18 percent of its future energy supply from renewable sources. In addition to its agreement with Solel, PG&E has recently signed several other renewable energy agreements including an 85 MW wind project with PPM Energy, 7 MW of utility-scale solar projects with Cleantech America and GreenVolts, and a 25.5 MW contract with Western GeoPower, Inc. for a new geothermal energy facility in Sonoma County, California. PG&E is seeking regulatory approval of these six renewable energy contracts.

California's RPS Program requires each utility to increase its procurement of eligible renewable generating resources by one percent of load per year to achieve a twenty percent renewables goal by 2010. The RPS Program was passed by the Legislature and is managed by California's Public Utilities Commission and Energy Commission.

For more information about Pacific Gas and Electric Company, please visit the company’s website at www.pge.com.